NASA Finally Unveiled 'Quiet' X-59 Supersonic Aircraft

after 6 years of continuous development NASA and US defense company Lockheed Martin have finally unveiled their quiet supersonic aircraft x59 quest which revolutionary technology does it bring and when will we be able to experience supersonic passenger flight watch till the end to find out it's sooner than you think the sonic boom is a phenomenon that has long been the Achilles heel of SuperSonic flight when an aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound the compressed air molecules against the body of the plane produce shock waves that merge to form a sonic boom a loud and disruptive noise heard on the ground this noise has historically been a significant impediment to the commercial viability of SuperSonic flight over land many of the problems that plague supersonic flight can be traced back to the Concord the famous supersonic passenger jet that could travel from New York to London in a mere 3 and 1/2 hours when the Concord first took flight in 1969 people were enthralled by the idea of super fast air travel it sounded like a technological Marvel until they heard the actual sound as the passenger plane zoomed overhead and broke through the sound barrier it sent a deafening boom to the ground below people described the sensation of a bomb dropping glass windows shattered and doors trembled the Concord wasn't designed to be quiet its deltawing design with two very large triangular wings along its entire fuselage that made it look like a paper airplane and Powerful engines were contributors to the sonic boom as planes started to go supersonic over the continental US the sound explosions became so much of a problem that Congress banned civilian supersonic F over land in 1971 a move that was later followed around the world officially put into effect in 1973 the band's introduction was strongly influenced by public opinion surveys in cities where supersonic military jets were flown overhead and many folks said they didn't like what they heard or the way their Windows rattled because of the Sonic booms this ban halted the development of the transportation industry for many years nevertheless in 2016 NASA asked Lockheed Martin and a host of other companies to submit a proposal for a test airplane that could demonstrate that supersonic flight Overland was safe and as silent as regular subsonic airliners the target was to make a plane with a boom of just 75 plb a volume unit that measures how people perceive sound as opposed to the actual ual decb produced by the Sonic booms a 75 plb is the equivalent of hearing a dishwasher for less than a second for comparison the concord's plb was 105 or as loud as listening to a chainsaw at full power in 2018 NASA awarded Lockheed Martin a $ 247.5kg build and deliver the low boom X plane the plane received its official moniker the x59 in a program called quest quiet supersonic technology from the US Air Force in June 2018 but the company still had a long road ahead of it to develop a truly quiet supersonic Jet by November 2018 Lockheed Martin had initiated the Machining of the x59 first part in Palmdale California major structural components were assembled by May 2019 fast forward to November 2022 and the general electric f414 ge100 engine which Powers the US Navy F-18 Super Hornet found its place in the x59 however engine is at the top rather than the bottom of the plane to keep a smooth lower profile that prevents shock waves from reaching the ground the aircraft has since undergone a battery of tests from weight checks and fuel system evaluations to ground vibration assessments remarkably the x59 weighed in below the anticipated weight a rare achievement in aircraft development that surprised the entire team the x59 has been rolled out in front of cameras once before in August 2023 but that was before the jet had gone into the paint Barn for its final red white and blue paint job or Livery finally NASA and Lockheed Martin formly debuted the agency's x59 quiet supersonic aircraft on Friday January 12th this is a major accomplishment made possible only through the hard work and Ingenuity from NASA and the entire x50 n te said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam melroy in just a few short years we've gone from an ambitious concept to reality NASA's x59 will help change the way we travel bringing us closer together in much less time following the unveiling Lockheed Martin emphasized that the 99.7 ft long 29.5 ft wide aircraft is meticulously designed to achieve a speed of Mac 1.4 equivalent to 925 mph at an altitude of 55,000 ft this supersonic Marvel opens doors to various applications including Rapid Medical Response shorter shipping times and of course faster travel when the curtain finally fell to reveal the x59 the assembled crowd applauded and held their mobile bones aoft to capture photos of the new jet shining red and blue under stage lights during that rollout the Striking and unique geometry of the x59 was on full display the aircraft features a sharp elongated beak-like nose section that measures 38 ft in length the nose section will help shape the shock waves the aircraft produces during flight NASA said in a 2021 statement that nose also means pilots flying the x59 can't see out of the Jets forward wind screen because it doesn't have one instead Pilots use what NASA calls the external Vision system or xvs to see in front of the aircraft this system uses a forward-facing camera a cockpit mounted display screen and Custom Image processing software to create an augmented reality View of the x59 Pilot's forward line of sight along with graphical flight data overlays as exciting as unveiling is it's only the beginning for the x59 rollout is a major accomplishment but it also means the next Milestone is First Flight and then supersonic flights after that said Katherine Barm manager of NASA's low boom flight demonstrator project and development lead on the x59 in NASA's statement our eyes are on the mission with roll out complete the quest team will shift to its next steps in preparation for First Flight Integrated Systems testing engine runs and taxi testing for the x59 the First Flight of the supersonic aircraft had been anticipated to take place last year however in October agency officials delayed the inaugurate flight to 2024 citing several technical challenges identified over the course of 2023 including intermittent issues with some of the safety redundant computers the quest team will conduct several of the aircraft's flight tests at Skunk Works before transferring it to NASA's Armstrong flight Research Center in Edwards California which will serve as its base of operations once the x59 is flown over the half a dozen residential communities across the US selected to offer a diverse mix of geographic and atmospheric conditions NASA will engage with the communities on the ground to gauge their response to the noise the goal is to confirm the theory that a 75 deel boom will be acceptable the data gathered in this way will then be presented to the US Federal Aviation Administration and international regulators NASA believes that a change in regulations would open up the skies for a new generation of supersonic aircraft allowed to fly over routes that aren't permitted now such as New York to Los Angeles and cutting flight time roughly in half we don't know however what those aircraft will look like and who will build them because the x59 is not a prototype but merely a technology demonstrator several companies are currently developing super Sonic passenger aircraft and plan to fly them within a decade or less including hermas boom and Spike however it's doubtful that any of them will be able to take advantage of the findings of the quest program which will likely inform the next generation of supersonic aircraft such aircraft with the ability to fly anywhere would democratize supersonic travel marking a Stark difference with concord's luxury status the future looks bright for supersonic flight who knows maybe in few years we'll be able to travel two times faster than now but for today this is all we have for you if you enjoyed this video don't forget to like it and subscribe to the channel and turn on notifications to always stay in touch and thanks for watching

Channel: Military Affairs

Views: 330,974

Keywords: x-59, low-boom, x-59 supersonic jet, lockheed, x-59 quesst supersonic jet, x-59 quiet supersonic, nasa, supersonic, x-59 quesst, x-59 first flight, x-59 flying, nasa astronauts, lockheed martin, prototype, sonic boom, technology, unveiled, x59 first flight, x-59 passenger capacity, x59 top speed, lockheed martin x-59 quesst, lockheed martin x-59, x-59 supersonic aircraft, x-59 aircraft, x-59 plane, lockheed x-59, x59 jet, nasa x59, x 59 plane, x58, x-59 speed, x-59 nasa, x59

Id: Ldzmol_drWQ

Length: 10min 58sec (658 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 29 2024