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
5
Concept illustration of the X-59 shooting through the sky
Credit: SWNS
5
Nasa and Lockheed Martin are speeding ahead with tests of the supersonic X-59 jet
Credit: Lockheed Martin / Gary Tice
5
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.
5
The jet's F414-GE-100 engine is mounted on top of the aircraft
Credit: Lockheed Martin / Gary Tice
5
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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
2 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. 'They've brought the cost of getting to space down so much, which is really exciting. 'Because that opens up whole markets of things you didn't think were possible because they were cost-prohibitive five or 10 years ago, that are now economically viable. 'So that's really exciting, but SpaceX is just the Uber that gets you there and back. 9 A return trip to and from Mars will be long and arduous – but Tim says explorers will be more than capable of surviving the time away from home Credit: Getty 'What's even more exciting is: now what can you do when you're up there?' Tim tells me that space tourism has been around for a long time – but it's becoming more frequent. And that's a trend that will only grow with time. 'It's part of the democratisation of space,' Tim told The Sun. 'I think fast-forward 100 years and there'll be an awful lot of people going to space for a variety of different reasons. '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
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Terrifying new Earth-sized planet found with deadly secret that would instantly kill anyone visiting
A NEW Earth-sized planet has been discovered in a faraway constellation - and it would kill any astronaut who dare travel there. Some 117.4 light-years away from Earth, scientists have stumbled across a nightmarish alien world where the planet's surface is likely molten. 5 The surface of molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy The planet, dubbed TOI-2431, orbits quite close to its nearest star over a very short period, resulting in a high surface temperature. Unlike Earth, which has an orbital period of 365 days, TOI-2431 orbits its star in only 5.4 hours - making it one of the shortest period exoplanets ever discovered. The alien world, located in constellation Cetus, is thought to have a surface temperature of about 1,700C (3092F). Anything that lands there would be immediately incinerated. READ MORE ON SPACE The international team of astronomers, led by Kaya Han Taş of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, detected the new exoplanet orbiting a nearby star using Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). 5 Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Credit: Nasa "We have confirmed the ultra-short period planet TOI-2431 b using a combination of photometric transit data from TESS, precise radial velocity observations with the NEID and HPF spectrographs, and ground-based speckle imaging with the NESSI instrument," researchers wrote in the new The Nasa tool monitors about 200,000 bright stars near Earth, scanning for hidden planets that might cause any blips of light as they pass their star. Just last week, researchers revealed they used TESS to follow a Most read in Science Since its launch in April 2018, the satellite has identified more than 7,600 possible exoplanets - which are nicknamed TESS Objects of Interest, or TOI. Exactly 638 of these have been confirmed as alien worlds so far. Best-ever sign of ALIEN life found on distant planet as scientists '99.7% sure of astounding biological activity signal' The planet's host star is only about two-thirds the size and mass of our Sun, and appears to be pulling the planet towards a fiery death. Researchers estimated that the planet has a tidal decay timescale of about 31 million years - which is fairly short in the grand schemes of the universe. Tidal decay causes a planet's orbit to gradually shrink and spiral towards its host star - eventually leading to its destruction. The 2billion-year-old host star, which researchers believe is roughly double the temperature of its nearby planet, will eventually collide with the planet. Researchers hope they can secure time with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study TOI-2431 b more closely. Doing so could shed more light on the planet's surface composition, and may answer the question of whether or not it has an atmosphere. The $10 billion telescope 5 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is How many moons does What colour is How far away is How big is How many moons does Does How many moons does How big is How hot is the
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Irish Independent
Mystery of Betelgeuse twinkle solved after hundreds of years
It is Betelgeuse, and for hundreds of years astronomers have puzzled over why its twinkle grows lighter and then dimmer over time. But the mystery has finally been solved. Betelgeuse has a companion star that pushes light-blocking dust out of the way, temporarily making the star glow more brightly. The presence of the star, nicknamed 'Betelbuddy', had been theorised, but Nasa has spotted it for the first time using its Gemini North telescope, in Hawaii. Steve Howell, a senior research scientist at the Nasa Ames Research Centre in California, said: 'Papers that predicted Betelgeuse's companion believed that no one would likely ever be able to image it. 'Gemini North's ability to obtain high angular resolutions and sharp contrasts allowed the companion of Betelgeuse to be directly detected.' Betelgeuse, roughly pronounced as 'Beetlejuice', sits about 650 light years from Earth and glows 100,000 times brighter than the sun. It is so big that if it sat at the centre of our solar system, in the position of the sun, its surface would lie farther out than Mars. It is known as a variable star, getting brighter and dimmer every 400 days. In 2019 and 2020, there was a steep decrease in Betelgeuse's brightness − an event referred to as the 'Great Dimming', which led to some scientists suggesting its dulled twinkle was foreshadowing an impending supernova that would darken the star for ever. However, it turned out that the star had emitted a large gas bubble, which then cooled to form dust, temporarily blocking its shine. The Great Dimming mystery sparked a renewed interest in studying Betelgeuse, but it was not until researchers used a special technique called 'speckle imaging' that the star was discovered. Speckle imaging uses very short exposure times to freeze out the distortions in images caused by Earth's atmosphere, enabling high resolution, which, when combined with the light-collecting power of Gemini North, allowed the new star to be seen for the first time.
