Quiet supersonic technology installed on NASA’s X-59 aircraft

X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) research plane, which is being developed at Lockheed Martin’s SkunkWorks plant for NASA’s Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator programme.

NASA is targeting 2022 for the first flight of the X-59. Its mission is to fly over communities to collect data that could cut passenger travel time in half without disturbing people on the ground.

Here’s how NASA will measure its quiet supersonic flights

The X-59 is equipped with supersonic technologies that aid in lowering the sound of the sonic boom.

In this new picture, the black rectangle panels are the air intakes for the environmental control system (ECS) that regulates the temperature, cabin pressure, and air distribution. The silver grate located at the rear of one of the ECS panels is the exhaust — both of these sections are traditionally housed on the underside of the plane.

By placing these features on top of the X-59 wing, the wing blocks and prevents the ECS exhaust from interacting with the shock waves on the bottom of the aircraft.

This unique design approach to re-shaping the shock wave pattern substantially reduces the sonic boom to more of a sonic “thump” when it reaches the ground.

Related: X-59 quiet supersonic jet reaches major wing milestone

The aircraft is expected to cruise at Mach 1.42 and 55,000ft, creating a low 75 Perceived Level decibel thump. A single GE F414 engine will power the X-59, reaching Mach 1.5 and providing 22,000lb of thrust.

The cockpit, ejection seat and canopy come from a Northrop T-38 and the landing gear from an F-16.

www.nasa.gov