{"id":256007,"date":"2026-06-05T02:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T02:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/256007\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T02:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T02:08:12","slug":"supersonic-jet-that-will-fly-you-from-la-to-nyc-in-less-than-3-hours-tested-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/256007\/","title":{"rendered":"Supersonic jet that will fly you from LA to NYC in less than 3 hours tested in California"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cross-country travel could one day look very different if NASA\u2019s<\/a> newest experimental aircraft lives up to its promise as its prepares to make history in the California desert.<\/p>\n

The agency\u2019s X-59, a futuristic jet designed to fly faster<\/a> than the speed of sound while dramatically reducing the noise that has plagued supersonic aircraft for decades, is now preparing to begin a new block of test flights that will include its first supersonic flights.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlying at supersonic speeds is a major milestone for the X-59 team,\u201d project manager Cathy Bahm said.<\/p>\n

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

NASA\u2019s X-59 Quesst aircraft taking off from Runway 7 in Palmdale, California. REUTERS<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The experimental quiet supersonic aircraft X-59 is parked on tarmac in Palmdale, California. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

The cutting-edge jet is being pushed to the limit at the US Air Force\u2019s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, where engineers are putting its critical safety systems through a gauntlet of tests.<\/p>\n

With the final round of safety checks now underway, the aircraft is closing in on a major breakthrough \u2014 its long-awaited first supersonic flights.<\/p>\n

The experimental aircraft is expected to reach speeds up to Mach 1.6, or about 1,218 mph during its tests.<\/p>\n

At its mission-conditioning target, it is designed to fly at Mach 1.4 (about 925 mph).<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The X-59 Quesst supersonic aircraft in flight against a blue sky. REUTERS<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The X-59 Quesst aircraft, a quiet supersonic jet, flying in a blue sky. REUTERS<\/p>\n

At those speeds, the roughly 2,450-mile trip between Los Angeles and New York City could theoretically be completed in about two and a half hours, potentially cutting today\u2019s typical five-to-six-hour journey by more than half.<\/p>\n

NASA is developing the X-59 as part of an effort to prove that supersonic travel can be quieter and more practical than previous generations of high-speed aircraft.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The X-59 experimental quiet supersonic aircraft in a hangar with its rear illuminated by lights. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

Rather than producing the thunderous sonic boom traditionally associated with breaking the sound barrier, the aircraft has been engineered to create a much softer \u201cthump.\u201d<\/p>\n

The jet has drawn comparisons to Concorde, the iconic supersonic airliner that once carried passengers across the Atlantic at speeds of up to Mach 2.04, or 1,354 mph (2,179 kph).<\/p>\n

\"British<\/p>\n

British Airways Concorde SST on a barge on the Hudson River. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Concorde could reach New York from London in roughly three hours before being retired.<\/p>\n

Based on the X-59\u2019s projected performance range, a nonstop London-to-New York flight could still take about three hours and 44 minutes.<\/p>\n

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

NASA\u2019s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft taxiing on a runway. NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The perspective from the cockpit of NASA\u2019s X-59 experimental aircraft as it takes off. NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center<\/p>\n

The upcoming flight campaign will mark a major step for a program aimed at reopening the door to supersonic travel over populated areas, something that has remained largely out of reach for decades because of noise concerns.<\/p>\n

The NASA X-59 has logged a total of 15 subsonic test flights to date, and engineers are currently prepping the aircraft for its first supersonic breakthrough in early June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cross-country travel could one day look very different if NASA\u2019s newest experimental aircraft lives up to its promise…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2136,99718,6785,9,56,63,65,64,99721,99719,99722,99720],"class_list":["post-256007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-california","tag-experimental-aircraft","tag-nasa","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-palmdale","tag-supersonic-aircraft","tag-supersonic-speeds","tag-supersonic-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}