NASA plans to take the boom out of supersonic flight
NASA has completed a delicate set of flight tests to measure how modifications to an F-15 jet can affect the way shock waves form. The results could help turn sonic booms into distant rumbles.
The measurements will be used to calibrate a computer model of shock wave propagation which will be a crucial aid for engineers designing a new generation of quieter supersonic aircraft. "We're pretty close to being able to control sonic booms," says Peter Coen of NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia, principal investigator for the agency's supersonic research programme.
Shock waves form at the front and back of supersonic aircraft as they shove air out of the way. When these shock waves hit the ground, observers hear them as a single boom. Public opposition to booms has led to a ban on civilian supersonic flight over US land, and this key factor has discouraged further development of supersonic planes.
