By Steve Gorman
PALMDALE, California (Reuters) -NASA’s X-59 supersonic-but-quiet jet soared over the Southern California desert on Tuesday in the first test flight of an experimental aircraft designed to break the sound barrier with little noise, paving the way for faster commercial air travel.
The sleek aircraft, built for NASA by aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin, took off about an hour after sunrise from a runway at Plant 42 of the company’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, about 60 miles (100 km) north of Los Angeles…