X-59: NASA’s quest to build a ‘quiet’ supersonic plane

(CNN) — If you’ve heard a sonic boom recently, you probably remember it. The loud, explosion-like bang — caused by a plane flying faster than the speed of sound — can be startling, and even crack windows.

Now, NASA is working to change those regulations by transforming the boom into a “thump,” paving the way for a new generation of quieter supersonic aircraft. The agency is doing so through a program called Quesst — for “Quiet SuperSonic Technology” — which is the result of decades of research and is centered around a new aircraft called the X-59.

Distant thunder

“It will be significantly quieter than Concorde or any other supersonic aircraft that exist today,” says Craig Nickol, project manager of the Quesst program at NASA. “It’s extremely long and thin: It’s almost 100 feet long (30.5 meters), but has a wingspan of only about 29 feet. The nose is a distinguishing feature on this aircraft: it’s about a third of the length.”

The sleek shape plays a key role in making the aircraft much quieter when traveling supersonically.

But how does a sonic boom happen? When an aircraft travels at subsonic speeds, the sound waves that it normally creates can travel in all directions; at supersonic speeds, however, the aircraft will leave its own sound behind and the sound waves will compress and coalesce into a single shockwave that originates at the nose and ends at the tail.

When this highly compressed shockwave meets a human ear, it produces a loud boom, which does not occur when the plane…