Traveling from New York to London in less than three hours seems like a dream; But a new project led by NASA and several companies might not make it that far from reality.
A study by the US space agency found that there is huge potential for the introduction of supersonic passenger flights on at least 50 routes on the planet.
Traveling from New York to London in about three hours seems like a dream; But a new project spearheaded by the US space agency and several companies might not make it that far from reality.
Speaking of supersonic travel, let’s return to the story of the Concorde, an airplane that revolutionized the airline industry in the 1970s. However, this aircraft was withdrawn from service in 2003 due to high operating costs, a limited number of aircraft and their quality of contamination.
Since then, new technologies and proposals to build aircraft that reduce flight duration while being more sustainable have been developed.
NASA was studying the possibility of setting up some routes with aircraft that could fly at speeds of Mach 2 and Mach 4 (between 1,535 and 3,045 miles per hour at sea level).
Commercial aircraft currently fly at about 600 miles per hour; Therefore, the proposal to revive supersonic flight around the planet would be quite ambitious and several companies have joined the idea.
NASA believes there is potential to revive supersonic flight on the planet. Photo: NASA/Boeing
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In this way, the flight from New York to London would be four times faster if there were a route with supersonic flights.
“Because the United States and other nations ban overland supersonic flights, study results included transoceanic travel; including high-volume routes across the North Atlantic and Pacific,” NASA said.
The return of supersonic aircraft
One of the main challenges in the development of this type of aircraft will be the operating costs and in particular the reduction of the sonic boom that occurs when the speed of sound is exceeded; as well as safety and efficiency aspects.
The space agency experiments with its X-59 supersonic aircraft as part of the Questt mission; with which she wants to gain new safety-related knowledge that will contribute to the revival of supersonic flights.
NASA Hypersonic Technology Project Manager Mary Jo Long-Davis stressed that this type of project will provide a roadmap for the future of aviation.
“We are collectively aware of the need to consider safety, efficiency, economic and social aspects. It’s important to innovate responsibly to provide benefits to travelers and not harm the environment,” Long-Davis said.
In the future, supersonic aircraft could again become protagonists of the planet’s airspace; Therefore, it is possible that they will take to the skies again, drastically reducing flight times between cities.
