Aircraft Designed to Cross the Sound Barrier with a Quiet Boom Breaks Record in One Week

Six flights in five days: This is what NASA’s experimental X-59 aircraft accomplished between September 21 and 25, surpassing its previous record of four flights in a week, according to the agency’s official blog.

The aircraft took off twice on each of September 22, 24, and 25, reaching a speed of Mach 1.53, or approximately 1,625 kilometers per hour, which is the highest speed recorded to date. Its usual cruising speed is Mach 1.4, bringing its total number of test flights to 38.

Lockheed Martin built the aircraft for NASA’s “QueSST” project, with the goal of breaking the sound barrier without the usual loud sonic boom, allowing people on the ground to hear a soft “thump” instead.

Since 1973, the United States has banned supersonic commercial flights over land due to this noise. NASA plans to fly the aircraft over American cities, ask residents what they heard, and then submit the results to U.S. and international regulators to establish new noise standards, according to Flying magazine.

The aircraft is now undergoing scheduled maintenance for three weeks before returning to flight operations.