The future of supersonic transport
Matthew Wu
Introduction
The Concorde, the first supersonic passenger aircraft, 1 developed by the French and British, 2 took flight in 1973. Not only is it an engineering marvel, but it also redefined luxurious travel. Although the Soviets first flew their Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic jet in 1968, 3 Concorde’s success, significance and impact are far beyond Tupolev’s. After 30 years of flying, on 24 th October 2003, 4 the last Concorde passenger flight took off, ending the era of supersonic transport. Supersonic transport (SST) is defined as an aircraft capable of operating at a speed greater than the speed of sound, i.e. Mach 1.0, or 332 m/s, or 1,195 km/h. 5 While the last supersonic passenger jet took off decades ago, in recent years, more and more start-up companies are intending to redevelop SST. Boom Technology is currently developing the Overture Aircraft, a supersonic passenger aircraft with a speed reaching Mach 1.7, 6 which is twice as fast as a passenger aircraft, 7 aiming to start flights from 2026. Another company, Exosonic, is aiming to build a supersonic aircraft which could solve the problem of loud ‘sonic boom’ – the main reason supersonic flights are banned in many countries. 8 Meanwhile, United Airlines, 9 American Airlines 10 and Japan Airlines 11 have either invested billions of dollars in the development phase or has already placed tens of orders of the Overture aircraft. It seems that airlines are extremely interested, and are very confident in the future development of SST : ‘W e are excited about how Boom will shape the future of travel both for our company and our customers, ’ says 1 The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica , s.v. ‘supersonic flight,’ last modified July 27, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/technology/supersonic-flight. 2 The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica , s.v. ‘ Concorde, ’ last modified September 15, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/technology/Concorde. 3 ‘ Tupolev TU-144, ’ Technik Museum Sinsheim, accessed August 21, 2022, https://sinsheim.technik- museum.de/en/tupolev-tu-144. 4 ‘ Celebrating Concorde, ’ British Airways, accessed August 21, 2022, https://www.britishairways.com/en- gb/information/about-ba/history-and-heritage/celebrating-concorde. 5 ‘ Fastest Fighter Jet, ’ Jetify, accessed August 21, 2022, https://www.flyjetify.com/fastest-fighter-jet. 6 ‘ Overture, ’ Boom, accessed August 21, 2022, https://boomsupersonic.com/overture. 7 Justin Bachman, ‘ United Bets on Supersonic Future With $3 Billion Boom Jet Order, ’ Bloomberg , June 3, 2021, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-03/united-bets-on-supersonic-future-with-3-billion- boom-jet-order#xj4y7vzkg. 8 The company has claimed that the technology will allow them to soften the sonic boom to a level quieter than traffic; see ‘Low Boom,’ Exosonic, accessed Au gust 21, 2022, https://www.exosonic.com/design-tech. 9 Andrew J. Hawkins, ‘ United Airlines is buying 15 supersonic aircraft from Boom Supersonic, ’ Verge , June 3, 2021, https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/3/22497462/united-airlines-boom-supersonic-deal-overture-jets. 10 Thomas Pallini & Taylor Rains, ‘ American has ordered 20 Boom Overture supersonic jets and is set to become the largest customer of the ultra-fast plane, ’ Insider , August 16, 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/meet- overture-the-boom-supersonic-aircraft-that-united-just-ordered-2021-6?r=US&IR=T. 11 Boom, ‘ Japan Airlines and Boom announce strategic partnership for supersonic air travel, ’ Boom , December 5, 2017, https://boomsupersonic.com/news/post/our-partnership-with-japan-airlines.
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