--- title: "Virgin Galactic Shows Off Sleek Supersonic Jet Concept" description: "Space tourism company Virgin Galactic just announced it's working with Rolls-Royce to develop a supersonic jet meant for air travel." date: "2020-08-03" modified: "2020-08-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/virgin-galactic-shows-off-sleek-supersonic-jet-concept" categories: - "Advanced Transport" tags: - "supersonic" - "supersonic flight" - "supersonic plane" - "the digest" - "virgin galactic" --- # Virgin Galactic Shows Off Sleek Supersonic Jet Concept ![Space tourism company Virgin Galactic just announced it's working with Rolls-Royce to develop a supersonic jet meant for air travel.]() *\Image: Virgin Galactic\* ## Going Plaid Space tourism company Virgin Galactic just [announced]() it's working with Rolls-Royce to develop a supersonic jet meant for air travel, as [*CNBC* reports](). Recently released renders show a sleek design, reminiscent of British-French supersonic passenger airliner Concorde, which was retired in the early 2000s. In fact, the Concorde used aircraft engines built by Rolls-Royce. ![]() ## Mach 3 The concept is designed to fly three times the speed of sound (roughly 2,300 mph) using one large, triangular wing structure. It's only meant to carry between nine and 19 passengers and cruise at 60,000 feet — roughly twice the cruising altitude of a conventional commercial airliner. "We have made great progress so far, and we look forward to opening up a new frontier in high speed travel," Virgin Galactic chief space officer George Whitesides said in [a statement](). According to Virgin Galactic, the designs have already been reviewed by NASA. The next step is to work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to certify it for future flights. ## Fast and Furious The news comes almost a week after Virgin Galactic [showed off the cabin interior]() of its SpaceShipTwo space plane that's meant to start launching tourists into space. Virgin Galactic isn't the only company developing such a supersonic aircraft. A [number of smaller startups]() are developing similar jets, with early test flights slated for as soon as 2023, according to *CNBC*. **READ MORE:** [Virgin Galactic partners with Rolls-Royce as it looks to build an aircraft for supersonic air travel]() \[*CNBC*\] **More on Virgin Galactic:** *[Virgin Galactic Unveils Sleek Spaceship Cabin for Tourist Flights]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()