Next Concorde? Nasa kickstarts 'Quesst' for new supersonic passenger jet
Source: The Guardian and agencies
Next Concorde? Nasa kickstarts 'Quesst' for new supersonic passenger jet
Lockheed Martin wins contract to carry out initial design of ‘low-boom’
aircraft that would announce its passing with a soft thump rather than
thundering roar
Staff and agencies
Tuesday 1 March 2016 01.30 GMT
Nasa has given the go-ahead for preliminary design of a “low-boom” supersonic passenger plane that could one day fill the gap left by the retirement of the Concorde jet.
Nasa’s Commercial Supersonic Technology Project had asked industry teams to submit design concepts for a test aircraft that can fly at supersonic speeds, creating a supersonic “heartbeat” – a soft thump rather than the disruptive boom currently associated with supersonic flight.
Nasa said it selected a team led by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to complete a preliminary design for Quiet Supersonic Technology (Quesst).
This is the first in a series of “X-planes” in Nasa’s New Aviation Horizons initiative, introduced in the agency’s fiscal year 2017 budget.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/mar/01/next-concorde-nasa-kickstarts-quesst-for-new-supersonic-passenger-jet
Artist's impression.