Supersonic

The rebirth of commercial supersonic flight has kind of, sort of come to pass as Dawn Aerospace announces that its 16-ft (4.8-m) Mk-II Aurora rocket-powered aircraft broke the sound barrier with a speed of Mach 1.1 on November 12, 2024.

Astro Mechanica is an aerospace startup developing what it calls a "turboelectric adaptive engine", efficient for both subsonic and supersonic flight ... using electric car motor technology. And the suck-squeeze-bang-blow works.

Another example of how the bleeding edge aerospace sector is going through a massive shakeup has surfaced as civilian supersonic startup Exosonic has announced that it is going out of business after being unable to raise needed funding.

Boom's XB-1 supersonic jet took its fifth test flight last week setting a few new records. The XB-1 is the one-third scale platform that Boom is using for its eventual Overture program aiming to bring back commercial supersonic passenger flight.

Boom Supersonic has completed the second test flight of its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator. On August 26, 2024, the prototype aircraft took off with Chief Test Pilot Tristan Brandenburg at the controls for a 15-minute flight at Mojave, California.

Aerospace startup Dawn Aerospace has made a major advance in its push to create a highly reusable spaceplane. The latest test flight reached transonic speeds of Mach 0.92 and an altitude of 50,000 ft (15,000 m), or 3 times and 5 times, respectively, better than before.

The Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane took to the skies last year for its maiden flight with a rocket engine. Now Dawn Aerospace has been give the official nod from New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority to undertake test flights at unlimited speeds.

Boom has been given permission to go supersonic by the US FAA. The first-ever Special Flight Authorization (SFA) to Exceed Mach means the company's XB-1 prototype will be allowed to break the sound barrier during its test flights.

A supersonic drone that will be propelled by a revolutionary new engine has taken to the skies for the first time. When Venus Aerospace's aircraft does go supersonic on a later date, it will be powered by a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE).

The first private supersonic aircraft since Concorde retired two decades ago has successfully taken to the skies. On March 22, Boom's XB-1 supersonic demonstrator completed its maiden flight at the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California.

In a bid to outdo the world speed record of the famous Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spyplane, aerospace technology company Hermeus has completed ground testing of its first fully-integrated prototype vehicle called Quarterhorse Mark 0.

With the usual ballyhoo, NASA and Lockheed Martin have rolled out the X-59 supersonic aircraft today. In a ceremony at the famous Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, the experimental plane was introduced to the public before a party of dignitaries.