The elongated fuselage design with the cockpit placed above the fuselage makes the underbelly of the X-59 aircraft smoother, preventing sonic booms from appearing from behind.
Currently, NASA is working with Lockheed Martin in hopes of reviving commercial supersonic flight through noise reduction. Their X-59 Questt (Quiet SuperSonic Technology) project aims to lift the supersonic speed limit on land when sonic booms are no longer a problem. Other aircraft including the improved Northrop F-5E demonstrated an aircraft shape that could reduce the intensity of sonic booms in 2003. The X-59 was designed to go further, producing a sonic boom of only about 75 decibels, equivalent to the sound of a washing machine.
Many fledgling companies in the supersonic aircraft industry not only believed that commercial flight at speeds faster than the speed of sound was feasible but also began designing, building and licensing such vehicles in The next 5 – 10 years. Flying at supersonic speeds will change the aviation industry, while helping passengers save time, according to Yahoo.
Sonic booms remain the biggest obstacle to development of this type of aircraft, according to David Richwine, deputy director of technology for NASA’s X-59 project, an experimental aircraft designed to minimize noise and vibration of the explosion. Sonic booms have been known since Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947 on the Bell X-1. This is a roaring noise caused by shock waves formed when an aircraft exceeds the speed of sound. Initially, it was seen as a sign of progress, ushering in the era of supersonic flight. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy introduced the Supersonic Transport (SST) initiative with the goal of building a commercial supersonic airliner that could carry 300 passengers and fly at speeds of more than 3,700 km/h.
But by the end of the decade, most people viewed sonic booms as a public nuisance. In 1968, an F-105 flew over the Air Force Academy, breaking 200 windows of a small nearby church, injuring dozens of people. From 1956 to 1968, the US Air Force had to handle about 40,000 claims about supersonic aircraft, paying for damage caused by broken windows and cracked drywall in homes.
Concorde, the world’s first commercial supersonic aircraft, could not overcome the problem either. Developed by Britain and France, Concorde’s transatlantic flights often caused broken windows in many American cities and vibrations that frightened locals. In 1973, the US Congress and authorities around the world banned supersonic flight over land. With expensive ticket prices and high fuel consumption, Concorde had its last flight in the UK in 2003.
The idea of the X-59 was first introduced in 2018. NASA provided a budget of 248 million USD for Lockheed Martin to develop the jet model. After computer modeling and wind tunnel testing, the X-59 was officially launched at Lockheed’s Skunk Works facility in California in January 2024. The slender, pointed-nosed aircraft is 30.4 meters long and 9 meters wide, looking like a futuristic fighter jet model with the cockpit located in the middle of the fuselage. The vehicle is designed to fly at a speed of Mach 1.4 (1,489 km/h). The X-59 reuses many parts from other aircraft, including the landing gear of the F-16, the parachute and ejection seat of the T-38 supersonic trainer and part of the engine system used on reconnaissance aircraft. close to U-2.
The engine located at the front of the aircraft allows the lower belly to become smoother, preventing shock waves from appearing behind the aircraft, thereby reducing the intensity of the sonic boom. The aircraft has undergone many ground tests, and is expected to take off later this year. The X-59 will fly at a speed of 1,728 km/h at an altitude of about 16,764 m, equivalent to the speed and altitude of a commercial supersonic aircraft. According to NASA, the data obtained will help lawmakers reconsider regulations banning supersonic flights over land.
The cockpit’s mid-length configuration means pilots won’t be looking through windows on the front, instead using high-resolution cameras and a 4K monitor in the cockpit, called eXternal Vision. System. Once the X-59 takes off, the vehicle will undergo safety testing, followed by a period of acoustic evaluation before NASA conducts a series of test flights in cities to give residents feedback to help determine the Whether the technology has reached an acceptable noise level or not?