Assembling the X-59 QueSST Wing

[Elderberry]

NASA by Yvette Smith 4/8/2020

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/assembling-the-x-59-quesst-wing

The X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology, or QueSST, wing assembly is lifted by a crane and moved to another area of the manufacturing floor in preparation for wing skin installation. The aircraft is under construction at Lockheed Martin in Palmdale, California, and will fly for the first time in 2021.

Currently, commercial planes aren't allowed to fly faster than the speed of sound over land because they would create sonic booms which are very loud and disruptive to humans and animals. The X-59 is an experimental aircraft that will eventually lead to supersonic commercial aircraft that will travel much faster than current subsonic commercial aircraft, saving people time in the air.

[Joe Wooten]

The sonic booms are not the primary reason supersonic passenger planes fail. Flying supersonic uses much more fuel and the planes are not able to carry as many passengers. I doubt tickets would be less than $1000 per passenger.