News & research

Sonic booms in the news

Reporting, research and rulemaking on sonic booms from rocket launches and supersonic aircraft. Checked weekly; new items are added when there is something worth reading.

October 28, 2026
A year after its first flight, NASA's X-59 has flown 40 times, reached Mach 1.53, and now moves on to measuring its sonic thumpNASA Quesst blog
October 22, 2026
NASA's Mike Lippert takes the controls of the X-59 for the first time, flying the quiet-supersonic jet to Mach 1.4 at 55,000 feetNASA Quesst blog
September 11, 2026
FAA grants Hermeus a special flight authorization to exceed Mach 1 (Federal Register notice of the petition and decision)Federal Register
July 2, 2026
Enabling Supersonic Overland Flight: the FAA formally proposes repealing the 1973 ban in favour of a noise-based limit on booms reaching the groundFederal Register (proposed rule)
June 25, 2026
Scientists and Space Force reps address sonic boom concerns in OjaiOjai Valley News
June 12, 2026
NASA's X-59 reaches the speed and altitude it will use for future quiet supersonic community flightsNASA Quesst blog
June 3, 2026
What made New England's meteor sonic boom so rare?Northeastern Global News
March 25, 2026
House approves bill to pave the way for civil supersonic flight over landAIN
March 16, 2026
Trailblazing noise study on Vandenberg rocket launches delivers lessons on sonic boomsNoozhawk
January 14, 2026
Vandenberg proposes heavy launch capacity; congressman raises community concerns about bigger boomsKEYT News Channel 3-12

Following the rulemaking? The FAA keeps its supersonic programme page at faa.gov/supersonic. Know of a story we missed? Email [email protected].