When it first went into service in 1976, the Concorde supersonic jet was lauded as a technological leap that would change air travel forever. But, despite the fact that it could carry passengers from New York to Paris in just 3.5 hours, it had a huge drawback: it was unsuited for continental travel thanks to the unsettlingly massive “boom” it would make breaking the sound barrier while getting up to its cruising speed. From the looks of it, however, NASA is ready to fix that problem and tackle continental supersonic commuter travel with their new X-Plane
Having recently given the contract for the project to Lockheed Martin, a real-world Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) is being built – with the intention of turning it into a passenger carrier once successful testing has concluded. While the aircraft is meant to create a quieter “boom” than other supersonic jets (more like a “heartbeat” than an explosion), NASA is also seeking for it to be greener and safer than similar aircraft before it. Whatever the case, we’re hope they’re successful because we’d happily take a 30 second flight from Los Angeles to Vegas, given the option.