NASA Advances the Development of Hypersonic Passenger Flights
Obviously, since Concorde’s retirement in 2003, rapid transatlantic travel is a thing of the past. It takes approximately eight hours to fly between London and New York, and closer to seven hours in the opposite direction. The record flight time from New York to London is presently just under five hours, thanks to a favorable jetstream.
NASA’s Vision: Redefining Supersonic Travel
Now, however, NASA has revived the concept of supersonic travel, estimating that a future voyage between New York and London could take as little as 90 minutes. The space agency confirmed in a blog post about its “high-speed strategy” that it has recently examined the feasibility of future commercial flights at speeds of up to Mach 4, or over 3,000 miles per hour.
Mach 4 Possibilities: Routes and Speeds Explored
The study by NASA’s Glenn Research Center indicated that “potential passenger markets” already exist on approximately 50 established routes. These itineraries were limited to transoceanic routes, including those over the North Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, as nations, including the United States, prohibit supersonic flight over land.
X-59 Hypersonic Aircraft: Quieter and Faster
As part of its Quesst mission, NASA is developing a “quiet” hypersonic aircraft dubbed the X-59. The agency believes that the new aircraft will eventually lead to a change in these regulations, allowing aircraft to fly between Mach 2 and Mach 4 (1,535 and 3,100 miles per hour). The maximum speed of the Concorde was 2.04 Mach, or 1,354 miles per hour. A jet traveling at Mach 4 could theoretically cross the Atlantic in less than 90 minutes.
Designing the Future: Hypersonic Aircraft Development
NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program (AAV) will contract companies to develop designs and “explore air travel possibilities, outline risks and challenges, and identify needed technologies to make Mach 2-plus travel a reality,” according to the agency. The investigation will be conducted by two teams, one led by Boeing and the other by Northrop Grumman Aeronautical Systems. Each will develop designs for aircraft that are capable of hypersonic velocities.
Balancing Innovation and Responsibility: NASA’s Approach
According to Lori Ozoroski, project manager for NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology Project, similar studies were conducted a decade ago that influenced the development of the X-59 aircraft. In a similar fashion, she added, the new studies will “refresh those looks at technology roadmaps and identify additional research needs for a broader high-speed range.” The next phase will also consider “safety, efficiency, economic, and societal considerations,” according to the manager of NASA‘s Hypersonic Technology Project, Mary Jo Long-Davis, who added that “it’s important to innovate responsibly.”
NASA’s X-59 test aircraft, designed to reduce sonic blasts to mere thumps in the hopes of making overland supersonic flight possible, was completed by Lockheed Martin in July. Tests on the ground and an initial test flight are scheduled for later in the year. NASA plans to provide US regulators with sufficient data by 2027.
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