NASA is planning to fly its F-15B jets through supersonic shock waves in order to help test its revolutionary X-59 jet.
When aircraft break the sound barrier, they produce shock waves that reverberate through the surrounding air and produce the thunderous sonic booms typically associated with supersonic flight. The X-59, developed by Lockheed Martin and NASA, was designed with a radical new geometry that could help reduce these booms down to a much quieter "thump."
