NASA’s X-59 takes flight: Is supersonic travel making a comeback?

A fter two decades since the Concorde’s retirement, the dream of commercial supersonic flights may finally be taking off again. In October, NASA’s experimental X-59 aircraft took to the skies for its maiden flight from Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works in California. The aircraft cruised for about an hour before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, 136 km away, marking a critical step in testing technology for quiet supersonic flight.

For decades, loud sonic booms kept supersonic aircraft grounded over land in the U.S., with a five-decade ban on non-military supersonic flights. That restriction was lifted this year through an executive order by then-President Donald Trump, opening the door for innovations like the X-59. In the UK, similar flights require approval from the Civil Aviation Author