Guess what? NASA, the folks who send rockets into space, are thinking about something really cool! They’re pondering the idea of making a super-fast passenger jet that could zoom from New York City to London way quicker than the planes we have now.
Imagine this: the new jet could go as fast as four times the speed of today’s airplanes. That’s like lightning speed! Right now, the big planes we usually fly on go about 80% the speed of sound, which is still pretty fast, like around 600 miles per hour. But this new jet? It could hit speeds of 1,535 to 3,045 miles per hour. Whoosh!
NASA even figured out that there are about 50 routes that could use this super-fast jet. They’re thinking mostly about flying over oceans, since the rules in the U.S. and other countries don’t allow these speedy planes to fly over land.
By the way, NASA is already busy with another project called Quesst. They’re working on a special airplane that makes a sonic boom sound more like a gentle thump. It’s all part of their plan to convince the people who make the rules to let these super-fast planes fly without making too much noise.
Lori Ozoroski, who’s in charge of one of these projects, said they’re looking into all the cool technology they need and the challenges they might face to make this speedy travel a reality. They’re working with companies like Boeing and Northop Gruman Aeronautics Systems to make it happen.
Mary Jo Long-Davis, who’s also a big deal at NASA, mentioned that they want to be really smart about this. They don’t want to cause problems for the environment or for travelers. So, they’re being careful and creative to make sure this idea benefits everyone.
Isn’t it awesome that NASA is dreaming up such cool things for the future of travel? Who knows, one day we might just be hopping on a super-fast jet to get to faraway places in the blink of an eye!