NASA's quiet supersonic program earns latest X-number

摘要

NASA's silent supersonic aircraft test program, previously known as the Low-Boom Flight Demonstration mission, has progressed to the point that it has been awarded a coveted X-number by the U.S. Air Force. The X-59 QueSST name and number was bestowed on the $247.5 million Lockheed Martin Aeronautics project, which aims to build an aircraft that can fly over cities at supersonic speeds while suppressing the resulting sonic boom to little more than a "sonic thump."