Next Generation Supersonic Transport
Encyclopedia
The Next Generation Supersonic Transport is an SST being developed by the Japanese Space Agency JAXA. By comparison to the Aérospatiale-BAC SST Concorde
, the new design will carry three times the passengers (300), fly at roughly the same speed (Mach 2), and have twice the range. The goal is to achieve a ticket price comparable to that of subsonic business class. JAXA expects to launch the plane by 2015. An 11.5-meter prototype was tested on October 10, 2005.
One of the most crucial factors in the commercial viability of a supersonic transport
is the strength of the sonic boom
it generates. The boom created by Concorde was powerful enough to prevent the aircraft from flying supersonic over land, thus eliminating many possible passenger routes (and contributing to the cancellation of Concorde's American rival, the Boeing 2707
). Since the 1960s however, a number of techniques have been developed that may reduce the effect (see the sonic boom
article). On May 9, 2008, it was announced that JAXA would collaborate with NASA to conduct joint research on Sonic Boom Modeling..
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
, the new design will carry three times the passengers (300), fly at roughly the same speed (Mach 2), and have twice the range. The goal is to achieve a ticket price comparable to that of subsonic business class. JAXA expects to launch the plane by 2015. An 11.5-meter prototype was tested on October 10, 2005.
One of the most crucial factors in the commercial viability of a supersonic transport
Supersonic transport
A supersonic transport is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. The only SSTs to see regular service to date have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 with its last ever...
is the strength of the sonic boom
Sonic boom
A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by an object traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding much like an explosion...
it generates. The boom created by Concorde was powerful enough to prevent the aircraft from flying supersonic over land, thus eliminating many possible passenger routes (and contributing to the cancellation of Concorde's American rival, the Boeing 2707
Boeing 2707
The Boeing 2707 was developed as the first American supersonic transport . After winning a competition for a government-funded contract to build an American SST, Boeing began development at its facilities in Seattle, Washington...
). Since the 1960s however, a number of techniques have been developed that may reduce the effect (see the sonic boom
Sonic boom
A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by an object traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding much like an explosion...
article). On May 9, 2008, it was announced that JAXA would collaborate with NASA to conduct joint research on Sonic Boom Modeling..