{"id":420845,"date":"2026-05-01T22:21:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T22:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/420845\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T22:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T22:21:09","slug":"watch-nasa-test-its-new-x-59-jet-designed-to-go-faster-than-the-speed-of-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/420845\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch NASA test its new X-59 jet designed to go faster than the speed of sound"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA wants to make supersonic travel<\/a> quieter. On Thursday the agency released new footage of its X-59 jet, a still-in-development plane that is designed to break the sound barrier over land\u2014but with a sonic \u201cthud\u201d rather than a boom.<\/p>\n

Faster air travel speeds mean shorter flights. But when an aircraft travels more rapidly than the speed of sound, it creates shock waves, generating a sonic boom<\/a>. Those sonic booms can be a nuisance for people living nearby and can even cause<\/a> damage<\/a> to homes and startle animals.<\/p>\n

The X-59 jet is NASA\u2019s answer to that problem. Featuring a needlelike tip, it\u2019s designed to travel<\/a> at more than 1,000 miles per hour\u2014about twice as fast as a commercial jet\u2014while limiting the noise of the boom. NASA expects<\/a> its sonic \u201cthump\u201d to be as loud as \u201cdistant thunder\u201d or the thud of a car door closing down the block.<\/p>\n

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\"NASA\u2019s<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits inside Hangar 4826 at the agency\u2019s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., on November 18, 2025.<\/p>\n

NASA\/Christopher LC Clark<\/p>\n

The new test footage shows the X-59 jet performing various in-air maneuvers, including rolling from side to side, up, and down and deploying its landing gear, above the Mojave Desert in California.<\/p>\n

Eventually, NASA hopes to deliberately fly the jet over neighborhoods in the U.S. and to survey residents about their experience with hearing the reduced sound.<\/p>\n

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