NASA Wants to Build a ‘Quieter’ Supersonic Jet

NASA unveiled the design of a “quieter,” supersonic passenger jet that will travel at nearly the same speed as the Concorde.

The thin-nosed jet, which looks like a sleek origami airplane, is called Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) and will fly at about 1,100 mph, reports USA Today. That is 200 mph less than the Concorde, which made scheduled flights till 2003.

NASA administrator Charlie Bolden told USA Today that the jet will also sound “more like a soft thump” rather than the loud sonic boom “that currently prohibits commercial supersonic flight over land.”

If NASA manages to secure the $280 million needed for aircraft construction and flight tests, a test vehicle could be completed by the end of 2019.

[USA Today]