NASA’s X-Plane is designed to fly at supersonic speeds without the sonic boom

NASA wants to prove that it can fly a plane faster than the speed of sound without blasting American neighborhoods below with sonic booms. 

Previously, commercial supersonic travel had been limited to the Atlantic Ocean, where people wouldn’t be jarred awake by planes traveling overhead at more than 760 miles per hour. But with an innovative plane design that might subtly morph in the air to tame sound waves, NASA hopes to build a quieter supersonic plane that would revolutionize travel. 

Our cross-country flight times would be cut in half. NASA calls it the X-Plane, and the agency just awarded the aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin the $247.5 million contract to build the first one. Read more…

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