sound barrier

How a Virgin Atlantic flight accidentally went faster than the speed of sound

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A Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350 – Robert Smith/MI News/NurPhoto/Getty Extremely strong winds high over the Atlantic Ocean pushed commercial flights to near record speeds this weekend, with some passenger planes recording ground speeds of more than 800 miles per hour. Eastbound planes, including a Virgin Atlantic flight from Washington DC to London, landed significantly earlier … Read more

NASA Unveils Revolutionary X-59 Questst ‘Silent’ Supersonic Jet 9 (Photos, Video)

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The X-59 is finally here. As NASA’s newest X-plane, the X-59 is designed to break the sound barrier without the thunderous sonic booms that typically occur when planes go supersonic. Instead, the Quesst will make a much quieter “thump”, similar to the sound of a car door slamming, as heard from inside. If successful, the … Read more