Virgin Galactic unveils Mach 3 design for supersonic passenger flights

[bostonbro]

Virgin Galactic unveils Mach 3 design for supersonic passenger flights

By Chelsea Gohd 5 hours ago

 

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Virgin Galactic announced today (Aug. 3) that they will work with Rolls Royce to create a high-speed aircraft. (Image credit: Virgin Galactic)

 

The supersonic passenger jet will be capable of traveling Mach 3 for high-speed passenger transportation. (Image credit: Virgin Galactic)

 

Virgin Galactic's supersonic transport design will carry between nine and 19 people and fly at an altitude above 60,000 feet. (Image credit: Virgin Galactic)

 

The interior cabin of the plan will be incorporate different layouts for Business or First Class seating arrangements. (Image credit: Virgin Galactic)

 

The design is aimed at "making high speed travel practical, sustainable, safe, and reliable" while also serving a customer experience. (Image credit: Virgin Galactic)

 

Virgin Galactic's concept for the supersonic plane calls for a design that can fly from existing airports and through international airspace around the world. (Image credit: Virgin Galactic)

The private spaceflight company Virgin Galactic and Rolls-Royce have teamed up to create a supersonic jet for high-speed passenger flights.  

The Spaceship Company (TSC), Virgin Galactic's aerospace-system manufacturing arm that builds the company's SpaceShipTwo space planes, is now working to develop a high-speed commercial aircraft capable of flying at Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound.

 

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Today (Aug. 3), TSC announced the completion of a mission concept review and unveiled the initial design concept for a high-speed aircraft. They also announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding with Rolls-Royce to collaborate in design and development for the craft. 

Rolls-Royce might seem like an odd choice, but the company, known for its luxury cars, previously developed the turbojet that powered the famed supersonic airliner the Concorde, which flew at Mach 2.04, or just over twice the speed of sound. 

Related: Photos: Amazing X-planes from the X-1 to XV-15

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Concorde certainly isn't the only commercial supersonic jet for TSC's ambitious aircraft to contend with. 

 

Boom Technology, which partnered with Virgin Galactic in 2017, has been developing the XB-1, their supersonic vehicle, set to debut Oct. 7. Spike Aerospace is also developing a supersonic business jet. Meanwhile, NASA and Lockheed Martin are developing the X-59 X-plane, a supersonic jet aimed at quieting sonic booms. All these projects follow in the high-speed footsteps of the Concorde, which flew from 1969 to 2003, the Soviet supersonic passenger airliner Tupolev Tu-144 flew from 1968 to 1999. 

 

TSC hopes that their vehicle will be a Mach 3 certified aircraft with delta-shaped wings able to seat between 9 and 19 passengers at a time and fly at an altitude above 60,000 feet (18,300 meters). The company also aims to have a variety of seating options, including business or first class. The high-speed craft would "would take off and land like any other passenger aircraft and be expected to integrate into existing airport infrastructure and international airspace around the world," Virgin Galactic announced in a statement today. 

 

With the mission concept review complete, TSC can now progress to the next design phase, according to the statement. 

 

"We strive to develop sustainable, cutting-edge propulsion systems for the aircraft, and we are pleased to be working with the FAA to ensure our designs can make a practical impact from the start," Virgin Galactic Chief Space Officer George Whitesides said in the statement. "We have made great progress so far, and we look forward to opening up a new frontier in high-speed travel."

Email Chelsea Gohd at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

[chittimallu_14]

doubt this will ever happen... just another prototype anthe

[sattipandu]

will only work for transoceanic flights as sonic booms over land will get this plane grounded 

also they need to divulge at what altitude will they break the mach speed.

commercial jet liners already travel  close to 0.9 mach in cruise mode when travelling over poles 

[chittimallu_14]

2 minutes ago, sattipandu said:

will only work for transoceanic flights as sonic booms over land will get this plane grounded 

also they need to divulge at what altitude will they break the mach speed.

commercial jet liners already travel  close to 0.9 mach in cruise mode when travelling over poles 

click aithe rendey route lu...

virgin atlantic from london to new york

virgin australia from sydney/melbourne to LA/SFO

[sattipandu]

3 minutes ago, chittimallu_14 said:

click aithe rendey route lu...

virgin atlantic from london to new york

virgin australia from sydney to LA/SFO

yeah most of the transatlantic flight route

trans pacific flight route

and bacha routes flying to australia from sea port cities like dubai, chinese cities and southafrica

 

[chittimallu_14]

7 minutes ago, sattipandu said:

yeah most of the transatlantic flight route

trans pacific flight route

and bacha routes flying to australia from sea port cities like dubai, chinese cities and southafrica

 

australia to dubai or china povalante so many asian countries in the middle, wont happen.. or they will have to take longer routes to avoid land most of the time..... south africa to perth is one option that might be a reality as nothing is in between but the indian ocean

There is a reason why concorde couldnt not fly anywhere else but london to NYC...  This has been a tried a tested formula, not sure why are they even attempting it or maybe this is just a PR stunt by Richard Branson to boost his company name... 

[Peter123]

time to get in to VG... 

this company has good potential to grow big.... 

[ARYA]

2 hours ago, chittimallu_14 said:

doubt this will ever happen... just another prototype anthe

saradaga oka 1k padeyu stocks meda pothe poyindi

[sattipandu]

LOL 6 yrs ago....................