NASA and JAXA team up for silent supersonic aircraft

William Atkins
Saturday, 10 May 2008 03:22

Science - Space

In the past, sonic booms have been a barrier for many applications of supersonic flight due to their adverse effect on humans, animals, and structures.

They cause noise pollution on the surface of the Earth (loud booms) and are also capable of producing mechanical damage.

The Concorde supersonic aircraft was one example of an aircraft that flew at supersonic speeds—it flew just over Mach 2 under normal conditions. The craft was restricted from flying over many populated land areas because of the sonic booms they produced. The two fleets of Concorde aircraft are now retired. They were flown by the French and British until 2003.

Thus, to solve the problem of sonic booms on supersonic aircraft, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are teaming up to conduct research on the modeling of sonic booms.

Their research hopefully will produce supersonic aircraft that are quiet enough to fly over populated land areas without causing significant noise disturbances and mechanical damage. If successful, a supersonic aircraft could eventually be developed that could fly at Mach 2 between Tokyo, Japan, and Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. in about five hours.

One such “silent supersonic aircraft” project in works now is Japan’s Silent Supersonic Technology Demonstration (OOTD) program. It intends to reduce sonic boom intensities by 50%.