NASA and Lockheed Martin have rolled out the X-59 — a long, needle-nosed experimental aircraft designed to fly faster than sound without producing a loud sonic boom. Instead of a conventional cockpit windshield, the pilot relies on a 4K external vision system displayed on an in-cockpit monitor. If successful, the programme could reopen the skies above land to commercial supersonic travel for the first time since Concorde retired in 2003. The aircraft is expected to generate a 'sonic thump' no louder than the sound of a car door closing.