A supersonic jet plane designed to make very little noise took flight for the first time this week, cruising over the southern California desert just after sunrise in what could be the first step toward much faster commercial travel, according to NASA. NASA and the US weapons and aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin successfully tested a jet Tuesday that is capable of travelling faster than the speed of sound. Aircraft have been capable of flying at supersonic speeds since the 1940s. The problem is that ultra fast planes are banned for commercial travel over land because they make an explosive " and frightening " "sonic boom" that disturbs the public.

The supersonic aircraft Concorde, operated through British Airways and Air France, made transatlantic flights starting in the 1970s. But those were halted in 2003 after a fatal crash three years earlier tanked demand for the expensive service. If NASA and Lockheed Martin can successfully lower the volume, the new jets could slash travel time between places like New York City and Los Angeles roughly in half, opening up an entirely new air travel industry. The X-59 is capable of flying faster than the speed of sound with what Lockheed Martin described as only a "gentle thump."