NASA captures XB-1’s supersonic shockwave as it breaks the sound barrier
US company Boom Supersonic collaborated with NASA to obtain specialized photographs of the supersonic test.
An XB-1 aircraft’s shock waves created during a supersonic flight have been captured using specialized ground-based photography.
January saw XB-1 make history as the first privately developed civil supersonic aircraft to break the sound barrier in the United States.
On February 10th, it achieved another successful supersonic flight.
US company Boom Supersonic collaborated with NASA on the second flight to obtain specialized photographs of the supersonic test.
A ground-based NASA team used Schlieren photography to capture and visualize the shock waves created by XB-1’s supersonic flight.
NASA also gathered acoustic data from XB-1’s flight. Interestingly, the analysis showed that no sonic boom was audible on the ground during the supersonic flight.
“This image makes the invisible visible—the first American-made civil supersonic jet breaking the sound barrier. Thanks to Geppetto’s [pilot] exceptional flying and our partnership with NASA, we were able to capture this iconic image,” said Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic.
“We also confirmed that XB-1 made no audible sonic boom, which paves the way for coast-to-coast flights up to 50% faster,” Scholl added.