NASA says it will build a quieter supersonic passenger jet

US aerospace group Lockheed Martin won a contract for a research besides NASA to work on designing a quieter supersonic passenger airliner. Preliminary to starting the work for the project, Lockheed Martin will receive about 20 million dollars for 17 months, according to AFP quoting a statement issued Monday by the US space agency. This contract is a first step towards a possible return of the supersonic for the passenger, but quieter and more economical says NASA making an apparent reference to the Concorde supersonic which was noisy and expensive, and whose last flight took place in 2003 .

In the aviation inovation industry, NASA intends for the next 10 years to reduce fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and noise and innovations in aircraft design that moves away from conventional forms. The team led by Lockheed Martin comprises several companies subcontracting between GE Aviation and Tri Models Inc. Once the feasibility studies will be carried out under the supervision of NASA , this will require companies to propose projects to build an experimental device that can be driven and able to fly at supersonic speeds .

According to NASA , this experimental aircraft could fly about in 2020.