BOOM! What was the earth-shaking, jolt-you-awake, set-off-the-car-alarm sound? Oh right, a rocket launch. But why are some ...

That is, unless a new design could dispense with the sonic boom. Enter NASA’s latest—and by far sleekest—experimental aircraft, the X-59. The 100-foot-long, 29-foot-wide X-59 is the ...