NASA's supersonic 'Son of Concorde' is about to take to the skies

NASA's $247 million (£183 million) 'Son of Concorde' jet is about to take to the skies for its first supersonic test flight. Travelling at speeds up to Mach 1.6, or 1,218 miles per hour (1,960 km/h), the jet could cut the trip from London to New York to just four hours. However, unlike Concorde, NASA's experimental jet, the X-59, has been designed to replace the deafening crash of a sonic boom with a softer 'thump'. The X-59 has already undergone months of test flights since launching for the first time in October last year. Now, NASA says it is getting the plane ready to fly at faster speeds and higher altitudes, including its first test flight beyond the speed of sound.