NASA and Lockheed Martin on Friday officially unveiled the agency's X-59 silent supersonic aircraft. The experimental aircraft could mark the next step in the evolution of commercial air travel, according to the company. Agency recent releases. It has been suggested that the new aircraft will be able to fly “faster than the speed of sound” and reach speeds of up to 925mph.
“This is a major accomplishment made possible only through the hard work and ingenuity of NASA and the entire X-59 team,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy.
“In just a few years, we have turned an ambitious concept into a reality. NASA's X-59 is helping to change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in far less time. I'll give it to you.”
The X-59 was developed at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works for many years. The company received $248 million in grants Development of this project began in 2018 with NASA. The large grant was part of NASA's goal to take bigger steps in aviation, including scale, speed, and efficiency, according to . tech crunch.
Until Friday, the aircraft could only be seen in various stages of assembly inside a hangar. However, the full text has now been published. One of the goals of building the X-59 was to prove that the aircraft could fly faster than the speed of sound.
“By demonstrating the potential of quiet commercial supersonic travel over land, we aim to open new commercial markets for U.S. companies and benefit travelers around the world,” said NASA's Bob Pierce. ” he said.
This aircraft is able to accomplish these impressive feats due to its aerodynamic design. The spacecraft is approximately 100 feet long and only 29.5 feet wide. Its profile is dart-shaped to disperse reflected shock waves during flight.
“This configuration places the cockpit approximately half the length of the aircraft and has no forward-facing windows,” NASA reported. “Instead, the Quest team developed his eXternal Vision System, a series of high-resolution cameras that feed signals to his 4K monitor in the cockpit.”
“Once NASA completes flight testing, NASA will fly the aircraft over several selected cities across the United States to get feedback on the sounds the X-59 makes and how people perceive it. NASA plans to provide that data to federal aviation and international regulatory agencies. ”
It is unclear when the aircraft will be ready for its first commercial flight.
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