Transportation
NASA Debuts Supersonic Jet That Curbs Window-Shattering Boom
- NASA, Lockheed Martin working on plane that can top 900 mph
- First flight of X-59 research aircraft expected this year
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Lockheed Martin Corp. and NASA gave the public a sneak peek of a plane that could pave the way for cutting some flight times in half.
The X-59, which was unveiled on Friday afternoon in Palmdale, California, has been designed to fly faster than the speed of sound with much less noise. When planes break the sound barrier — called Mach 1 — a loud and continuous sonic boom is created that can shatter windows on the ground. The US banned civilian aircraft from reaching this speed over land in 1973.