@ghe.e.1: NASA's X-59 hit Mach 1.1 in its first supersonic flight, producing a soft thump instead of a sonic boom. NASA's X-59, built by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works division, broke the sound barrier for the first time on June 5, 2026, reaching Mach 1.1—about 713 mph — during an 81-minute test flight from Edwards Air Force Base in California. The aircraft made its very first flight just months earlier on October 28, 2025, and has since logged 16 flights as part of NASA's Quest mission. The X-59's long, narrow shape is specifically designed to break up the shockwaves that form during supersonic flight. Instead of a sharp, window-rattling sonic boom, the aircraft is engineered to produce only a soft thump when it reaches the ground — which is why overland supersonic flight has been banned in the U.S. since 1973. X-59 Breaks Sound Barrier NASA plans to fly the X-59 over U.S. communities at its full mission speed of Mach 1.4 (925 mph) and 55,000 feet to measure how people react to the quieter sound. The data will be handed to regulators to help build new noise standards that could legally reopen the skies to commercial supersonic passenger travel — something that has been off the table since the Concorde era. #technology

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Sunday 26 July 2026 10:19:43 GMT