Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin and the American space Agency NASA has signed a contract to develop a supersonic plane that could break the sound barrier, but without the deafening sound that usually accompanies this phenomenon. And most recently, Lockheed Martin has set out to build the quiet supersonic aircraft in the world. It is reported that NASA will spend to develop about 250 million dollars (this amount was voiced at the conclusion of the contract).
The new aircraft was named X-59 QueSST. It is worth noting that the new aircraft refers to the civil aviation and will produce passenger airline flights. But there is one problem: the use of supersonic aircraft for the transport of persons is prohibited due to the high noise levels of the aircraft when breaking the sound barrier. Lockheed Martin and NASA wanted to promote noise-canceling technology to cancel the existing rules. A new experimental aircraft intended for the return of supersonic passenger air travel, the latter of which made the Concorde in October 2003.
As regards the technical characteristics of the future aircraft, most of them are kept secret. It is only known that X-59 QueSST will have to fly at an altitude of 55,000 feet and speeds of up to 940 miles per hour, which translated in the metric system equal to 16764 m 1512 kilometres per hour respectively. It is reported that the sound from the plane should be comparable to “Bang when closing the car door.” In addition, Peter Iosifidis, one of the leaders of Lockheed Martin said:
“The beginning of the production project marks a great leap forward for the X-59 and the future quiet supersonic commercial travel. Long and slim design of the plane is key to achieving low sonic boom. As soon as we enter the production phase, the structure of the aircraft beginning to emerge, bringing us one step closer to supersonic travel to passengers around the world.”
The first flight of the X-59 QueSST to be held 2021. Then, you will analyze data about noise levels and about the General performance of the flight in order to bring the aircraft to the existing standards for supersonic flights.
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