No boom?

[George K]

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-10-nasa-poised-barrier-sonic-boom.html

Through Quesst, NASA plans to demonstrate the X-59 can fly faster than sound without generating the typically loud sonic booms that led to supersonic flight over land being banned in 1973.

The plan includes flying the X-59 over several communities to survey how people react to the quieter sonic "thump" it produces—if they hear anything at all. Their responses will be shared with regulators who will then consider writing new rules to lift the ban.

And when that happens it will mark another historic milestone in flight, potentially opening a new era in air travel, where airline passengers might hop on a supersonic jet at breakfast time in Los Angeles to make a lunchtime reservation in New York City.

There's an old joke about how the X-1 broke the sound barrier and NASA has been trying to fix it ever since.

[Mik]

I grew up pretty close (25 miles) from Wright Patterson AFB. Used to hear sonic booms a lot.