High above a barren California desert on Tuesday, a privately developed aircraft broke the sound barrier for the first time when Boom Supersonics' XB-1 demonstrator reached Mach 1.122.
Piloted by a former US Navy aviator, Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, the XB-1 vehicle broke the supersonic barrier on three separate occasions before safely landing back at Mojave Air & Space Port, where it had taken off half an hour earlier. It marked a triumphant moment for Boom, which was founded a decade ago to commercialize supersonic air travel.
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