Technology Quarterly | Faster than sound

Supersonic aeroplanes could make a comeback

Three American companies are developing them

ON OCTOBER 24TH 2003 Concorde made its last commercial flight. It carried a full load of passengers, 100 of them, from New York to London. And it did so in three and a half hours. It was able to make the journey so rapidly because its top speed was Mach 2.04—just over twice the velocity of sound.

This article appeared in the Technology Quarterly section of the print edition under the headline “Tomorrow never dies”

Next to blow: Britain’s constitution

From the June 1st 2019 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition