"New York~Paris in Three Hours" ... The Era of Supersonic Passenger Planes Reopens [Reading Science]

US NASA Announces 'X-59 QueSST' to Begin Test Flights in Second Half of This Year

The supersonic passenger aircraft test vehicle 'X-59 QueSST' being developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The era of supersonic passenger jets is reopening, with flights from New York to Paris taking just over 3 hours.

First, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is beginning test flights for the development of commercial supersonic passenger aircraft. On the 22nd (local time), NASA announced via a YouTube video that it has started actual flight tests of the supersonic passenger jet research model currently under development, the 'X-59 QueSST.' NASA explained, "The primary goal is to design the aircraft to reduce the sonic boom (shockwave noise caused by breaking the sound barrier) to a level that people on the ground perceive as gentle," and added, "(As the X-59 flies across various parts of the U.S.,) it will collect data on people's reactions to the actual noise generated and submit this to U.S. and international aviation regulatory authorities."

According to NASA, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) plan to review new regulations for supersonic passenger aircraft flights over land based on this data, which is expected to provide an institutional foundation to reopen the supersonic passenger jet market. The X-59 is a test aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works group for supersonic flight research. NASA signed a contract worth $247.5 million (approximately 288.8 billion KRW) with Lockheed Martin in 2018 for the development of the X-59. The assembly of the X-59 was completed earlier this year at the Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, followed by ground tests in Texas. NASA plans to conduct test flights of the X-59 across the U.S. from the second half of this year through 2024.

The first supersonic passenger jet was the Concorde, jointly developed by the UK and France, which began commercial flights in 1976. It was popular for covering the New York-Paris route, which used to take over 8 hours, in just 3 hours at a top speed of Mach 2.23. However, due to its cramped interior, expensive fares reaching $12,000, and the tremendous sonic boom, it did not spread worldwide. In fact, the U.S. FAA banned Concorde's overland flights from 1973 due to sonic boom concerns. The Concorde was eventually retired on October 24, 2003, after a fatal accident in 2000 that claimed over 100 lives, ending its service between New York JFK Airport and London Heathrow Airport.

However, the aviation industry continues to see demand for supersonic aircraft capable of reaching any destination worldwide within a few hours. A notable example is United Airlines' 2021 contract with the startup company Boom Supersonic to purchase 15 commercial supersonic jets by 2029. The UK’s Virgin Galactic also announced plans in 2020 to develop a supersonic passenger jet capable of flying at Mach 3.0 in partnership with Rolls-Royce, a company renowned for its automobile and aircraft engines.