Nasa unveils work on new supersonic passenger jet
Photo: Lockheed Martin
NASA is now working on a new supersonic passenger jet.
It has been some time since the retirement of the Concorde from the air, but the space agency's announcement this week will come as a welcome surprise for the aircraft's fans. The new Concorde, though, would come with one significant upgrade: the noise. Rather than the boom currently linked with supersonic flight, the new jet would be designed to fly at such speeds with only a "supersonic heartbeat" - a soft thump rather than the disruptive boom currently associated with supersonic flight.
"NASA is working hard to make flight greener, safer and quieter – all while developing aircraft that travel faster, and building an aviation system that operates more efficiently,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, speaking at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.
"It's been almost 70 years since Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 as part of our predecessor agency's high speed research. Now we’re continuing that supersonic X-plane legacy with this preliminary design award for a quieter supersonic jet with an aim toward passenger flight."
NASA has selected a team led by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company of Palmdale, California, to complete a preliminary design for Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST). The work will be conducted under a task order against the Basic and Applied Aerospace Research and Technology (BAART) contract at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
"Developing, building and flight testing a quiet supersonic X-plane is the next logical step in our path to enabling the industry's decision to open supersonic travel for the flying public," said Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission.
Lockheed Martin will receive about $20 million over 17 months for preliminary design work. The team includes subcontractors GE Aviation of Cincinnati and Tri Models Inc. of Huntington Beach, California.
The company will develop baseline aircraft requirements and a preliminary aircraft design, with specifications, and provide supporting documentation for concept formulation and planning. This documentation would be used to prepare for the detailed design, building and testing of the QueSST jet. Performance of this preliminary design also must undergo analytical and wind tunnel validation.
In addition to design and building, the work will also include testing community response to the noise. Do not expect any rapid rush towards completion, though: this first phase is expected to take several years, with aircraft not starting their flight campaign until around 2020, depending on funding.