Five years before Concorde’s first flight, another majestic supersonic aircraft took to the skies — and almost became the inspiration for an even faster passenger plane.

PHOTO: Inside the cabin of the Concorde. (photo by Paul Thompson) In flight, the Concorde flew to the edge of space, up to 11 miles high. Typical commercial flights cruise at about six or seven miles ...

The plane performed like no subsonic plane could perform.” Once the Concorde was in the air, it would climb fast, “at 100 knots faster than an ordinary subsonic jet,” as former Concorde ...

Concorde, the first and only supersonic commercial jetliner, operated from 1976 to 2003. Flown by royals, celebrities, and executives, it was discontinued because of high operating costs.

At 204 feet long and with a fuselage that was 9 feet 5 inches wide, Concorde planes held up to 100 passengers, though full flights were rare. For comparison, a Boeing 737-700 measures just more ...

L-R: The last Concorde to ever fly touches down at Filton airfield on November 23, 2003, in Bristol, England. An illustration of NASA's experimental X-59 supersonic jet. Matt Cardy/Getty Images ...

The Concorde, plane of the rich and famous, is also probably the world’s safest. The fireball outside Paris Tuesday was the supersonic jet’s first fatal accident ever in 24 years of regular ...

Concorde crossed the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound, cutting travel time in half compared to a conventional passenger plane. The groundbreaking jet made its final flight on Nov. 26, 2003.

The Concorde aircraft, which could travel some 1,350 miles per hour, was retired nearly 20 years ago after launching in 1976, plagued by costly maintenance and a fatal 2000 crash.