Boom Supersonic flies a test vehicle, while Exosonic closes down.
From the dawn of aviation, industry built a technological base on small-scale entrepreneurs. The Wright brothers were the original startup, and today, a more sophisticated breed of small firms are working to restart supersonic commercial flight, stalled since the retirement of Concorde. It’s a daunting task, and most companies don’t make it to the hardware stage.
Torrance, California-based Exosonic is the latest to fail, announcing their closure due to a cash shortfall, despite USAF interest in drone variants of their supersonic technology. Meanwhile, Boom Supersonic has moved to flight testing of a technology demonstrator called XB-1, as part of an ambitious program to develop a commercial airliner and a new jet engine to power it.
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