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X-59 QueSST: Next Gen Supersonic Flight is Here

by admin February 19, 2022, 11:30 am 4.5k Views 1 Comment

X-59 QueSST Image courtesy of Lockheed Martin

Supersonic flight is nothing new to aviation. We broke the sound barrier years ago with the Bell X-1 piloted by the legendary US Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager. That was way back in 1947. The X-1 was basically a missile with wings. And when it broke the sound barrier it created what is called an N-wave sonic boom. This produces an SPL of 200 decibels with front shock energy in excess of 100 megawatts. And on traditional aircraft, this explosion happens twice when Mach 1, or 761 mph at sea level, is reached. A double boom is heard that is loud, startling, and can be damaging to people and structures on the ground.

A British Airways Concorde. These aircraft where as loud as they are large, which is “very” on both accounts.

The Concorde

This is why supersonic flight over populated areas is not an FAA approved venture. Back in the 1970’s there was a massive supersonic aircraft that entered into commercial service. It was called the Concorde. It was a joint venture between France and Britain and it flew from 1976 till 2003. You could fly the standard 8 hour trip from New York to London in just under 3 and a half hours on this massive aircraft. Service ceased in 2003 due to cost over runs and the expensive ticket. It cost about $13,000 in 2020 dollars to fly round trip across the pond in 1997. When you have an expensive ticket and a flight plan limited to only over the water due to the sonic boom, your business growth opportunities are severely retarded.

QueSST

Due to these limitations, NASA in Cooperation with Lockheed Martin began developing the X-59 QueSST. The acronym stands for Quiet Super Sonic Technology. And this oddly designed aircraft finally accomplishes this feet, theoretically. They have yet to fly this aircraft, but have been testing the engines and fuel at the Fort Worth, Texas Lockheed Martin plant. The idea is to take this craft up above populated areas and test out if its quiet sonic pop is tolerable to folks in populated areas. My guess is the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex will be the test bed.

The Design that Does It

The measurements of this strangely sleek beauty of an aircraft. Image courtesy of Lockheed Martin.

As you can see this aircrafts design is odd at best. It has a flat nose, like a duck. They “distributed the width of this airplane along its entire length,” according to Eric Schrock, the project manager for the Lockheed Skunk Works team. There is no canopy either. This cuts down the surfaces that the shock wave of the sonic boom can form upon. Because the pilot cannot see over the nose of the aircraft, he or she flys through a computer generated image. They even reduced the lift on the exterior surfaces to decrease shock wave power. All in all the advanced design is able to cut down the 200 DB explosion of a traditional sonic boom sound wave down to a mere 75 DB. This is basically the sound of a car door closing from about 15 yards or so.

Cheap Revolutionary Advancement

The hope is that this aircraft will usher in a new era of commercial super sonic flight across the world. Imagine traditional air travel taking less than half the time, if not even faster. And the best part about this technology is that it doesn’t require some fancy new and expensive engine or power source. It is merely new design specifications that allow for this performance. And if you look at the X-59 from the inside out, almost everything other than the body, is a borrowed system from other existing aircraft. All of that means cheaper ticket prices off the bat when this finally goes commercial, which is the reported goal. As long as the FAA is cool with it.

Military Super Sonic Flight

The SR-71 Blackbird. I wonder what a QueSST design overhaul would do on this baby? I’m sure NASA already does.

However, this is being taken on by NASA and the Skunk Works team at Lockheed Martin. This technology has more than just commercial applications. The benefit for supersonic flight militarily is the ability to not be heard when in bound to a target. However, outbound, you are as loud as they come with the “boom carpet” of a continuous sonic boom laid conically behind the aircraft allowing for easy visual, auditory, and sensor tracking. I imagine this is not the most favorable way to leave a hostile area, with a constant alerting trail leading to you. As if the engines weren’t loud enough?

Advanced Military Applications

Or what about a QueSST design overhaul on THIS baby!? Now that’s an idea. Which again, I’m sure they are hip deep in this project already.

But imagine if that was negated by a QueSST capable stealth aircraft. You could have zero noise in bound to target, and only the sound of the engines outbound, without the easily identifiable boom carpet spreading out symmetrically across the flight path. And that’s if you use standard engines. That would make for one deadly and highly survivable aircraft. Potentially immune to most ground based Anti Aircraft systems as well. I’m sure the eggheads over at NASA and Lockheed are way ahead of me on this one. I just hope a QueSST capable military attack aircraft doesn’t ever get fitted with an ALIAS system. Talk about a fast and deadly robot! And if it ever turns on it’s master, it would be one difficult fly to swat.