FANCY popping to the other side of the world in just a few hours? It might not be as farfetched as it sounds.
Aerospace giants are hard at work on the next generation of aircraft – including supersonic and even hypersonic jets that whizz between countries in minutes.
Nasa x Lockheed Martin’s X-59
The X-59 isn’t just a dream: it has actually taken flight.
This collaboration between Nasa and Lockheed Martin is meant to solve the nightmare problem of supersonic travel: sonic booms.
This noisy consequence of supersonic flight is what’s stopping watchdogs from approving such speedy flights over populated land.
But the X-59, which embarked on its first test flight at the end of October, says it delivers a sonic “thump” instead.
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The 925mph jet uses a special design that reduces the perceived audio to just 75dB at ground level, or “about as loud as a car door closing”.
“In collaboration with NASA’s Quesst Mission, the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works team is solving one of the most persistent challenges of supersonic flight – the sonic boom,” Lockheed Martin explained.
“The X-59 will be used to collect community response data on the acceptability of a quiet sonic boom generated by the unique design of the aircraft.
“The data will help NASA provide regulators with the information needed to establish an acceptable commercial supersonic noise standard to lift the ban on commercial supersonic travel over land.
“This breakthrough would open the door to an entirely new global market for aircraft manufacturers, enabling passengers to travel anywhere in the world in half the time it takes today.”
Lockheed Martin SR-72
Another Lockheed Martin effort is the SR-72, which is positioned as a hypersonic aircraft rather than supersonic.
Supersonic means going faster than the speed of sound (~767mph), or Mach 1.
But hypersonic involves moving at speeds of Mach 5 and above – that’s at least five times the speed of sound.
That’s the vision for SR-72, which is a design concept for an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance jet nicknamed ‘Son of Blackbird”.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that it could enter service in the 2030s and travel at speeds of Mach 6 – but details are scarce.
Sadly for tourists, the SR-72 would be a military craft and not for a quick holiday.
A-HyM Hypersonic Air Master
Better for holidays would be the A-HyM Hypersonic Air Master.
It’s positioned as a commercial airliner that would be capable of flying at a staggering Mach 7.3 – hitting speeds of around 5,600mph.
And this could slash a trip from London to New York to just 45 minutes at top speeds, according to its creators.
Why did the Concorde fail?
CONCORDE was the supersonic passenger jet considered the ultimate luxury in air travel.
Air France and British Airways announced they would be retiring their fleet of Concorde planes on April 10, 2003.
The plane had its first commercial flight on January 21, 1976, so was retired after 27 years of service and 50,000 flights.
Several reasons led to the decision to retire Concorde.
Air France and British Airways cited low passenger numbers and high maintenance costs.
By the early noughties, the planes were outdated and expensive to run, despite being incredibly advanced when they were first introduced almost three decades previously.
The 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 majorly impacted passenger numbers, as people opted not to fly.
Passenger numbers also fell after an Air France Concorde crashed just minutes after taking off from Paris in July 2000.
The disaster killed all 109 people on board and four others on the ground.
The plane ran over a small piece of metal on the runway, which burst a tyre and caused an engine to ignite.
It was also the only aircraft in the British Airways fleet that required a flight engineer.
The bad news is that it’s just a concept created by Spanish industrial and concept designer Oscar Viñals, and hasn’t been built or tested.
But it would work using a lightweight and strong titanium and carbon fibre structure, and would be powered by hydrogen fuel.
And it would carry as many as 170 passengers at a staggering 98,000 feet in the air.
Of course, a working Mach 7 passenger jet is a long way off, but this is a fun vision of what this future could look like.
Boom Supersonic XB-1 Overture
Far more realistic is the Boom Supersonic XB-1, which has been aptly nicknamed “Son of Concorde”.
It’s the USA‘s first civil supersonic jet, and was snapped by Nasa flying at supersonic speeds earlier this year.
In fact, the image even captured the moment the jet broke the sound barrier – and quietly.
“This image makes the invisible visible – the first American made civil supersonic jet breaking the sound barrier,” said Boom Supersonic chief Blake Scholl speaking at the time.
“We also confirmed that XB-1 made no audible sonic boom, which paves the way for coast to coast flights up to 50% faster.”
The plane’s commercial design will be branded as Overture, and Boom says that the company has already received several orders.
Boom hopes that the jet will cruise at speeds of Mach 1.7 – that’s north of 1,300mph.
For comparison, a commercial Boeing 747 would usually cruise at around 575mph.
And Boom believes that there are “more than 600 profitable routes” that its Overture jet could potentially serve.
Venus Stargazer
Another contender for airliner of the future is the Venus Stargazer M4.
This nippy flier is expected to have a flight range of 5,000 miles, and could take off “as soon as the 2030s”.
It’s a product of Venus Aerospace, which is promising “Earth‘s first hypersonic, reusable aircraft”.
“No one has ever built a hypersonic platform that makes two-hour global transport cost-effective. Until now,” the company boasted.
“Our flagship product, Stargazer, will ascend from a central airport using advanced propulsion systems.
“Our vehicle will accelerate from taxi to cruise speeds of Mach 4 at 110,000 feet with a top speed capable of Mach 9.”
Earlier this year, Venus Aerospace revealed that it planned to use a new Nasa-funded nozzle design on its engine.
VENUS STARGAZER BY THE NUMBERS
Here’s what you need to know…
- Weight: 150,000 pounds
- Length: 150 feet
- Width: 100 feet
- Top speed: Mach 9 (6,900mph)
- Actual cruising speed: Mach 4/5 (3,000-3,800mph)
- Cruising altitude: 170,000 feet
Picture Credit: Venus Aerospace
That’s the bit of the rocket that “shapes and directs power“, and would help the craft break past Mach 5, or 3,800mph.
We’ve already proven our engine outperforms traditional systems on both efficiency and size,” said Venus Aerospace chief Sassie Duggleby, speaking at the time.
“The technology we developed with NASA’s support will now be part of our integrated engine platform.
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“Bringing us one step closer to proving that efficient, compact, and affordable hypersonic flight can be scaled.”
The typical flight distance between London and New York is about 3,450 miles – which would take over a hour at Mach 4.
