NASA Prepares for First Flight of Its New Supersonic Jet

2024 · VOA Learning English

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Transcript

1. The American space agency NASA is preparing to test a new supersonic airplane that could help establish a new generation of superfast

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2. aircraft. The new aircraft is called X-59, and it was built in partnership with American defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

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3. The experimental plane is part of a NASA project, or mission, called Quesst

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4. The mission aims to collect data in the United States on the level of noise produced by supersonic travel.

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5. The data Quesst gathers could lead U.S. officials to change rules that currently ban supersonic flights over land.

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6. NASA says the X-59 was developed to reduce the loudness of the sonic boom it produces when breaking the sound barrier to very low levels heard on the

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7. ground. A few U.S. companies are exploring ways to restart supersonic passenger travel for the first time since 2003.

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8. That is the year the Concorde aircraft stopped flying. The Concorde was the world’s first supersonic passenger jet.

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9. It was operated jointly by Britain and France. The Concorde flew at speeds more than twice the speed of sound, British Airways explained

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10. This meant it could travel from London to New York in about three-and-a-half hours. The same flight took about eight hours with normal passenger jets.

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11. The new supersonic planes being developed make less noise and use less fuel than the Concorde.

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12. But manufacturers are under pressure from environmental groups and airports to meet the same noise and carbon emission limits as traditional planes.

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13. NASA and Lockheed Martin recently showed off the X-59 plane during an event in Palmdale, California.

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14. At the ceremony, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy called the development of the supersonic aircraft a “major accomplishment

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15. She noted that members of the NASA and Lockheed Martin teams had worked hard to take the X-59 from an idea to reality “in just a few years.”

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16. Melroy added her hope that the X-59 “will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time.”

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17. NASA said in a press release that the X-59 is expected to fly at 1.4 times the speed of sound, or about 1,500 kilometers per hour.

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18. The aircraft’s design, shape and technologies will permit it to reach high speeds while producing “a quieter sonic thump the agency explained.

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19. The X-59 has not yet completed a test flight. But NASA officials have said they expect that to happen sometime this year.

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20. The team will be carrying out other tests in the coming months, including instrument experiments, fast engine runs and ground testing.

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21. Once the aircraft has been cleared to fly, it will be deployed to several cities across the U.S.

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22. to collect data on the sounds the plane produces and how people on the ground react to the noise. The data will be provided to the U.S.

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23. Federal Aviation Administration and international flight regulators

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24. The information will help regulators decide whether to change existing laws restricting supersonic flight.

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25. NASA said one of the biggest differences between the X-59 and other supersonic planes is that it has a thinner, smaller nose.

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26. The nose, which was reduced by about one-third, aims to break up shock waves that results in more intense sonic booms.

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27. The Quesst team “also designed the aircraft with its engine mounted on top and gave it a smooth underside” in an effort to reduce shock waves near the back of the plane,

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28. NASA said. Another American company developing supersonic aircraft is Boom Supersonic in Colorado.

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29. The company first showed off its experimental supersonic plane, the XB-1, in October 2020. Boom has been carrying out tests of the aircraft since then.

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30. The company says on its website that its development and testing activities during the past few years have centered on ground tests, including a series of taxi runs.

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31. In 2024, Boom said it plans to begin its “high-speed taxi testing” early in the year, while preparing for an actual flight test that could happen later in the year.

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