ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL -- Boeing has unveiled a rendering of a futuristic hypersonic jet that one day could fly at five times the speed of sound and take passengers from L.A. to Tokyo in three hours.
Boeing released the image its hypersonic jet design Tuesday at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference in Atlanta.
Boeing said the hypersonic passenger plane could one day fly as fast as Mach 5, or just under 3,900 miles per hour.
It would be decades before the hypersonic jet could be carry passengers, and it is uncertain if Boeing or other aerospace companies would be willing to make the investment to develop and produce a hypersonic jet that could be profitable.
Still, Boeing has been exploring the potential of one day manufacturing a hypersonic passenger jet.
“We’re excited about the potential of hypersonic technology to connect the world faster than ever before,” said Kevin Bowcutt, Boeing's senior technical fellow and chief scientist of hypersonics. “Boeing is building upon a foundation of six decades of work designing, developing and flying experimental hypersonic vehicles, which makes us the right company to lead the effort in bringing this technology to market in the future.”
