NASA is working on a passenger plane that would make the Concorde look slow. This supersonic jet can get you from London to New York and back in record time. People are already calling it the ‘New Concorde’, but it is actually a lot faster than the Concorde.
NASA partnered up with aerospace company Lockheed Martin to tweak the company’s supersonic jet called ‘Quesst X59‘. The upgraded jet would be capable of reaching Mach 1.4 (1488 km/h) and potentially even Mach 1.95 (2,400 km/h).
At that speed, the plane would be capable of travelling from NYC to London in 90 minutes – twice as fast as a Concorde.
This means you can start watching a soccer game when the plane takes off and by the time it lands, the game will still be in extra time. The plan is to connect at least 50 cities between the US and Europe.
The sleek red, white and NASA ‘Sonic Blue’ livery is more than just a tribute to the American flag.
The NASA X59 uses a special type of paint that protects the aircraft from corrosion and moisture. It also includes key safety markings to assist flight operations when the plane is about to land.
NASA is leaving no stone unturned. They’re even having to work on a way to reduce noise from the signature ‘sonic boom’ that occurs when supersonic vehicles break the speed of sound.
It’s iconic, but also slightly annoying. Especially for people on the ground.
The last Concorde flight, almost exactly 20 years ago, took 100+ passengers from New York City to London Heathrow in three hours and 20 minutes. There are movies that are longer than that these days.
After the Concorde was gone, we got back to ‘normal’ aircraft, which take anywhere from seven to nine hours depending on the route the airline chooses.
The ‘new Concorde’ – the NASA X59 – would be a game changer for transoceanic travel. NASA is currently working on a first test flight ahead of the plane’s maiden flight in the future.
Fingers crossed.
