NASA captures photo of Boom's landmark ‘boomless' supersonic flight

Yahoo

03-03-2025

MOJAVE, Calif. (WGHP) — A unique photograph captured another side of the historic test flight that paves the way for a next-generation jet to be built in Greensboro.
Boom Supersonic, which broke ground on a facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro as part of its plans to build supersonic passenger jets, partnered with NASA to 'capture specialized photography during supersonic flight tests of its demonstrator aircraft, XB-1.'
On Feb. 10, during the second supersonic flight, officials from NASA used what is called Schlieren photography to capture the flight. Schlieren photography is a technique that helps visualize shockwaves during supersonic flight.
According to Boom, Schlieren images require ideal conditions and 'exceptional flying' by the pilot, which they say Tristan 'Geppetto' Brandenburg achieved. NASA used ground telescopes with special filters that detect air distortions around the jet.
'This image makes the invisible visible—the first American-made civil supersonic jet breaking the sound barrier. Thanks to Geppetto's exceptional flying and our partnership with NASA, we were able to capture this iconic image,' said Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. 'We also confirmed that XB-1 made no audible sonic boom, which paves the way for coast-to-coast flights up to 50% faster.'
NASA teams also collected sound data and Boom confirmed that the breaking of the sound barrier was truly 'boomless,' meaning no supersonic boom reached the ground, a feature they are hoping to perfect in the development of their much larger Overture passenger jets.
'Boomless Cruise enables Overture to fly at speeds up to Mach 1.3 without an audible boom, reducing U.S. coast-to-coast flight times by up to 90 minutes,' the press release states.
'XB-1's second supersonic flight marked the conclusion of its groundbreaking flight test program, and the historic aircraft will now return to her birthplace in Denver, Colorado. Boom will now focus its full efforts on scaling XB-1 learnings and technology to build the Overture supersonic airliner, which already has 130 orders and pre-orders from United Airlines, American Airlines and Japan Airlines. In 2024, Boom completed construction on the Overture Superfactory in Greensboro, North Carolina, which will scale to produce 66 Overture aircraft per year,' Boom said in their release.
Each successful flight has put Boom another step closer to creating the Overture aircraft, its carbon-neutral commercial jet, in the Piedmont Triad.
With XB-1, Boom aimed to prove that independently-built supersonic flight is possible and to test specifics related to Overture, such as technology and safety protocols, according to Boom spokesperson Aubrey Scanlan.
Overture will be roughly three times the size of XB-1, and it's planned to carry 64-80 passengers on intercontinental flights at speeds of up to about Mach 1.7 (or 1,304.36 miles per hour). That is about . All of that while using non-petroleum sustainable fuel. Already , as well as pre-orders from American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines.
Boom is in the process of building a factory in Greensboro where it plans to build the passenger jet that will fly faster than the speed of sound.
The factory is set to add $32 billion to the North Carolina state economy over the next 20 years along with more than 2,400 jobs.
Plans call for the assembly line to be in operation later next year. The first jet could take flight in 2026. The company hopes flights should be ready for passengers by 2029.
Boom is investing about $500 million to build Overture in Greensboro and, in January 2023, on a 62-acre site where its so-called 'Superfactory' is . The company, which plans to employ more than 1,700, also has an .
Boom plans to have its first passengers in the air by 2029 and will fly more than 600 'profitable routes' to destinations around the world, with a range of 4,250 nautical miles.
Boom has taken on three partners to design and build which will power the Overture, and now has partnerships with companies to provide
Another partner, Dimensional Energy, is to provide which is as being made from 'renewable biomass and waste resources,' which could be corn, algae or wood products.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.