The New X Plane from NASA Purports to Travel Quietly at Supersonic
A new experimental plane being developed by NASA called the X plane is intended to greatly lessen the deafening sonic booms that jets make when they break the sound barrier. Long a hindrance to the commercial usage of supersonic aircraft have been these disruptive booms.
Low-Boom Flight Demonstration Program
Building this new X plane and testing it over several cities is the goal of the Low-Boom Flight Demonstration program, which seeks to ascertain if it is quiet enough for locals and regulatory agencies.
Manager of NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology Project Peter Coen describes the reason of sonic booms: “The air doesn’t know the airplane is coming, which causes a sonic boom.” A plane approaching at subsonic speeds is announced in advance by sound waves that travel faster than the aircraft. But when a plane flies faster than sound, it hits the ground hard and sends off a series of shockwaves that combine and bang loudly.
Novel Elements of Design
NASA experts are adjusting the plane’s design to lessen this. Slightly modifying the nose, canopy, and wings’ shapes allows the shockwaves to disperse. This adjustment makes the loud “bang” a gentler “thump.” The new jet will have a characteristic long, pointed nose that highlights the streamlined form needed to reduce the sonic boom.
Utah State University aviation engineer Douglas Hunsaker emphasizes that the strength of the sonic boom is much influenced by the surrounding conditions. Humidity, for example, might increase the noise. Hunsaker’s colleagues at Texas A&M University are investigating adaptive materials that would enable a plane to modify shape in mid-flight to adjust to weather, therefore lowering sonic booms even more. This study offers a complementing strategy to controlling supersonic noise, even though it is unrelated to NASA’s mission.
X Plane Project
First experimental jet from NASA in more than ten years is this new X plane. Bobby Braun, dean of engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder, is thrilled that NASA is returning to the X plane idea and points out that experimental planes have always been essential to the advancement of aviation technology.
Retired in 2003, the Concorde was the final commercial supersonic aircraft. Braun, though, is bullish about the prospects for supersonic flying. In ten years, he believes, there will be a comeback, beginning with supersonic business jets and working up to larger commercial planes.
Under a $247.5 million deal, NASA has teamed with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company to create this cutting-edge X plane. Aircraft delivery is expected by the end of 2021.
With the creation of this new X plane, supersonic flight will become more peaceful and practical for commercial use, maybe launching a new chapter in aviation where the advantages of fast travel may be enjoyed without the obtrusive noise pollution.