Lockheed Martin’s revolutionary X-59 supersonic jet completes first test flight, designed to break sound barrier with quiet ‘thump’ instead of sonic boom.
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Anew“quiet”supersonicX-59jetdesignedtorevolutionizeairtravelsuccessfullycompleteditsfirsttestflight,LockheedMartinannouncedthisweek.
Thesleek,needle-pointaircraftbuiltforNASAisdesignedtobreakthesoundbarrierwhilereducingthesonicboomtoa“thump,”accordingtotheaerospacecontractor.Theaircraftaimstoovercomeoneofthemajorhurdlestosupersonictravel,whichisnoiserestrictionsoverland.
TheplanetookofffromPalmdale,Calif., atSkunkWorks’facilityatU.S.AirForcePlant42,accompaniedbyaNASAchaseplane.Itlandedsafelyaboutanhourlaterat NASA’sArmstrongFlightResearchCenter.
Theplane’suniqueshapeisdesignedtogreatlylowerthevolumeofthesonicboomtypicallyproducedwhenaplanebreaksthesoundbarrier.
AMERICA’S‘BAT’MANUNVEILSTECHBUILTTOOUTSMARTACHINESEFIRSTSTRIKE
Thelong,pointednosepreventsadequateforward-facingvisibili
