Working in the London office at noon and eating at home in New York at night - for many, it is still just a dream. But nowadays people are making the impossible possible, so why not cut the barrier to travel faster than supersonic or sound? It's been almost 50 years, how many attempts have been made? How many countries have shown the light of hope by building new supersonic aircraft? But every time in a few days, everyone's dreams have been shattered.
How long will people wait? Will the current generation be able to board supersonic aircraft? Although the answer is still not 'yes,' there is a new light of hope. Last week, the US space agency NASA and the space travel agency Virgin Galactic reached an agreement to build a capable supersonic spacecraft.
Source: [Newshub](https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/travel/2019/02/new-supersonic-jet-could-halve-normal-flying-time.html)
Under the agreement, Virgin Galactic will share their expert knowledge and equipment with NASA. James Kenyon, director of NASA's Advanced Air Vehicle Program, said in a statement that Virgin Galactic engineers would monitor the technology developed over the past 50 years to build a new commercial aircraft.
George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said in an interview with the media that his company is in an excellent position to lead the new endeavor to make the supersonic trip a success. Because, Galactic is the only commercial company flying faster than the Mac 1 (speed of sound, about 1,234 kilometers per hour).
Rockets and airplanes are two completely different technologies. But according to Whitesides, Virgin Galactic has experience in both cases. The company's engineers are thinking of a 50- to 200-seat next-generation supersonic airliner. However, the company is still thinking about the price of tickets for the flight. History testifies that it will not be very affordable.
Attempts to supersonic travel at a glance
The Concorde
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Source: Wikiwand
The most notable for supersonic travel is The European Concorde. It could cross the Atlantic Ocean in just three hours, which is about half of standard air travel. At the time, the $10000 Concorde trip was a symbol of luxury.
But the superjet consumed vast amounts of fuel, and its engine sound echoed sharply on the ground. After the death of 113 riders in an accident in 2000, the public's addiction to it began to decline. Besides, various mechanical faults gradually began to appear. British Airways and Air France operated Concorde commercially. However, due to declining demand and non-profitability, the two companies finally stopped flying in 2003.
Concordesky: Tupolev II-144
Source: [IFN](https://www.ifn.news/posts/the-tupolev-tu-144-first-flew-50-years-ago/)
The Soviet Union built its own supersonic aircraft, the Tupolev II-144, known in the Western world as the Concordesky.
The Russian aircraft was both larger in size and speed than the European Concorde. It was first shown at the Paris Air Show in 1971. But two years later the plane crashed while performing at the same event. Six riders and eight others on the ground were killed.
In this accident, the work of upgrading the plane was a bit slow. In 1977, it started full-fledged commercial flights. However, the noise of the jet engine and air conditioning system of the aircraft was much higher than usual, so it carried more cargo than passengers.
Only six months later, Concordeski's commercial flight was canceled. In 1984, Russia completely stopped this program.
In 1993, Russia and the United States began joint research on supersonic aircraft. After that, several test flights were operated but in the end, they decided that the economically unprofitable aircraft would no longer be operated.
SST: Boeing 2807
Source: [nbcnews](https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/boeing-s-planned-hypersonic-airliner-could-fly-nyc-london-two-ncna887111)
In 1963, the US government announced a program to build its supersonic aircraft, called American Supersonic Transport or SST.
As part of the study, more than 1,200 jets flew over Oklahoma in just six months to test the noise effects of supersonic engines in urban areas. At the time, researchers claimed, controlled flight operations would not damage the installation. But homeowners in the city said the sound of warplanes shattered windowpanes and plastered walls. At the end of the year, the amount of compensation paid to Oklahoma residents was about $123000.
From the beginning, there has been controversy over the environmental impact and economic success of Sonic Boom. Finally, in 1971, the United States stopped the program altogether.
The X-30 space plane
Source: [Pinterest](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/463448617886003356/)
The United States launched its most ambitious project with supersonic aircraft in the 1980s, the X-30 Project. The goal was to build an airplane that would fly several times faster than sound in the air, even in space at Mach 25 speed.
However, commercial organizations have not shown much interest in it. Moreover, its manufacturers were also struggling to solve technical problems. Finally, in 1994, the US Congress stopped funding the project.
NASA's High-Speed Civil Transport
Source: [Nasa](https://www.nasa.gov/langley/100/high-speed-civil-transport-research-at-nasa-langley/)
In the early nineties, NASA and a group of their commercial partners took the initiative to build a supersonic jet that could fly with more than three hundred passengers at a speed of 1,500 miles per hour. Again, the ticket price will be the same as for slower planes.
However, the researchers were in trouble to build an environmentally acceptable and economically viable supersonic aircraft. Due to the supersonic boom, it was not possible to move over its inhabited areas. Moreover, the project failed to attract the attention of enough investors in the private sector.
XCOR lynx
Source: [CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/08/politics/elon-musk-ash-carter-pentagon/index.html)
XCOR, a California-based company, began research on its space tourism plane, Lynx. They also wanted to build an aircraft using powerful technology that could take passengers around half the world in just two hours.
The company also built a prototype of it. The aircraft, dubbed the EZ-Rocket, operated several test flights. However, financially, the institution could not continue research. XCOR went bankrupt in 2017.
Rocketplane XP
Source: [SpaceNews](https://spacenews.com/what-the-hell-happened-the-rise-and-fall-of-suborbital-space-tourism-companies/)
The Oklahoma-based company began the project with the hope of building passenger aircraft using rocketplane rocket engines. However, they have not been able to attract many investors. The organization was in even greater danger, especially when an agreement with NASA was canceled in 2000. Rocketplane went bankrupt in just ten years.
Original Content by @pitboy
Read also: Greek Mythology to the Wright Brothers: Chronicles of human conquest
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