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Arts & Culture

NOVA: Flying Supersonic

Air France Concorde in flight. (undated photo)
Courtesy of © Collection Air France
Air France Concorde in flight. (undated photo)

Airs Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV + Sunday, Oct. 28 at 9 p.m. on KPBS 2

Discover the feats of engineering and design that made the Concorde the first supersonic airliner

NOVA takes you inside the historic international race to develop the first supersonic airliner, the Concorde. Hear stories from those inside the choreographed effort to design and build Concorde in two countries at once – and the crew members who flew her.

Designed and built by French and British engineers, the Concorde was the ultimate in speed and luxury for a select group of global jet setters, and the birthplace of many breakthroughs in aviation science.

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But ultimately it was not sustainable because of enormous fuel consumption and high ticket prices.

Today, scientists at NASA and start-up companies like Boom Technology in Denver are trying to figure out ways to build a new generation of supersonic passenger planes that will be quieter, greener and cheaper.

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