NASA Is Bringing Supersonic Planes BACK

When can you and I fly faster than sound?
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Twenty years ago, you could fly in a plane going FASTER THAN SOUND. The famous Concorde supersonic plane could get from New York to London in 3 and a half hours! It flew at an altitude so high you could see the curve of the earth, all while popping champagne. But then… these planes stopped flying, and we never made any more like them. Now, New York to London takes 7 hours.

But why? What happened to supersonic planes? And more importantly… can we bring them BACK? If you ask NASA, the answer is yes. We got to go see the brand new experimental X-59 plane they’re building. Here’s what’s really huge if true: If NASA succeeds, it could bring back commercial supersonic flight, and allow you and I to fly faster than sound.

If you want to know more about the rise and fall of the Concorde, I highly recommend Concorde Captain Mike Bannister’s book: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/44754...

Chapters:
00:00 What happened to supersonic planes?
01:45 How fast is supersonic?
02:21 What is NASA’s X-59 plane?
03:23 How does a supersonic plane work?
05:30 What is a sonic boom?
06:50 How loud is a sonic boom?
07:20 What happened to the Concorde?
08:58 How does the X-59 work?
10:04 How do we bring back supersonic planes?
11:12 When can I fly supersonic?
13:44 Why is supersonic flight huge if true?
15:00 Something extra :)

Additional reading and watching:
- “Concorde” by Captain Mike Bannister: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/44754...
- NASA’s X-59 Quesst Mission: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/quesst/
- Going Supersonic with Smarter Every Day:    • GOING SUPERSONIC with U.S. Air Force ...  
- This plane could cross the Atlantic in 3.5 hours. Why did it fail? By Phil Edwards at Vox:    • This plane could cross the Atlantic i...  
- The sonic boom problem, TED-Ed:    • The sonic boom problem - Katerina Kaouri  
- Supersonic Planes Are Coming Back, by Wendover Productions:    • Supersonic Planes are Coming Back (An...  
- The Insane Engineering of the Concorde, by Real Engineering:    • The Insane Engineering of the Concorde  
- Exclusive look at NASA's low-boom supersonic plane, by CNET:    • Exclusive look at NASA's low-boom sup...  

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.

You can find me on TikTok here for short, fun tech explainers:   / cleoabram  
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Camera: Sony A7SIII
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Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub...

—
Welcome to the joke down low:

What happens to a bad airplane joke?
It doesn’t land.

Use the word “land” in a comment to tell me you’re a real one who read to the end… :)