NASA has not given up on the dream of high-speed, transcontinental flights. This November, the agency plans to start testing the public’s reaction to the sounds of supersonic travel as they prepare to introduce the new Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator (LBFD) aircraft. This is a test vehicle for an eventual commercial aircraft that promises to get passengers from New York City to Los Angeles in less than three hours. NASA plans to conduct the tests in Galveston, Texas, and hopes to learn how the public responds to the sonic booms during what would be the flight’s ascent.
Researchers will use an F-18 fighter jet to simulate the sounds they think a supersonic flight will make. The jet will launch up into the air and then dive 49,000 feet, breaking the sound barrier during its rapid descent. NASA will use data from these test flights to develop the noise standards for future flights.
NASA plans to do multiple tests and give the information to the Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Organization so they can develop new rules by 2025 regarding the sound levels that currently prohibit supersonic flights over land.
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