WHAT A RIDE: NASA’s ‘quiet’ X-59 supersonic plane is coming together as space agency chases faster flight. “NASA hopes the X-59 could pave the way for a new era of supersonic travel that could see people zoom across continents in half the time it currently takes. After the plane takes to the sky for the first time probably at the end of next year, the space agency will run an extensive test campaign that will see X-59 fly over selected communities in the U.S. After each flight, local residents will be asked to answer questions about how much they had noticed the re-engineered supersonic sound.”