Specialized photography from NASA shows the shock waves as Boom's supersonic
demonstrator breaks the sound barrier
Boom confirms no sonic boom reached the ground during XB-1 demonstrator's
supersonic flights
MOJAVE, Calif. and DENVER, March 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Boom Supersonic, the company building the world's fastest airliner, Overture, partnered with NASA to capture specialized photography during supersonic flight tests of its demonstrator aircraft, XB-1. During XB-1's second supersonic flight on February 10, 2025, NASA teams on the ground used Schlieren photography, a technique to visualize the shock waves resulting from XB-1 pushing through the air at supersonic speeds. In January, XB-1 became the first independently developed jet to fly faster than the speed of sound, and the first civil supersonic jet built in America.
NASA teams also collected data on XB-1's acoustic signature at one location on the flight route. Boom analysis found that no audible sonic boom reached the ground as the jet flew at supersonic speeds.
"This image makes the invisible visible-the first American made civil supersonic jet breaking the sound barrier. Thanks to Geppetto's 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."
Taking Schlieren images requires ideal conditions and timing, and exceptional flying by the pilot. Boom Chief Test Pilot Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenburg positioned XB-1 at an exact time in a precise location over the Mojave Desert to enable NASA to photograph XB-1 flying in front of the sun, documenting the changing air density around the aircraft at speeds exceeding Mach 1.
Using waypoints computed by NASA, the XB-1 team rapidly developed avionics software to guide the pilot to the specific points in space that XB-1 would have to fly through in order to eclipse the sun. To capture the imagery, NASA used ground telescopes with special filters that detect air distortions, such as shock waves, around the supersonic aircraft.
Efforts conducted by both NASA and Boom while modeling the expected flight parameters of XB-1's supersonic flights estimated a very high likelihood of operating at Mach cutoff, in which a sonic boom refracts in the atmosphere and never reaches the ground. This effect is achieved by breaking the sound barrier at a high enough altitude, with exact speeds varying based on atmospheric conditions.
Sonic boom data was captured with microphones and sound pressure level recording devices positioned in limited strategic locations in relation to the flight path. Boom's assessment of this type of data from XB-1's supersonic flights demonstrates that supersonic flight without the disturbance of a sonic boom is possible. This aligns with research previously conducted by NASA in efforts to bring supersonic commercial travel to the public.
On February 10, Boom announced that it will use data the company collected from XB-1's test flight program to bring Boomless Cruise to its supersonic airliner, Overture. Boomless Cruise enables Overture to fly at speeds up to Mach 1.3 without an audible boom, reducing U.S. coast-to-coast flight times by up to 90 minutes.
XB-1's second supersonic flight marked the conclusion of its groundbreaking flight test program, and the historic aircraft will now return to her birthplace in Denver, Colorado. Boom will now focus its full efforts on scaling XB-1 learnings and technology to build the Overture supersonic airliner, which already has 130 orders and pre-orders from United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines. In 2024, Boom completed construction on the Overture Superfactory in Greensboro, North Carolina, which will scale to produce 66 Overture aircraft per year.
For more information about XB-1, please visit: https://boomsupersonic.com/xb-1
For more information about Overture, please visit: https://boomsupersonic.com/overture
For more information about Boomless Cruise, please visit: https://boomsupersonic.com/boomless-cruise
About Boom Supersonic
Boom Supersonic's mission is to make the world dramatically more accessible through flights that are faster, more affordable, more convenient, and more sustainable.
Boom is developing Overture, the world's fastest airliner, optimized for speed, safety, and sustainability. Overture will fly at twice the speed of today's airliners and is optimized to run on up to 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Overture's order book stands at 130 aircraft, including orders and pre-orders from American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines. Boom is working with Northrop Grumman for government and defense applications of Overture. Suppliers and partners collaborating with Boom on the Overture program include Aernnova, Aciturri, Collins Aerospace, Eaton, Honeywell, Latecoere, Leonardo, Safran Landing Systems, Universal Avionics, and the United States Air Force.
Symphony is the purpose-built turbofan engine that will enable supersonic flight. The Boom-developed engine is supported by world-class suppliers including Florida Turbine Technologies (FTT), a Kratos company, Colibrium Additive, and StandardAero.
XB-1 is Boom's technology demonstrator aircraft and the world's first independently developed supersonic jet. The aircraft first took flight in Mojave, CA in March 2024 and completed a series of flight tests, culminating in its first supersonic flight in January 2025. For more information, visit https://boomsupersonic.com.
Photos and video available at https://boomsupersonic.com/newsroom/media-assets
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