In a stunning, glowing image, NASA has captured the moment that Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator broke the sound barrier in tests last month.
During a supersonic flight test over the Mojave Desert on February 10, 2025, NASA and Boom Supersonic teamed up to photograph XB-1 travelling above the speed of sound using Schlieren photography.
Boom Supersonic said that the Schlieren technique is used to “visualize the shock waves resulting from XB-1 pushing through the air at supersonic speeds”.
XB-1’s second supersonic flight test followed the first on January 29, 2025, when Boom became the first company to fly a US-made civil supersonic jet.
“This image makes the invisible visible—the first American made civil supersonic jet breaking the sound barrier. Thanks to Geppetto’s [Boom’s Chief Test Pilot Tristan Brandenburg] exceptional flying and our partnership with NASA, we were able to capture this iconic image,” said Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic.
We nailed it.During XB-1’s second supersonic flight, we partnered with @NASA to take this Schlieren image of XB-1 pushing through the air at supersonic speeds. Here’s the shot, captured by NASA teams on the ground. It documents the changing air density around XB-1 and the… pic.twitter.com/89HFHQ30W3
— Boom Supersonic (@boomaero) March 3, 2025
The photograph was painstakingly planned, with XB-1 required to fly in a precise location at an exact time while also ensuring the aircraft is flown directly in front of the sun.
NASA and Boom Supersonic configured specific points where XB-1 would have to fly and set up ground telescopes with special filters that detect air distortions.
Additionally, the latest flight further explored Boom Supersonic’s plans for its Overture passenger jet to exceed Mach 1 with no audible sonic boom.
NASA teams collected data on XB-1’s acoustic signature at one location on the flight route and Boom analysis found that no audible sonic boom reached the ground while the jet flew at supersonic speeds.
Scholl said: “We also confirmed that XB-1 made no audible sonic boom, which paves the way for coast-to-coast flights up to 50% faster.”
During the first supersonic test flight in January 2025, Boom noted that the aircraft had flown supersonic three times without producing an audible sonic boom.
The effect is achieved by breaking the sound barrier at a sufficiently high altitude, with exact speeds varying based on atmospheric conditions.
A Boom Supersonic spokesperson explained: “Boom’s assessment of this type of data from XB-1’s supersonic flights demonstrates that supersonic flight without the disturbance of a sonic boom is possible. This aligns with research previously conducted by NASA in efforts to bring supersonic commercial travel to the public.”
The company hopes that the ‘Boomless Cruise’ will enable Overture to fly at speeds up to Mach 1.3 over land, something that Concorde was not permitted to do.
XB-1’s second supersonic flight also marked the conclusion of its groundbreaking flight test program. The aircraft will now return to Denver, Colorado.
XB-1 completed 13 flight tests which enabled Boom Supersonic to build a wealth of knowledge. However, the company now plans to scale its findings and technology to build the Overture jet.
