In 1973, NASA banned supersonic flights over the ground. Now, almost 50 years later, NASA is using QUESST technology for a Lockheed Martin X-59 aircraft.
Lockheed Martin X-59 QueSST is an American experimental supersonic aircraft developed by Skunk Works under NASA Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator.
NASA intends to use QueSST technology to demonstrate that X-59 can fly faster than sound without making loud sound strikes. Previously, the X-59 Lockheed MartinBell X-1 model made a historic supersonic flight on 14 October 1947.
X-59 QueSST is expected to fly a cruiser at a speed of 1 Mach = 1.42, at an altitude of 17,000 m, creating a low sound pressure level of 75 perceived decibels.
The X-59 will fly over several areas, while NASA staff will check local residents ' response to the sound of the aircraft. It is expected to be similar to a quiet knock. Regulatory authorities will check all comments and, if successful, establish rules for lifting restrictions.
On October 14, 1947, when a joint group of X-1 NACA, Air Force, and Bell engineers and pilots broke the sound barrier, an imaginary "wall" in the sky, which, according to some claims, could not be broken.