Bill Nelson: “I would suggest to you that another problem is its management by committee, and you have to have a lead.”

One of the reasons you and I were able to accomplish so much on this committee is both of us worked very hard to keep politics out of NASA and to focus on the core mission of exploration.

It will fly supersonic but its design is such a radical design, that instead of pushing the bow wave going through the atmosphere, as you go from subsonic to supersonic, which causes that audible sound that goes 'boom, boom,' it will…

that would mean 25 percent less fuel, which is a good thing for the airlines, but might also be a good thing in the overall energy policy of the country.

What we are going to do is a multi-year test, taking it to different locations all over the United States, and see if the muffled roar is acceptable to the people on the ground.