Flying from LA to New York in about three hours is something NASA hopes to make a reality with their quiet ‘low boom’ supersonic technology.

The agency will be conducting a series of flights in November off the shores of Galveston, Texas, an island city outside of Houston. It’s a test to determine how to best study people’s reactions to quiet supersonic jets.

“This project, QSF 18, is a test so we can test the methodology for future community response testing for projects like the LBFD (Low Boom Flight Demonstrator),” said Larry Cliatt, principal investigator for NASA.

With the LBFD, NASA hopes to reduce the sound of the sonic boom to a gentle thump, similar to the sound of a neighbor closing a car door or thunder rumbling in the distance—that is, if anyone hears the sounds at all. – Fox News

Featured image by NASA

Low Boom Flight Demonstrator