Abstract
Supersonic and hypersonic flight promise faster travel times and new vehicle capabilities, but they are limited by a shared challenge: making high-speed flight practical, efficient, and acceptable to society. When aircraft fly faster than the speed of sound, they create shock waves that produce loud sonic booms and significantly increase drag, requiring significantly more energy than subsonic planes. Energy needs are even greater at hypersonic speeds—above five times the speed of sound—and intense heat builds up on the vehicle’s surface, adding another layer of difficulty and cost. These challenges have real-world consequences. For instance, the Concorde could fly at twice the speed of sound, but its high fuel use, emissions, and ticket prices made it difficult to sustain commercially. Today, new supersonic and hypersonic vehicles must overcome not only engineering hurdles but also concerns about environmental impact and affordability. This broader challenge connects both of my research projects. My technical work focuses on designing a hypersonic vehicle that can travel efficiently and affordably over long distances. Simultaneously, my STS research examines how new supersonic aircraft programs approach these concerns about cost and environmental impact. Together, these projects explore what it takes to make high-speed flight viable.
The Hypersonic Low-Altitude Research Projectile (Hyper-LARP) project team designed an unpowered hypersonic vehicle. The team participated in the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics (UCAH) flight design competition which outlined the design’s requirements and objectives. The primary goal of the competition was to maximize the range and affordability of a projectile which can glide and maneuver at hypersonic speeds. The team’s design process began with a trade study to select a base projectile shape, choosing from three common design families for hypersonic vehicles. Then, computer-aided design (CAD) software was used to create a parametric model by defining upper and lower bounds for 10 of the vehicle’s major dimensions. From this model, the team generated 50 unique designs by sampling different combinations of those 10 dimensions. Each candidate design was simulated flying at hypersonic speeds using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software ANSYS Fluent. The ANSYS CFD setup was identical for each design, and the results reported lift, drag, and heat flux. The team analyzed trends in these data using the Kriging interpolation method and applied an optimization algorithm to find the design with a maximum predicted lift-to-drag ratio. After optimizing the vehicle shape for efficiency, the team selected materials and manufacturing methods to ensure the vehicle could be produced easily and affordably. The final vehicle design meets all UCAH competition requirements and achieves a range of 100.4 km for an estimated cost of $14,760. UCAH selected this project as a competition finalist and has sponsored the team to manufacture the vehicle for wind tunnel testing in June 2026.
Following the demise of Concorde due to economic challenges and environmental concerns, my STS research explores the development of new supersonic aircraft which aim to address these shortcomings. I identify two prominent projects contributing to the return of supersonic passenger travel: NASA’s X-59 Quesst mission and Boom Supersonic’s Overture. By comparing each program’s approach, including their aircraft design choices, business philosophy, and interactions with federal regulators, I develop a comprehensive understanding of the values embedded in these designs and the current trajectory of modern supersonic flight. The results are categorized in three areas of social concern for supersonic flight: economic viability, noise pollution, and sustainable emissions. In each category, the two programs exhibited differing approaches. This can largely be explained by the difference in their intended purpose; Overture is designed to be a passenger aircraft similar to Concorde, while the X-59 is a research aircraft developed to demonstrate NASA’s quiet sonic boom technology. The X-59 shows a stronger commitment to mitigating noise pollution by designing the aircraft’s physical shape to create quieter sonic booms. Meanwhile, Overture’s solution, which relies on sensors and software to keep the aircraft operating in a special “boomless cruise”, is prone to error and misuse. Boom Supersonic’s approach shows greater consideration for economic viability and sustainability, though they achieve this primarily through rhetoric rather than action. Conversely, the X-59 does not directly address these economic or emissions issues. Its mission is research-focused, and its unique design does not easily translate to a commercial airliner. Given the current state of these aircraft, as well as favorable emerging regulations, I conclude that Boom Supersonic’s business-focused approach is more effective in reaching social acceptance, and its values are likely to be reflected in the next generation of supersonic aircraft.
Notes
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering
Technical Advisor: Chris Goyne, Xinfeng Gao
STS Advisor: Kent Wayland
Technical Team Members: Victoria Sun, Michael Della Santina, Michael Novak, Eric Voigt, Channing Reynolds, Genevieve Forrer, Soren Poole, Owen McGilberry, Joshua Stoner, Lukas Hange, Kayla Kadlubek, Ava Frodsham, Arwen Nicolau
