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A new “quiet” supersonic X-59 jet designed to revolutionize air travel successfully completed its first test flight, Lockheed Martin announced this week.

The sleek, needle-point aircraft built for NASA is designed to break the sound barrier while reducing the sonic boom to a “thump,” according to the aerospace contractor. The aircraft aims to overcome one of the major hurdles to supersonic travel, which is noise restrictions over land.

The plane took off from Palmdale, Calif., at Skunk Works’ facility at U.S. Air Force Plant 42, accompanied by a NASA chase plane. It landed safely about an hour later at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center.

The plane’s unique shape is designed to greatly lower the volume of the sonic boom typically produced

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