Is there a market for supersonic airlines? NASA thinks so
Since the dawn of the Jet Age, airline travel has evolved radically save one aspect: We still fly at around 500 mph. NASA says technology is now primed for a leap forward—to supersonic flight—cutting cross-country travel times to 2 hours or less and making a trans-Atlantic trip a matter of just a few hours. The question is whether commercial jet makers, and airlines, for that matter, will follow its lead. The Achilles heel of past supersonic flights on the now decommissioned Concorde was a neighbourhood-rattling sonic boom that led the US and other countries to ban its flight over populated areas. But now NASA and others believe airframe design has advanced to a point where the traditional sonic boom can be mitigated into something akin to a sonic soft thump, or “heartbeat”. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/imagelibrary/news/hot-topics/2016-03-04/general/is-there-a-market-for-supersonic-airlines-nasa-thinks-so
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Is there a market for supersonic airlines? NASA thinks so
Since the dawn of the Jet Age, airline travel has evolved radically save one aspect: We still fly at around 500 mph. NASA says technology is now primed for a leap forward—to supersonic flight—cutting cross-country travel times to 2 hours or less and making a trans-Atlantic trip a matter of just a few hours. The question is whether commercial jet makers, and airlines, for that matter, will follow its lead. The Achilles heel of past supersonic flights on the now decommissioned Concorde was a neighbourhood-rattling sonic boom that led the US and other countries to ban its flight over populated areas. But now NASA and others believe airframe design has advanced to a point where the traditional sonic boom can be mitigated into something akin to a sonic soft thump, or “heartbeat”. <br/>
