NASA Supersonic Jet 

Planes are a well-known form of transportation when it comes to traveling long distances; however, sitting on a plane for 6 hours can be very uncomfortable and boring. NASA is developing a Supersonic Jet to solve this problem and further advance their ability to travel longer distances with speed. 

A Supersonic Jet is defined as a jet that can break the sound barrier, or travel faster than the speed of sound. An example of a basic fighter jet that can break the sound barrier is an F-14D TOMCAT, which is a military fighter jet. 

The speed required to break the sound barrier can change depending on the conditions. Air temperature, elevation, and the terrain below can affect the speed needed. Flying at sea level with the air temperature at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, the required speed to break the sound barrier is 767 miles per hour. When it comes to air temperature, the higher the temperature, the more speed is required to reach the speed of sound; however, this only fluctuates in a couple of miles per hour. While in elevation, the closer to sea level, the more speed is needed to break the sound barrier.

All planes and jets are required to fly below the sound barrier because the sound created when passing the sound barrier is so loud that it hurts peoples’ ears and can cause property damage. When a jet passes the sound barrier, it creates a “sonic boom,” which can be very loud and startle pedestrians on the ground. One of the main problems that NASA is trying to fix with this jet, other than traveling faster, is reducing the volume of the sonic boom that is created when the aircraft passes the sound barrier. This jet is going to drastically lower the volume when it passes the sound barrier and possibly make it legal to fly faster than the speed of sound. NASA describes the sound that will be made when this jet passes the sound barrier as more of a “thump,” instead of a “boom.”

The NASA supersonic jet is supposed to replace regular passenger planes when traveling long distances. The prototype they are designing currently only carries a single passenger, which is also the pilot. However, future prototypes are said to be able to transport around 300 passengers. The current prototype can reach speeds up to Mach 1.4, or around 925 mph. This speed will probably lower when they make bigger planes to carry more passengers, however the goal remains the same: to surpass supersonic speeds. So, the plane will get bigger and get slightly slower, but it will still surpass Mach 1 in the final prototype.

The Jet they are creating is called the X-59, which is part of the QueSST project. QueSST stands for, “Quiet Supersonic Technology.” This jet is currently in the experimental stages and is not reliable enough to fly commercially yet; however, if NASA can successfully make this jet reliable, then traveling long distances will be a lot faster because the Mach 1(speed of sound) speed limit will be lifted. The X-59 is only among the first prototypes that are being tested, and there are many more to come in the future.