Breakfast in New York, midmorning snack in London. <\/p>\n
Taxi tests are underway on a highly anticipated supersonic plane<\/a> designed to quietly break the sound barrier \u2014 and slash flight time between New York and London in half.\u00a0<\/p>\n The X-59 jet, dubbed the \u201cson of Concorde,\u201d is one step closer to takeoff after the experimental aircraft taxied on a California runway at low speed using its own power for the first time on July 10, NASA said in a press release.<\/a><\/p>\n The ground maneuvers at the US Air Force\u2019s Plant 42 in Palmdale mark the final series of trials for the 100-foot-long, 30-foot-wide jet before its maiden voyage, which is slated for sometime this year, according to the space agency<\/a>. <\/p>\n NASA\u2019s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft taxiing on a runway. Youtube\/NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center<\/p>\n \u201cOver the coming weeks, the aircraft will gradually increase its speed, leading up to a high-speed taxi test that will take the aircraft just short of the point where it would take off,\u201d officials said.<\/p>\n The high-tech plane, unveiled by NASA and Lockheed Martin last year, is the centerpiece of the space agency\u2019s QueSST mission to produce a quieter sonic boom for communities below and revolutionize air travel, potentially cutting transit time down significantly for commercial flights.<\/p>\n It could possibly fly from New York to London flight in three and a half hours, the agency previously said. <\/p>\n NASA\u2019s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft conducting its final tests before its maiden voyage. Carla Thomas\/NASA \/ SWNS<\/p>\n The new aircraft\u2019s innovative design and shape will cause it to produce a quiet \u201cthump\u201d sound as it reaches speeds of up to 925 miles per hour<\/a>, officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Supersonic flights have been banned in the US and other countries for the past half-century due to the thunderous sound generated when planes exceed the speed of sound \u2014 767 miles per hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n The aircraft is expected to revolutionize air travel. NASA<\/p>\n But the X-59\u2019s thin, tapered nose<\/a> is expected to break up shock waves that would cause the high-speed roar on a conventional aircraft, NASA previously boasted.<\/a><\/p>\n