The QueSST (Quiet Super Sonic Transport) program was announced in 2017 to develop a second generation supersonic passenger aircraft that no longer produces sonic boom noise. This is the reason why Concorde aircraft could not operate at supersonic speeds when crossing Malaysian airspace when Singapore Airlines used them between 1977-1980.
Before a large-scale supersonic passenger plane is developed, the Lockheed Martin X-59 aircraft will be used for testing. NASA and Lockheed Martin's goal is for the X-59 to sound like a door just closing at supersonic speeds. Early this morning the X-59 was officially shown by NASA and Lockheed Martin at the leading Skunk Works facility in California.
The X-59 has a long nozzle to disperse the waves generated when flying above the speed of sound. It is expected to be able to fly at a speed of up to Mach 1.5 (1852 kmh). To reduce air resistance, the X-59 does not have a windshield on the cockpit. Instead, a 4K camera system and a high-resolution screen are used instead.
Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract to build the X-59 because of their experience building the SR-71 Blackbird supersonic aircraft which still holds the world record of 3,529.6 km/h set in 1976. Although the X-59 has been shown, there is still no announcement when the first flight will take place.