NASAin collaboration with Lockheed Martindevelops the X-59 QueSST (Quiet SuperSonic Technology), an experimental supersonic aircraft designed to mitigate sonic booms. This project aims to revolutionize air transport by allowing faster flights without the noise pollution usually associated with breaking the sound barrier.
An innovative design to reduce sonic booms
The X-59 is distinguished by its slender silhouette and particularly long and tapered nose, measuring almost 11.5 meters over a total length of 30.4 meters. This specific design aims to modify the formation of shock waves when moving to supersonic speeds, distributing these waves in such a way as to prevent them from converging into a powerful sonic boom. Thus, the noise perceived on the ground would be reduced to a level comparable to that of a car door slamming, i.e. approximately 75 decibels.
To achieve this objective, engineers also positioned the engine above the fuselage and designed a perfectly smooth underside of the aircraft, thus minimizing the aerodynamic disturbances responsible for shock waves. Additionally, the absence of a traditional windshield has led to the integration of a external vision system (XVS)composed of high-resolution cameras transmitting images in real time to a 4K screen in the cockpit, offering the pilot a clear view despite the long nose of the aircraft.
Promising supersonic performance
The X-59 is designed to fly at a maximum speed of Mach 1,42or approximately 1,490 km/hat an altitude of 17,000 meters. Powered by a motor General Electric F414-GE-100similar to that used on the F/A-18 fighters, the aircraft benefits from sufficient thrust to achieve and maintain supersonic speeds while maintaining a minimal noise signature.
Using proven components, such as the F-16 landing gear and the T-38 cockpit, helps reduce development costs while ensuring increased reliability. This pragmatic approach also facilitates the integration of the various innovative technologies necessary to achieve the acoustic objectives of the project.
A revolution in commercial air transport
One of the main obstacles to the development of supersonic commercial aviation is strict regulations prohibiting supersonic flights over populated areas, due to noise pollution caused by sonic booms. By demonstrating the X-59’s ability to fly at supersonic speeds while producing minimal noise, NASA hopes to provide regulators with evidence to support reconsideration of these bans.
Flight tests of the X-59, planned for the coming months, will be crucial to collecting data on the aircraft’s acoustic performance. This information will make it possible to assess the social acceptability of quiet supersonic flights and could lead to a modification of current standards, thus paving the way for a new generation of commercial aircraft that are faster and respectful of the noise environment.
