Supersonic flight sounds great in theory, but in practice, it can lead to annoying hypersonic booms—the noise associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. The booms can be as loud as an explosion or a thunderclap.
Current FAA rules ban supersonic flight over land due to noise pollution. NASA will use the experimental X-59 to gather data in the hopes of reducing the sonic boom to a barely-audible sonic thump heard on the ground. The supersonic plane will fly over populated regions of the United States, and data will be gathered from residents about the sound the aircraft produces.
If the X-59 succeeds in its mission, commercial air travel could get a lot quicker. Dinner in Paris, anyone?
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