It’s not unusual for a prototype aircraft to make its debut flight; nor is it a shocking break from normalcy for a NASA-affiliated project to — to quote The Right Stuff — push the outside of the envelope. But the appeal of this week’s launch of Lockheed Martin’s new X-59 goes beyond seeking a sleekly designed aircraft to ascend above the planet’s surface; there’s also the way that the technology that went into it could benefit a lot more aircraft in the years to come.
The X-59 is the latest offering from Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works subsidiary, and part of its design is focused on making supersonic air travel easier on the ears for those of us on the ground. Or, as Lockheed Martin’s announcement phrases it, “reducing the sonic boom to a gentle thump.”
Why does this matter? If you look back into aviation history, you’ll recall the Concorde, which briefly looked like it would change the face of commercial air travel. One of the reasons that this was not the case is that a large supersonic jet tends to make a lot of noise, and that much noise brought complaints. As the National Air and Space Museum’s Sachita Pandey wrote last year, “[d]ue to concerns over its noise levels, the Concorde was restricted [to] flying transatlantic routes.”
This aircraft’s debut flight found it traveling from an Air Force plant in Palmdale, California, to Armstrong Flight Research Center in nearby Edwards. It’s worth noting that this initial jaunt did not involve going faster than the speed of sound; instead, that will be on the agenda for the X-59’s future test flights.
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Cue the David Bowie soundtrack…If this technology can make air travel both faster and quieter, it isn’t hard to see the benefits. And for now, the people behind this venture are taking a proverbial victory lap. “This aircraft is a testament to the innovation and expertise of our joint team, and we are proud to be at the forefront of quiet supersonic technology development,” said Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ general manager and vice president, OJ Sanchez, in a statement.
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