Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 Hits New Altitude Record as Supersonic Travel Nears Reality
Boom Supersonic’s demonstrator aircraft completed its eighth flight earlier this month, setting a new record for altitude and matching its top speed as it prepares to go supersonic by the end of the year.
The flight is part of a series of demonstration flights showcasing Boom’s intention to bring commercial supersonic travel back to America’s skyways. The rising costs of supersonic travel were slowly killing the industry even before the Concorde’s final flight in 2003. But private companies and federal agencies are devising ways to repopularize the previously deafening way of getting around, and the recent Boom flight inches the company closer to that goal.
The XB-1’s eighth flight took place on November 16, and achieved a maximum altitude of 25,040 feet (7,632 meters), its highest altitude so far. The flight lasted 54 minutes and the aircraft achieved a top flight speed of Mach 0.82, tying its record speed to date.
The demonstrator aircraft’s first flight took place in March 2024, and Boom plans approximately two more subsonic flights before achieving Mach 1.
