The sound barrier or sonic barrier is the large increase in aerodynamic drag and other undesirable effects experienced by an aircraft or other object when it approaches the speed of sound. When aircraft first approached the speed of sound, these effects were seen as constituting a barrier, making faster speeds very difficult or impossible.

Breaking the Sound Barrier. We began this chapter by transporting ourselves back to October 14, 1947, and riding with Chuck Yeager as he flew the Bell X-1 through the sound barrier, becoming the first human to fly faster than sound.

Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level , this speed is approximately 343.2 m/s (1,126 ft/s; 768 mph; 667.1 kn; 1,236 km/h).

Dec 24, 2024 · Sound barrier, sharp rise in aerodynamic drag that occurs as an aircraft approaches the speed of sound and that was formerly an obstacle to supersonic flight. If an aircraft flies at somewhat less than sonic speed, the pressure waves (sound waves) it creates outspeed their sources and spread out

Feb 11, 2025 · The jet broke the sound barrier three times during the flight. (Image credit: Boom Supersonic) The XB-1 is a piloted pathfinder vehicle designed to pave the way for Overture, Boom's planned ...

Jan 28, 2025 · Ten months after its long-delayed first subsonic flight took place last March, Boom Supersonic’s prototype test plane, the XB-1, broke the sound barrier today three times during its 12th...

Jan 28, 2025 · Boom Supersonic's XB-1 has successfully broken the sound barrier, becoming the first supersonic civil aircraft in U.S. history. Today (Jan. 28), the XB-1 took off from Mojave Air and Space Port...

Happening Now. Watch XB-1's supersonic test flight in real-time. Join us and see XB-1 break the sound barrier from the viewpoint of our chase aircraft.

Jan 28, 2025 · Boom Supersonic passed a major milestone Tuesday on its path to reintroduce supersonic commercial flights. After years of testing and refinement, a pilot flying the aerospace company’s XB-1...

Jan 28, 2025 · Boom Supersonic made history today (Jan. 28) when its XB-1 jet broke the sound barrier for the first time on a test flight over the American desert.