NEW DELHI: Space tourism company Virgin Galactic on Monday announced a partnership with engine-maker Rolls-Royce to build a supersonic commercial airplane that flies at three times the speed of sound.
- The aircraft would travel at Mach 3 — rather than the Mach 2 speed of Concorde, the pioneering jet that operated from 1976 to 2003.
Virgin Galactic has signed a non-binding MoU with Rolls-Royce to collaborate in designing and developing engine propulsion technology for high speed commercial aircraft. The basic parameters of the initial high speed aircraft design include a targeted Mach 3 certified delta-wing aircraft that would have capacity for 9 to 19 people at an altitude above 60,000 feet The jet would also be able to incorporate custom cabin layouts to address customer needs, including Business or First Class seating arrangements.
The aircraft design also aims to help lead the way toward use of state-of-the-art sustainable aviation fuel. The design philosophy of the aircraft is geared around making high speed travel practical, sustainable, safe, and reliable, while making customer experience a top priority. The aircraft would take off and land like any other passenger aircraft and be expected to integrate into existing airport infrastructure and international airspace around the world. Virgin Galactic's main focus this far has been its part-plane, part-rocket craft that is being developed to carry tourists to the edge of space.
It is awaiting more test flights, and no launch date for commercial journeys has been set. The company, which was listed on the stock exchange last year, is seeking to diversify and in May it announced an agreement with Nasa to develop high-speed technology. Nasa has also been working for decades on a silent supersonic experimental aircraft, the X-59. A prototype is being built by Lockheed-Martin in California. The project hopes to make the supersonic boom — the explosion caused by crossing the sound barrier — almost inaudible on the ground.