A civilian jet broke the sound barrier for the first time Tuesday while making a historic test flight over the Mojave Desert.
The XB-1 aircraft, manufactured by Boom Supersonic, was piloted by Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenburg, the company said in a news release. The plane, nicknamed "Baby Boom," took off from Mojave Air and Space Port and reached an altitude of 35,290 feet before accelerating to Mach 1.122, the company said. That speed is equivalent to 750 miles per hour.
It marks the first time an independently developed jet has broken the sound barrier, Boom Supersonic said, and the plane is the "first supersonic jet made in America." The sound barrier was broken for the first time in 1947, when Air Force pilot Capt. Chuck Yeager flew a rocket-propelled experimental aircraft across the Mojave Desert -- taking off from the Mojave Air and Space Port just as the XB-1 did. xb-1-ssf-1-1440x810.jpg
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