‘New Concorde’ to break sound barrier today in big step back to supersonic commercial flights A new plane company plans to go supersonic today, potentially opening a new chapter in the story of ultra-highspeed commercial aviation.
Boom Supersonic plans to break the sound barrier during a test flight this morning, with the flight due to be streamed live online.
The Colorado-based company is launching its XB-1 test plane from California's Mojave Air and Space Port today at around 4pm GMT, with the sound barrier breaking roughly 25 minutes later.
The XB-1 is smaller version of the eventual plane that the company plans to use for supersonic commercial aviation, called Overture.
Typical commercial jets may fly around 300 miles an hour slower than the 760mph needed to break the sound barrier, but they tend to be much more fuel-efficient.
