Important Innovations

  NASA Is Gaining Altitude on its X-59 SST with Lockheed Martin                                   Source:  NASA & Lockheed Martin How Could It Impact Passenger Travel? NASA and partner Lockheed Martin are on the threshold of creating a next-generation supersonic jet.  The SST under development is nicknamed the "Son of Concorde".  It's also dubbed the X-59 QueSST. It is on a development trajectory to cut air travel times in half.  For instance, a flight from New York City to London would take just 3 hours.  The impact of the X-59 could be huge, initially,  for anyone doing long distance flying from coast to coast in the US and also from the US to Europe.  And that is just the beginning. If this very promising aviation technology comes to full fruition, the impact on cutting flight times would be global. New Concorde The X-59 is designed to m...

  1 Hour Flight Beijing to New York City                                             Source:  China Transportation It Is Literally a Blast Chinese aerospace company Space Transportation's new space plane is being developed to carry passengers at speeds up to 2,600 mph in suborbital space to go from "point-to-point". That includes space tourism adventures and bullet-fast aircraft flights on Earth. The company says their new technology can fly passengers from Beijing to New York City in one hour. SpaceTransportation calls the new space plane a "rocket with wings".  They say it will be a fully reusable space plane with large triangular wings with rocket boosters. The concept is a blast into suborbital space and a new form of passenger air travel to space and for travel to destinations here on Earth being developed in China.   How Does It...

  1 Hour Passenger Flight Beijing to NYC                                             Source:  China Transportation It Is Literally a Blast Chinese aerospace startup company Space Transportation's new space plane is being developed to carry passengers at speeds up to 2,600 mph in suborbital space to go from "point-to-point". That includes space tourism adventures and bullet-fast aircraft flights on Earth. The company says their new technology can fly passengers from Beijing to New York City in one hour. Space Transportation calls the new space plane a "rocket with wings".  They say it will be a fully reusable space plane with large triangular wings with rocket boosters. The concept is a blast into suborbital space and a new form of passenger air travel to space and for travel to destinations here on Earth being developed in China.   Ho...

  Supersonic Plane Faster Than the Speed of Sound                                                  Source:  NASA Could be Dawn of Global Supersonic Passenger Travel NASA and Lockheed Martin have designed what could be the supersonic jet of the future - the X-59 QueSST, meaning quiet supersonic technology.  The needle-nosed, ultra thin aircraft breaks the sound barrier without releasing sonic booms.   It has been designed to minimize shock waves down to the sound of a car door slamming down the street.  The minimal sound is critical for SST flights to resume  over land in the US.  Because of sonic booms, the FAA banned commercial SST flights over the US in 1973. A New Design of Aerodynamic Elegance According to NASA and Lockheed, they went back to the basics of aerodynamics to design an aircraft that flies...

  Supersonic Plane Faster Than the Speed of Sound                                                  Source:  NASA Could be Dawn of Global Supersonic Passenger Travel NASA and Lockheed Martin have designed what could be the supersonic jet of the future - the X-59 QueSST, meaning quiet supersonic technology.  The needle-nosed, ultra thin aircraft breaks the sound barrier without releasing sonic booms.   It has been designed to minimize shock waves down to the sound of a car door slamming down the street.  The minimal sound is critical for SST flights to resume  over land in the US.  Because of sonic booms, the FAA banned commercial SST flights over the US in 1973. A New Design of Aerodynamic Elegance According to NASA and Lockheed, they went back to the basics of aerodynamics to design an aircraft that flies...

  United Buying At Least 15 SSTs from Boom Supersonic                                                     Source:  Boom Green, Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Flying United Airlines just announced that it will purchase at least 15 supersonic jets from Denver-based Boom Supersonic.  This deal heralds the return of ultra-fast, supersonic flights, which ended in 2003 when British Airways shuttered its Concorde transatlantic flights.  Boom says its Overture SST will be capable of flying from New York City to London in 3&1/2 hours, cutting the flight time in half.  The deal is contingent on Boom clearing United's rigorous safety, operating and sustainability requirements. Boom and Green Flights United has an option to buy 35 additional aircraft from Boom.  The SST will be rolled out in 2025, go through rigorous ...

  Spike Aerospace's S 512                                                                        Source:  Spike Aerospace Getting to Places in Half the Time The Concorde supersonic jet was decommissioned 18 years ago.  Now there is a new entry in the SST travel space.  The Spike S 512 is the ultimate in flying.  Travelling at supersonic speeds without sonic booms, the jet is quiet and can cut travel times in half.  Now under development by Spike Aerospace headquartered in Boston, the jet will fly at Mach 1.6 and will travel 720 km/h faster than any other civilian aircraft.  An example: this SST will enable passengers to fly from New York City to London in just three hours.   Luxurious Flying The Spike S 512 is a luxury business SST jet....

Supersonic Flights Across the Earth Source:  Virgin Galactic Flying Public at Supersonic Speeds NASA is teaming up with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space company to develop high speed technologies for supersonic air travel.  The purpose is to make high Mach speed vehicles for the travelling public here on Earth to get from "Point-to-Point" in vastly reduced times.  NASA and Branson have finalized their collaboration by signing a Space Act Agreement.  Vision and Goal Branson's vision for transporting the public at Mach speeds is a "global network of spaceports, transcontinental supersonic space flights and delivering passengers anywhere in the world in a couple of hours".  To achieve this, the aircraft will actually be a spacecraft. Technological First The envisioned SST would be a spacecraft that would launch into space from its departure point, then re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and arrive at the destination point for landing...

Supersonic, Nuclear Capable Russian Bombers Source:  Russia's White Swan Parked in Far Eastern Russia Off Alaska This is global news of note concerning a face-off in nuclear arms technology.  In a current military test, Russia is demonstrating its ability to park advanced supersonic bombers capable of carrying nuclear arms to the doorstep of Alaska and the US.  Russia has moved two nuclear capable, TU-160 supersonic bombers to far eastern Russia that faces Alaska.  Russia's State News Agency says this shows that Russia is capable of putting nuclear arms to the doorstep of the US. The White Swan in Military Training The Tupolev TU-160 bomber is supersonic and is dubbed The White Swan in Russia.  It can carry 12 short range nuclear missiles and fly 7500 miles with no refueling.  The flight tests are part of tactical exercises by Russia that will end this week.  This is in the midst of arms control discussions with the US that are in difficulty...

US Company Building Supersonic Jets for Mainstream Travel Source:  Boom Artist Concept Boom and the Supersonic Jet Race The supersonic jet travel race is getting hot.  There are a number of global, startups building jets that fly faster than the speed of sound or 767 mph.  Some companies are targeting 1000 mph and even 3000 mph.  Hermeus, based in Atlanta, GA, is targeting Mach 3 or 3000 mph.  That would take you from New York to London in just 90 minutes.  Another company of note is Boom. Supersonic Flights for All of Us A very interesting supersonic play comes from Boom Technology, which is Denver, CO based and has significant capital behind it.  It is focusing on building 55-seat passenger jets that fly at Mach 2 plus or 2300 mph.  It wants to start pricing seats, when it gets ready for takeoff in upcoming years, at the rate of business class fares.  Additionally, it plans to sell its supersonic jets to traditional airlines and ...

Boeing Goes Supersonic Source:  Aeriion's As2 supersonic passenger jet Boeing Invests Big in Supersonic Tech Company Aerion Boeing is teaming up with a Nevada based company Aerion on the next generation of supersonic jets. Boeing announced it will provide engineering, manufacturing and test flight resources to bring Aerion's AS2, now a prototype, to market.  Boeing is also making a large financial investment. The amount wasn't disclosed. Cruising at 1,000 MPH+ The companies say the passenger jet will be capable of flying at Mach 1.4 or 1,038 mph/1,671 kmh. That is double the speed of current commercial jets.  The SST could get you to your destination in half the time.  Boeing says the time for supersonic flight has come.  The last supersonic flight in the US was in 2003 by the Concorde. The SST's were sidelined because of the noise from their sonic booms and high operational costs.  The new generation of supersonics are designed to be much quiet...

NASA'S X-59 QueSST  X-PlaneTakeoff:  SST with No Boom NASA and Lockheed Martin just reached an important milestone on their quieter supersonic X-plane.  They've completed the initial design on a low boom SST passenger jet.  Why is that significant to all of us?  How would you like to hop on a plane and go from NYC to LA in 2 hours?  Or NYC to London in 3 hours.  That's what the X-plane is all about.  Some aviators are calling it "Son of Concorde", after the famed Anglo-French SST that was decommissioned 15 yrs ago. But this one has NASA expertise. Supersonic Getaways on QueSST NASA calls it the X-59 QueSST.  The Quiet Supersonic Transport that travels at 1100 mph. They just crossed a key threshold to make supersonic flight over land a real possibility.  They've completed a preliminary design review for the low boom flight experimental plane, the X-Plane. Looking and Sounding Good NASA thinks it has what it needs....