CLEVELAND — Long-distance travel might not take so long if NASA's Quesst mission is successful in resurrecting and advancing supersonic technology.
Thursday marks exactly 50 years since the FAA enacted a ban on supersonic commercial flight over land due to the noise it caused from its sonic boom.
For years, the supersonic Concorde jet made its presence felt. The airliner first began servicing passengers in the late 1960s, cutting down the time it took to traverse the globe by hours.
But no matter how much time this luxury could save for its upper-crust clientele, it came with one deafening drawback.
"It is a nuisance," Peggy Cornell, deputy manager of NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology project, said. "I've heard the boom a couple times in my life and it’s extremely loud.
Cornell makes up part of the team tasked with NASA's QUESST (Quiet Supersonic Technology) mission, developing an experimental supersonic non-military aircraft capable of flying faster than the speed of sound, without the roaring sonic booms.
"An average flight from New York City to Los Angeles is approximately six hours and we could decrease the travel time in half," Cornell explained.
"Anytime you get a chance to take time back with any kind of menial task, I think is an advantage," Mitchell Ahaus, a mechanical test engineer at NASA, said.
The ban of supersonic commercial travel over land was due to the loud sonic boom produced by aircraft flying faster than sound. The #Quesst mission will collect data from several U.S. communities to see if a quieter supersonic aircraft is less disruptive. https://t.co/zJrPBx1uX1 pic.twitter.com/0i2hFoVS43
— NASA Aeronautics (@NASAaero) April 18, 2023
Beginning in 2017, NASA Glenn Research Center's wind chamber is where experts started testing the shape and design of the X-59 aircraft.
"It wasn't until the 2000s that the tools and technology and the simulations were developed to look at this kind of shape and bring all the pieces together," Cornell explained. "The sonic boom moving toward a sonic thump is something that in a city or urban environment like Cleveland, you wouldn’t even be able to hear it."
Later this year, NASA hopes to take off and test the first flight of the X-59.
After that, several not-yet-selected U.S. communities will take part in audio testing to determine the impact of the X-59 flying over them.
"This ban reaching its 50th-year mark is not to be celebrated," Cornell pointed out. "We need to overcome this and that’s what we’re working to do."
RELATED: Top NASA officials talk future of Glenn Research Center
Watch more about what's been happening at NASA Glenn in the player below:
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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