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 ...

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.

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 ...

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 100-foot-long, 30-foot-wide X-59 supersonic aircraft, dubbed “son of Concorde,” was rolled out by NASA and Lockheed Martin on Friday, an innovation that officials said they expected to ...

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.