From Beijing to New York in an hour! This supersonic plane is world’s fastest aircraft

Traveling from Beijing to China and thinking about the long never-ending flight? Worry no more! You’ll soon be able to reach your destination in no time. A Chinese aerospace firm Space Transportation said it’s working on developing an aircraft that will be used as a supersonic business jet which will only take an hour to cover the distance between Beijing and New York.

Space Transportation last year said it has raised $46.3 million for its supersonic space plane, which it further claims will travel at about 2,600 mph. This jet is reported to be six times faster than the commercial aircrafts. The company also said it recently conducted successful test flights on rockets, called Tianxing 1 and Tianxing 2, however, it did not disclose any information regarding the tests. As per sources, the ‘winged rocket’ is believed to have lower operational costs.

Space Transportation plans to conduct ground tests by 2023 before carrying out its first test flight in 2024. If development proceeds on track, it would have a crewed test flight in 2025. As per officials during a CGI presentation, the passengers were seen boarding the aircraft that is attached to a glider wing with two rocket boosters. The airplane then detaches from the wing after takeoff and flies through suborbital space. The wing and boosters will then land back on the launch pad, while the aircraft proceeds to its destination, landing vertically.

This aircraft may be the one to be used as a supersonic business jet, but is not the first one. Concorde, was the first supersonic passenger-carrying commercial airplane (or supersonic transport, SST), built jointly by aircraft manufacturers in Great Britain and France. The Concorde made its first transatlantic crossing on September 26, 1973, and it inaugurated the world’s first scheduled supersonic passenger service on January 21, 1976.

Virgin Galactic last summer launched CEO Sir Richard Branson on an 11-minute suborbital flight, officially introducing the space-tourism industry to the general public. A Virgin Galactic executive said that space tourism would be the company’s initial focus, but he also foresaw a time when the fixed-wing aircraft would serve as a supersonic commuter.