NASA’s X-59 supersonic jet took its first flight over the California desert this week, marking a major milestone in the effort to revive fast air travel.

Built by NASA and Lockheed Martin, the sleek aircraft is designed to fly faster than sound while producing only a soft “thump” instead of a sonic boom.

The test flight focused on structural integrity and landed safely at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, bringing the dream of quiet supersonic passenger travel closer to reality.

If successful, the new technology could cut flight times between cities like New York and Los Angeles nearly in half, reviving the dream once held by the Concorde of a new era of high-speed commercial travel.