I HOPE YOU WEREN’T EXPECTING AN EARTH-SHATTERING KABOOM: NASA’s X-59 ‘quiet’ supersonic jet makes historic 1st flight. “The X-59 was designed from the wheels up to be able to fly faster than the speed of sound without producing loud sonic booms, which can be disruptive to people on the ground below. Because of those booms, supersonic flight has been prohibited above land within a certain distance of the U.S. since 1973.”