NASA has recently received funding to help them continue work on a newly designed Concorde type airplane that can fly at supersonic speed.
The original Concorde could fly from New York to London in about three and a half hours, but the costs to operate were prohibitive, so British Airways, and Air France decided to retire the planes. The sound pollution from the resulting sonic boom, limited the destinations that the planes could go, particularly in the US.
NASA has confirmed they have been working with Quest Technology with an aim toward renewing supersonic passenger flight. They have said the typical wing and body design is likely to change to help keep noise pollution to a minimum.
For those of us that remember when the Concordes were in operation, it was one of those luxury things you hoped to be able to do one day. As the cost of a flight on the Concorde could be prohibitive, it was mostly reserved for business and those fortunate enough to afford it. But for many, the idea of reducing a flight from 6 and a half hour to 3 and a half was phenomenal, and for many of others it was a bucket list item.
NASA says testing and prototypes will take some time with the first test flights being around 2020. That really isn’t too far away, and perhaps, those of us who missed our chance before, will get the opportunity to fly on the “new” Concorde.