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In pictures: Virgin Galactic unveils designs for Mach 3 supersonic passenger plane
The aircraft’s draft design showed a plane with a triangular “delta wing” carrying between nine and 19 passengers at an altitude of more than 60,000 feet, or 18,000 meters — about twice as high as normal commercial flight.
Virgin Galactic on Monday announced a partnership with engine-maker Rolls-Royce to build a supersonic commercial airplane that flies at three times the speed of sound. Image: Virgin Galactic
Mach 3 delta-winged aircraft that would fly at an altitude above 60,000 feet and carry between nine and 19 people in a premium cabin. Image: Virgin Galactic
The plane would take off and land at existing airport runways. Image: Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic said its team would “work to address key challenges in thermal management, maintenance, noise, emissions, and economics that routine high speed commercial flights would entail.”
Image: Virgin Galactic
The aircraft would travel at Mach 3 — rather than the Mach 2 speed of Concorde Image: Virgin Galactic
It is awaiting more test flights, and no launch date for commercial journeys has been set. Image: Virgin Galactic
