“A new hypersonic jet design from Airbus, which was just approved by the US Patents and Trademark Office, looks to create something of a successor to the now-retired Concorde. But, rather than flying at a measly Mach 2, the proposed rocket-powered Concorde 2.0 would traverse the skies at Mach 4.5. That’s four and a half times the speed of sound – some 3000mph – and it could take passengers from NYC to London in just one hour. The Airbus patent for an “ultra-rapid air vehicle and related method of aerial locomotion” shows a jet that would be powered by three different engines working sequentially to get the craft up in the air, to its cruising altitude, and then to its insanely-fast cruising speed.”