Nasa ‘Son of Concorde’ will fly to US in 3hrs

A NEW generation of quiet supersonic plane which would fly from London to New York in three hours has received crucial funding from the Trump administration.

The experimental aircraft, dubbed the ‘Son of Concorde’, will cut the loud sonic booms that plagued those living under the flight path of the original Concorde before it stopped flying 15 years ago.

To do this, the nose will be longer and the wings swept back further to give a more slender streamlined shape.

The goal is to soften the shockwaves so they are barely noticed by the public.

The aircraft is expected to fly at 1,100mph and make its debut flight in 2021, halving the journey time between London and New York.

The ultimate goal is for the technology to power a new generation of commercial supersonic aircraft.

This has moved a step closer as the project – proposed by Nasa – has been given the green light by officials in President Donald Trump’s government.

The space agency’s plans have been approved in the latest proposed US budget released by the Office of Management and Budget in Washington.

In total Nasa was awarded £14.3billion for the fiscal year beginning in October, £360million more than the previous year.

It is not known what proportion of the funding will be spent on the supersonic project, which has been officially dubbed the Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) low boom flight demonstrator.