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Lockheed Martin designed the X-59, the world’s quietest supersonic jet

31 points by SkyMarshal 3y ago

martinky24 3y ago
Emphasis on "designed", AFAIK nothing has been delivered nor flown.
- josefresco 3y ago
  True, but according to the article it's "close" in at least in "government contract" terms: "Currently, the X-59 is in the system checkout phase, ensuring all systems are seamlessly integrated and functional. A planned maintenance and modification stand-down was needed due to parts that took five months to arrive. This delay pushed the aircraft’s inaugural flight, initially slated for December 2023, to early 2024."
- rocket_surgeron 3y ago
  [dead]
- egberts1 3y ago
  Designed ... and flown. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/travel/article/x59-nasa-supersonic-plane-scn/index.html https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/travel/article/x59-nasa-supersonic-p...
nickdothutton 3y ago
Concorde was loud, particularly on take-off. It always caused me to look up through the sunroof of my first car as London’s orbital road runs past the end of the runway. A few seconds of noise twice per day, that’s all.
- wdfx 3y ago
  It used to fly very close to over our family house when I was growing up. At about 6pm a few times a week iirc. It was very noticeably louder than other aircraft.
jnsie 3y ago
I hope, one day, it leads to consumer benefits. And not just for the uber wealthy
ihattendorf 3y ago
> They also learned that anything that causes discontinuity in the airplane’s shape—for instance a windshield or canopy—can add to the boom effect. This led them to get rid of the windshield altogether. Instead, the X-59 uses an external vision system, which is the only advanced technology in the plane, according to Richardson. The pilot navigates using a camera, viewing the outside through a large display. This system had to undergo rigorous certification by the Federal Aviation Administration for use in the national airspace. That's interesting, piloting via external camera + display vs. windshield.
- jokoon 3y ago
  I guess the resolution of that thing must be quite high, I wonder how much it is.
  - serf 3y ago
    not that it answers your question, but the monitor is 4k which displays a stitched image from 2 cameras[0] my first thought was 'wow, must be fast.'. addendum : this link[1] mentions the use of 4K cameras. here's a nice picture of the camera array [2] p.s. the camera array looks as if it might be a non-planar FDM print, which is cool in its' own right. [0]:https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/a-look-inside-the-x-59-quesst-cockpit https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/a-look-inside-the-x-59-qu... [1]:https://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/testing-of-x-59-virtual-forward-window-successful https://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/testing-of-x-59-virtual... [2]: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/lrc-2019-h1_p_x59-080502.jpg https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/lr...

31 points by SkyMarshal 3y ago

martinky24 3y ago

Emphasis on "designed", AFAIK nothing has been delivered nor flown.

josefresco 3y ago
True, but according to the article it's "close" in at least in "government contract" terms: "Currently, the X-59 is in the system checkout phase, ensuring all systems are seamlessly integrated and functional. A planned maintenance and modification stand-down was needed due to parts that took five months to arrive. This delay pushed the aircraft’s inaugural flight, initially slated for December 2023, to early 2024."
rocket_surgeron 3y ago
[dead]
egberts1 3y ago
Designed ... and flown. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/travel/article/x59-nasa-supersonic-plane-scn/index.html https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/travel/article/x59-nasa-supersonic-p...

nickdothutton 3y ago

Concorde was loud, particularly on take-off. It always caused me to look up through the sunroof of my first car as London’s orbital road runs past the end of the runway. A few seconds of noise twice per day, that’s all.

wdfx 3y ago
It used to fly very close to over our family house when I was growing up. At about 6pm a few times a week iirc. It was very noticeably louder than other aircraft.

jnsie 3y ago

I hope, one day, it leads to consumer benefits. And not just for the uber wealthy

ihattendorf 3y ago

> They also learned that anything that causes discontinuity in the airplane’s shape—for instance a windshield or canopy—can add to the boom effect. This led them to get rid of the windshield altogether. Instead, the X-59 uses an external vision system, which is the only advanced technology in the plane, according to Richardson. The pilot navigates using a camera, viewing the outside through a large display. This system had to undergo rigorous certification by the Federal Aviation Administration for use in the national airspace. That's interesting, piloting via external camera + display vs. windshield.

jokoon 3y ago
I guess the resolution of that thing must be quite high, I wonder how much it is.
- serf 3y ago
  not that it answers your question, but the monitor is 4k which displays a stitched image from 2 cameras[0] my first thought was 'wow, must be fast.'. addendum : this link[1] mentions the use of 4K cameras. here's a nice picture of the camera array [2] p.s. the camera array looks as if it might be a non-planar FDM print, which is cool in its' own right. [0]:https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/a-look-inside-the-x-59-quesst-cockpit https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/a-look-inside-the-x-59-qu... [1]:https://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/testing-of-x-59-virtual-forward-window-successful https://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/testing-of-x-59-virtual... [2]: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/lrc-2019-h1_p_x59-080502.jpg https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/lr...