Supersonic aircraft shockwave research. Schlieren image of shockwaves and expansions around an X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology airplane model. Engineers are designing the X-59 to travel faster than the speed of light without producing sonic booms that can be heard from the ground. Instead, they aim to design the X-59 to only cause either sonic thumps or no noise. NASA and Lockheed Martin are conducting this research as part of the Commercial Supersonic Technology project. This project aims to remove the technical barriers for commercial supersonic flight.