NASA's Latest "Muffled" Jet Thrusts at Supersonic Speeds
If you're trying to get an aircraft to hum along to the tune of supersonic booms, aesthetics rarely come into it at all.
Routine supersonic flight has been banned over land in America since 1973 due to how loud it is, so NASA has committed to making a jet that hits the required speed for a sonic boom but lets out a "muffle" instead.
Case in point: the new X-59 QueSST from NASA, a conceptual jet colloquially labelled a "pencil with wings" or "the mosquito".
The jet also has a unique feature you might notice, no viewing window.
Rather, pilots will view a 4K resolution interface complete with information HUD and overlay with a feed from several external cameras.
The cockpit itself is meters away from the nose, far closer to the rear of the plane which allows the long penetrating nose to pierce the air and mute the sonic boom.
The X-59 is not designed to carry passengers, however, with success in breaking the sound barrier as quietly as can be, future innovations can be made for other craft to reach similar speeds without the boom.
A golden age of travel could be upon us!
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