Dubbed the ‘new Concorde’, the newly developed QueSST at almost 1,400 miles per hour can travel twice as fast as a commercial airline.
Nasa and Lockheed Martin, who have been developing the craft alongside the US space agency, have ploughed a total of £290 million into the project and believe tests with passengers could begin in 2021.
And the major difference between the new jet and Concorde comes down to sound with QueSST much quieter than the now defunct British-French airline.
One of the reasons the Concorde failed was partly because the sonic boom it created when it broke the sound barrier caused distress among livestock and minor damages to buildings.
This led to it being banned to fly over the mainland US, which was a massive contribution to the airline going bust in 2003.
But Nasa’s new jet may have solved that problem as it would break the sound barrier at 55,000 feet – planes usually fly at around 39,000 feet.
It would also make a sound of only 60 decimals, much lower than the 90 decimals created by Concorde and about the same noise levels as a car on a motorway.
Peter Coen, project manager for Nasa’s commercial supersonic research team, said: “Now you’re getting down to that level where, as far as approval from the general public, it would probably be something that’s acceptable.
“Supersonic flight offers the potential to improve the quality of life of those that fly, by greatly reducing travel time.
“In the nearer term, NASA’s development of quiet supersonic flight technology needs support, interest and engagement from the community to ensure that the potential sound is acceptable to those on the ground.”