Boom is a relatively new start up that is trying to make supersonic travel a reality. Supersonic to the tune of 2.6x the speed of sound. This would mean trips from New York to London would be possible in 3.5 hours, and SF to Tokyo in 4.5.
While the company is still working on their first prototype, they have a lot of experienced employees who know what they’re doing. The 11-person team has collectively contributed to over 30 aircrafts working on things such as the autopilot system on the 787, fighter plane engines, and flight dynamics on Spaceship Two. A roster of ex-NASA, ex-Boeing and ex-Lockheed doesn’t sound too bad. They hope to get their first prototype in the air late next year.
Even more exciting though, is the big name that just signed on to help. Virgin Group has optioned ten planes in a deal valued at about $2 billion dollars — if everything goes to plan. Boom has also optioned 15 additional planes to a European carrier, bringing the total value of the optioned planes to $5 billion.
Virgin is also helping Boom in its development, with a Virgin spokesperson saying, ““We can confirm that The Spaceship Company will provide engineering, design and manufacturing services, flight tests and operations and that we have an option on the first 10 airframes. It is still early days and just the start of what you’ll hear about our shared ambitions and efforts.”
Learn more about the company and its developments on its .