NASA recently gave Lockheed Martin 247.5-million dollars to create a supersonic plane – without the supersonic boom.
It will fly faster than the speed of sound at up to 1,000 mph, which would get passengers to their destinations in half the time it takes now. While the similar Concorde ended its flights due to the deafening sonic boom, which lead the FAA to ban most of its flights, this video explains how NASA's new jet – the "X-plane" – plans to replace the sonic boom with a "gentle thump" sound that is likened to a car door closing. Nasa plans to test-fly its new plane over "select cities" by 2022.