(FOX NEWS) – Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 aircraft broke the sound barrier for the first time ever on Tuesday during a test blight, ushering in a new era of supersonic flight.
The jet exceeded Mach 1 after taking off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California for its highly anticipated 12th test flight.
That marked the first time the XB-1 demonstrator aircraft, soaring above 34,000 feet, has ever reached the staggering speed.
Boom Supersonic chief test pilot Tristan "Geppetto" Brandonburg (below) flew the jet.
Before and after shuttle explosion (first visible signs of danger on left, just after explosion on right).
At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe is on her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space.
McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her a place among the seven-member crew of the Challenger.
She underwent months of shuttle training but then, beginning January 23, was forced to wait six long days as the Challenger‘s launch countdown was repeatedly delayed because of weather and technical problems. Finally, on January 28, the shuttle lifted off.
Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including Christa’s family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle broke up in a forking plume of smoke and fire.
Millions more watched the wrenching tragedy unfold on live television. There were no survivors.
The Final Crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
President Ronald Reagan addressing the nation from the White House on the day of the space shuttle Challenger explosion.