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ICYMI: Supersonic jetliner, the issue of sea sponge and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-37467{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-37467, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-37467{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-37467").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: NASA gave Lockheed Martin $20 million to make a preliminary design of a supersonic jetliner that will break the sound barrier without a sonic boom. Stanford students are putting a self-driving Audi through a race course to improve AI algorithms. And MIT says it has found proof that sea sponges are the first animal on earth. Finally, Sweden's McDonald's has a new happy meal box that turns into a virtual reality headset. As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.
Boeing's biggest jet takes flight, promises lowest 'seat mile' cost of any commercial airliner
Boeing took a huge -- both literally and figuratively -- step in the development of the largest commercial jet in its history when the 747-8 took to the skies for the first time. Granted, the airframe's cargo version has already logged over 1,600 hours up in the air, but putting the 250-foot passenger plane with a 224-foot wingspan -- 19 feet longer and 13 feet wider than the gargantuan 747-400 -- through its first few paces without incident is no small feat. The 747-8 borrows some of the 787 Dreamliner's weight-trimming tech for better fuel efficiency and lower operational costs than older 747s and jumbo jet competition from Airbus. We just hope it didn't inherit the 787's penchant for delays as well. If all goes according to plan, the new jetliner should complete the 600 test flight hours needed for FAA certification in time to deliver the first 747-8s to customers by the end of the year. We doubt airlines will use the plane's extra space to give us shlubs riding coach any more legroom, but at least its improved all-around efficiency should make flying a little cheaper. PR's after the break.
