Date of presentation: 16-Aug-2021
Subject: NASA's Quiet Supersonic Mission (X-59)
Description: In this month's presentation, Kailash talked about NASA's work on developing a quieter supersonic airplane. For background, in the past, one of the primary objections to previous supersonic commercial airlines (Concorde, etc.) was the noise they produced both during takeoff and when transiting at supersonic speeds. The goal of the X-59 project is to develop an airplane that lessens or eliminates these sounds.
To accomplish this, several technologies are either being developed or are under investigation. The main idea is to deal with reducing the sonic "boom" normally produced by a transiting supersonic jet, to a much gentler "thump" by modifying the way shockwaves form and merge. This may reduce the noise from the 105 or so decibel boom produced by, say, the Concorde, down to about 75 db, which has been likened to a car door slamming 20 feet away.
Flight testing is expected to begin in 2022, and community overflight testing in 2024. If it goes well, data could be released to regulators as early as 2027.
