New York-London in 3 hours 30 minutes, supersonic passenger planes commercialization back on track

The lownoise supersonic aircraft X59, jointly developed by NASA and Lockheed Martin, broke the sound barrier for the first time in a test flight. In this flight conducted at Edwards Air Force Base in California, USA, the X59 reached a top speed of Mach 1.1, and plans are to continue testing at higher altitudes and speeds in the future. This achievement shows that development of civilian supersonic passenger aircraft, which had once stalled after the retired Concorde, is gaining momentum again. Private companies are also conducting test flights, and as technologies to reduce noise and safety issues advance, the possibility of commercial operation around 2030 is being discussed. In the industry, it is believed that if supersonic passenger aircraft reappear in the aviation market, longdistance travel times could be greatly reduced. However, many challenges remain before actual commercialization, including technical verification, regulations, and operating costs.