NASA’s plan: New supersonic aircraft for passengers – Swedish Dagbladet

this is an Artist’s impression of how NASA’s planned supersonic jet could possibly look like. Photo: NASA

American space agency Nasa has given the defense company Lockheed Martin commissioned to develop a basic design for a new passenger plane that can fly in supersonic. The job should be done in just over a year, and then it becomes a new mission for someone to develop the final design of the plane.

If all goes as planned, a prototype, in half the size of the new planet to be clearly to 2019 and then make its first flight in 2020. After waiting several years of testing before it may be something really airliner.

the tests should include otherwise examine the extent to which it You can reduce the effect of the powerful sonic booms heard down on the ground when a plane flies at supersonic speed. Sonic booms are very sharp and civil aircraft must therefore not fly at supersonic speeds over land. Today it is primarily warplanes flying at supersonic speed.

The problem of sonic booms affected including the Concorde, the Franco-British plan that was built in a few copies, which flew at supersonic speed, including between Paris / London and New York. Concorde used commercially until 2003 and could fly across the Atlantic in less than three and a half hours.

According to NASA chief Charles Bolden making authority initiative because it wants to get the flight as both is faster, safer, greener and more efficient. So nearly 70 years after Chuck Yeager first broke through the sound barrier wants NASA to obtain passenger plane that can fly at supersonic speeds without disrupting down on the ground.

Several projects are underway in the area and they are trying, among other things, reduce sonic booms by having a long and pointed muzzle. If there is enough hope to test in several years from 2021, when the first test plane will fly over southern California.

The goal is to eventually build a commercial plane with capacity for hundreds of passengers. Compared with today’s regular long-haul aircraft will be in this case a relatively small plan.

The need now is not be a disadvantage. To fly at supersonic speed is expensive and the fastest planes consume a lot of fuel. The economy was also a major challenge for the Concorde, and to really get it all to go together there should be a relatively small plane that can be filled with passengers who are willing to pay very much for their tickets.