NASA's ‘Son of Concorde' jet that will HALVE flight time from US to London step closer to take-off with runway test
The X-59 jet will even
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Concept illustration of the X-59 shooting through the sky
Credit: SWNS
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Nasa and Lockheed Martin are speeding ahead with tests of the supersonic X-59 jet
Credit: Lockheed Martin / Gary Tice
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The 30m-long and 9m-wide plane has a sharp, stiletto-style nose
Credit: Alamy
When up and running,
Nasa revealed it struck
The X-59 moved around purely under its own
power
for the first time at US Air Force Plant 42 on July 10.
Taxiing is the final stage of ground tests before Nasa can take it up into the skies - and the maiden voyage is chalked for later this year.
read more in tech
Over the coming weeks, pilots will gradually increase the speed on the runway - leading to high-speed manoeuvres when it will travel fast enough to take off.
Engineers tested key systems like steering and breaking during the low-speed run through.
Nasa said: "These checks help ensure the aircraft's stability and control across a range of conditions, giving pilots and engineers confidence that all systems are functioning as expected."
The X-59 is the crown jewel in
Most read in Science
Instead, the X-59 will produce a much quieter sonic "thump".
Currently, commercial passenger planes are banned from going at such speeds – if they were able to – over land in the UK and US on account of the noise levels.
Near-supersonic jet that can fly London-New York at speeds 'not seen since Concorde' unveiled with luxury living spaces
The 30m-long and 9m-wide X-59 has a sharp, stiletto-style nose that engineers believe will reduce the noise
The space agency believes their new jet could fly from London to New York in three-and-a-half hours.
Lori Ozoroski, a project manager at Nasa, previously said: "We had a commercial supersonic aircraft, the Concorde.
"But it was limited during its flights that it could not fly, say into, you know, somewhere in the middle of the U.S.
"You were not allowed to fly supersonic over land.
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The jet's F414-GE-100 engine is mounted on top of the aircraft
Credit: Lockheed Martin / Gary Tice
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The X-59 has a sharp nose designed to reduce the sonic boom
Credit: Reuters
"So most of the flights were back and forth just over the ocean. And so again, that ban has been in place for 50 years, over 50 years in the US.
"A lot of international countries as well have similar bans.
"And so the whole goal of this research that we're doing right now is to lift that ban and set a speed limit for commercial supersonic aircraft rather than a speed limit."
Lori added: "The sound level is more like – we've done studies – it's more like a car door closing, you know, across the street at your neighbour's house rather than the very loud typical sonic boom."
Supersonic and Hypersonic Jets
There are several types of hypersonic and supersonic jets. A breakdown of what's been happening in the industry and what's expected in the coming years.
Talon-A
Built by Stratolaunch
Reported speeds of Mach 5
The first test flight conducted in 2024
Built by Nasa and Lockheed Martin
Predicted max speeds of Mach 1.4
The first test flight in 2025 - but subject to delays
Built by Venus Aerospace and Velontra
Predicted max speeds of Mach 6
First test flight in 2025
Built by Hermeus
Predicted max speeds of Mach 2.5
First test flight in 2026
Built by Hermeus
Predicted max speeds of Mach 5
First test flight by 2030
Built by China's hypersonic plane programme
Predicted max speeds of Mach 6
First test flight in 2025
Built by Hypersonix Launch Systems
Predicted max speeds of Mach 7
First test flight in 2025
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The Irish Sun
12 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Son of Concorde' boss reveals how much tickets will cost on jet so fast you'll land in US at the same time you left UK
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The world needs Advertisement READ MORE TECH NEWS Scholl promised that passengers on his new jet will be He also said the groundbreaking aircraft will also promise to slash the travel time of It will be able to carry around 60 to 80 passengers between any cities on Earth, and will hopefully fly at 1,300mph over water. A demonstrator for the firm, known as the XB-1 supersonic, has already completed 13 Advertisement Most read in Tech He said his successor to Concorde will "transform our lives, the way we meet people, do business, go on vacation". The jet, aptly dubbed the "Son of Concorde", has no audible sonic boom. 'Son of Concorde' supersonic jet completes second speedy test flight within a week ahead of major step early next year A number of orders from the likes of American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines have already been made for Boom Technology's passenger jet model, Overture. It comes after US President Donald Trump Advertisement And since Overture will be able to fly supersonic over land, the New York to San Francisco flight will only take four hours. This will mean travellers can leave New York at 9am and land in California at about 10am local time. Any two points on the globe will eventually be connected with super-fast flight, with a refuelling stop or two, the firm promised. Scholl revealed that fares for each of the flights carrying 60 or more passengers will be set by airlines. Advertisement But he expects them to cost about £5,000 for a return from London to New York City. He explained one of the reasons the original jet failed. He said: 'Concorde, with 100 seats and a near $20,000 ticket, made no sense, even on New York to London, the best possible route. 6 Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic Blake Scholl Credit: Boom Supersonic Advertisement 6 The world's fastest jetliner dubbed the 'Son of Concorde' will cross the Atlantic in 3.5 hours Credit: AP "It flew half-empty. If it had been half the size, the fares would have been lower and it might have worked economically. That's what we're creating." He also said the Concorde did not prove to be successful as it was too heavy, too fuel-consuming, too uncomfortable and too pricey - all problems which Scholl promises to fix. The Boom Supersonic founder also said that not being able to fly over land posed a significant challenge for the short-lived aircraft. Advertisement But the Don's latest intervention has fixed this issue, Scholl explained. A spokesperson for Boom previously told The Sun after Trump's executive order: "While Boom is pleased to see the regulatory pathways to supersonic flight clearing, Boom's business case has never been predicated on regulatory change. "There are over 600 global routes that are economically viable for supersonic flight - even without going supersonic over land. "Now that rules are being updated to allow boomless supersonic flight over land in the US, additional routes will benefit from speedups." Advertisement They added: "Boom's supersonic airliner, Overture, will fly transatlantic routes, such as New York to London, at its full cruising speed of Mach 1.7 over water – about twice as fast as today's conventional airliners. "Boomless Cruise enables Overture to fly at speeds up to Mach 1.3 over land without an audible boom - up to 50% faster than subsonic jets - reducing US coast-to-coast flight times by up to 90 minutes." 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Advertisement "In fact, the passenger research we have conducted indicates that 87 per cent of passengers are willing to switch from their preferred airline in order to gain access to supersonic travel." 6 Previous test flights have been successful Credit: Boom Supersonic
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Three-year trips to Mars in 2030s, spaceship holidays & budget rocket trips to race around Earth, UK space hero predicts
SPACE isn't just for scientists and celebs – it'll be a hot holiday destination and will offer a shortcut to slash flight times too. They're just some of the predictions from British space hero Tim Peake, who sat down with The Sun for a chat about our off-Earth future . 9 Space hero Tim Peake was Britain's first European Space Agency astronaut Credit: Getty 9 Peake, who hails from Sussex, spent half a year on board the ISS Credit: Publicity - Getty Tim, 53, spent about 186 days in space, returning from the ISS on June 18, 2016. But when humans start making the first trips to Mars in the next decade or so, they'll be in space for a lot longer – potentially for three years. It sounds nightmarish, but Tim says we've done it all before, hundreds of years ago. 'A lot of people today forget about what we used to do in terms of exploration, the hardships, the torture, the kind of risk that was taken,' Tim told The Sun at Goodwood Festival of Speed's Future Lab earlier this month. Read more on space 'And in the early 1800s, nothing was thought about disappearing off on a three year expedition. 'That was pretty standard if you were in the Royal Navy. You say goodbye to your family and your mum. 'You say goodbye. You don't really know where you're going or what you're going to be doing, but you're just going to be away for a long time. 'So when I talk to people about in the mid 2030s, we're going to be on a three year mission to Mars and they kind of have this shock and horror that, well, that's so long, you'll never get people to go away for that long. Most read in Science 'Well, you will. We've done this before. 'It's only in the last 150 years that it hasn't been normal to have a three year expedition away, finding new lands and discovering new things. Nasa reveals mesmerising footage of Northern Lights from ISS 'And we're going to kind of go back into that kind of mindset. It's just that it won't be on Earth. It will be out into space.' Nasa hopes to make manned trips to Mars as soon as the 2030s, although no firm date has been set. But whenever those first visits happen, the astronauts will likely be a lot more comfortable than explorers of the past. 'The levels of resilience and self-sufficiency they needed was unbelievable. I mean, again, when we do Mars, the crew will have enough food, they'll have enough water, they'll have enough life support,' Tim said. 9 Six-month trips to the ISS will be nothing compared to a three-year Mars trek Credit: Getty He continued: 'We've mapped the surface, we'll have habitation modules for them. 'So it'll probably be a lot more comfortable than it would be setting off on endurance or HMS Wager back in the day.' SPACE STAYS For now, going to space is largely the preserve of professional astronauts, celebs and the ultra-wealthy. But in the future, Tim thinks that Tim credits Musk's company SpaceX with making space travel a lot cheaper. 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'Some for science, some for exploration, some for entertainment, and some for a different holiday.' Unsurprisingly, Tim reckons that we'd all be better off if we'd taken a trip to space. He says it gives you a different view of the world – and not just literally. WHO IS TIM PEAKE? Here's what you need to know... Major Tim Peake is a British Army officer and astronaut He is the first British astronaut with the European Space Agency He's also the sixth Brit to go aboard the International Space Agency Peake was born in Chichester, West Sussex in 1972 In 1990 he attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst In 1992, he joined the Army Air Corps Then two years later Peake became a qualified helicopter pilot Peake left the army in 2009 to follow his dream of becoming an astronaut He beat more than 9,000 applicants for one of six spots on the ESA's astronaut training programme He had to endure a rigorous selection process that tested his intellect and fitness Peake was launched to the ISS on December 15, 2015 In April the next year, he ran the 2016 London Marathon from the ISS treadmill And in June 2016, he finally returned to Earth, landing in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz descent module During his time in space, Peake completed roughly 3,000 orbits of Earth Picture Credit: Getty Images 'I think it is amazing. The more people that can witness Earth from space – Earth would be a better place. Definitely,' Tim said. 'People would have perhaps have a different perspective when they're making decisions. 'Having kind of seen how we all share one planet. And it looks fairly remote and isolated from space.' So your Moon vacation in 2065 won't just be a relaxing break, but an upgrade for your mind too. 9 Space tourism could be big business – Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has already shown off concepts for an Orbital Reef space station that could host holidaymakers Credit: Blur Origin 9 Travellers could pay large sums of money to enjoy off-Earth hols Credit: AFP EARTH, VIA SPACE Of course, space tourism isn't the only way rockets will help your holidays . Tim reckons it'll make moving around Earth easier too. Holidays to the Moon will involve blasting off from Earth and landing on the rocky satellite. But that's not the only version of going space – you can also take suborbital flights that skim space, and descend back to Earth. 9 'Some of those missions they're launching, say, from New Mexico . They're going up and landing in New Mexico ,' Tim explained. 'Having been into space, well, there's no reason why you couldn't launch in New Mexico and land in Paris on that same kind of mission. 'And that could be a new form of suborbital transportation that becomes very popular in the future.' It sounds nightmarishly expensive – and it probably would be at the start. 9 Tim Peake was the Randox Future Lab Ambassador at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed Credit: Nicole Hains / Goodwood Festival of Speed But eventually, Tim thinks, we could see the cost come down. Speaking to the astronaut, I joke that we could see Ryanair-style budget flights that only cost a tenner. 'I mean, if you if you went back to those early 1920s, 1930s transatlantic carriers, you would have found very wealthy people on board traveling in relative luxury ,' Tim told me. 'And if you'd have said, you know, in 100 years time, we're going to have the EasyJets and the Ryanairs – a mass global transportation at the same cost of a train ticket – they would never have believed it. 'So you never know what we can do with future changes in technology.' 9 The Sun's tech editor Sean Keach sat down with astronaut Tim Peake for a chat Credit: Sean Keach
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Terrifying new Earth-sized planet found with deadly secret that would instantly kill anyone visiting
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