Breakfast in New York, midmorning snack in London.
Taxi tests are underway on a highly anticipated supersonic plane designed to quietly break the sound barrier — and slash flight time between New York and London in half.
The X-59 jet, dubbed the “son of Concorde,” is one step closer to takeoff after the experimental aircraft taxied on a California runway at low speed using its own power for the first time on July 10, NASA said in a press release.
The ground maneuvers at the US Air Force’s Plant 42 in Palmdale mark the final series of trials for the 100-foot-long, 30-foot-wide jet before its maiden voyage, which is slated for sometime this year, according to the space agency.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft taxiing on a runway. Youtube/NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center
“Over the coming weeks, the aircraft will gradually increase its