Houston Chronicle By Nick Powell November 5, 2018
NASA has begun a series of quiet supersonic research flights off the Texas Gulf Coast near Galveston to test how the community responds to the noise from a new experimental aircraft that could eventually cut commercial flight times by half.
The space agency on Monday began testing "quiet sonic booms" near the island community using F/A-18 jets as part of its Quiet Supersonic Flights 2018, or QSF18, campaign. The jets are flying over the Gulf of Mexico in a unique maneuver as part of a two-week project to assess public reactions to the noise.
"QSF18 is a big step in NASA's efforts to understand what is required for acceptable supersonic overland flight," said Peter Coen, NASA's commercial supersonic technology project manager, in a statement.
"This is the first time in decades that we have reached out to a large community as part of our supersonic research," Coen said. "NASA has performed similar tests at our Armstrong Flight Research Center, using similar sounds created by the same F/A-18. We've measured the noise levels and the impact on structures, as well as surveyed people for annoyance, to make certain that these tests are safe and well-planned. We greatly appreciate Galveston's interest and support."
NASA officials hope the Galveston tests will help further the agency's goal of perfecting supersonic flight — an elusive goal marred by previous efforts decades ago with the Concorde, an aircraft that could cross the Atlantic in just over three hours by traveling twice the speed of sound. It was eventually banned by federal aviation officials after residents complained about noise from the plane's sonic boom.
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https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/galveston/article/NASA-conducting-quiet-sonic-boom-tests-in-13364152.php#
