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The X-59 aircraft at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works location in Palmdale on Jan. 12, 2024.(Image credit: Lockheed Martin / Michael Jackson)ShareShare by:
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The experimental X-59 aircraft from NASA and Lockheed Martin has ascended into the sky for the initial time, marking a milestone as the first supersonic airplane engineered to produce a gentle “thump” instead of deafening sonic booms.
The inaugural voyage of the X-59 represents a noteworthy stride toward future commercial supersonic air travel, which has remained prohibited in the United States since 1973.
The evaluation journey was projected to last about sixty minutes, initiating from Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works site in Palmdale, California, and concluding at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California on Oct. 28. The plane attained a peak velocity of nearly 240 miles per hour (386 kilometers per hour) and maintained an altitude of around 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) above the terrain. It did not achieve supersonic velocities for this assessment, which was focused on validating key systems.
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Based on Lockheed Martin’s specifications, the X-59 possesses a maximum velocity of Mach 1.4, or 925 mph (1,489 km/h), nearly double the speed of a Boeing 747. It is built to operate at a height of 55,000 feet (16,764 m). The aircraft has a wingspan of 30 feet (9.1 m), a height of 14 feet (4.3 m), and a length of a considerable 100 feet (30.5 m), thereby closely resembling a swordfish.
When viewed from its flank, the airplane’s strikingly elongated nose seems to taper to a sharp end, however, it actually exhibits a chisel-like form. The configuration of the nose is intended to modify the structure of the shockwaves formed by supersonic motion, thereby significantly diminishing the noise emanating from the aircraft in contrast to currently employed supersonic airplanes. These are restricted from passage over populated areas within the United States due to the strong sonic booms that they create.
Sonic booms arise from shockwaves caused by swiftly compressed air, bearing resemblance to thunder. As an aircraft navigates the skies, it acts upon the air ahead, engendering pressure waves. When an aircraft transitions to supersonic speed, the pressure waves are unable to disperse with adequate swiftness, thus merging into a solitary massive shockwave, culminating in a sonic boom.
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A contentious half-year trial over Oklahoma City in 1964 demonstrated that sonic booms generated by supersonic aircraft journeying too adjacent to ground level can shatter windows, inflict minor damage to buildings, and unnerve individuals. Upon the culmination of the assessment, more than one in four individuals questioned conveyed an inability to habituate to the sonic booms.
To curtail the consequence of sonic booms, the X-59 configuration disintegrates the typical shockwave into an array of diminished shockwaves, yielding “thumps” whose volume approximates that of a car door shutting.
The shockwaves accountable for sonic booms can be detected via schlieren imaging, a form of specialized photography conceived in 1864 by August Toepler, a German physicist. This method hinges on the deformation of light traversing through shifting air pressure. Visualizing the shockwaves aids our comprehension of whether the aircraft’s aerodynamic attributes align with predictive models derived from computational analyses and miniaturized plane models within wind tunnels.
The X-59 is slated to attain supersonic velocity in forthcoming trials, and should all transpire according to strategy, it will be employed to assess public sentiment toward its supersonic “thumps” — thereby facilitating the resurgence of commercial supersonic air travel to the US, albeit substantially quieter on this occasion.
TOPICSNASA
Damien PineLive Science contributor
Damien Pine (he/him) works as a freelance writer and artist, and formerly worked as a NASA engineer. He covers science, physics, tech, art, among other subjects, with a focus on presenting intricate ideas understandably. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Connecticut, and he becomes very enthusiastic when he encounters a cat.
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