United's supersonic dreams

The airline says it can be green and break the sound barrier. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [View on the web]( [Recode]( [Click to view images]( [Is United’s green supersonic jet too good to be true?]( United Airlines announced this week that it would be buying a small fleet of supersonic jets from a startup called Boom. These would be the first commercial passenger jets that travel faster than the speed of sound since the Concorde, which was retired almost 20 years ago. And if speed itself weren't cool enough, United also says it will make these planes environmentally friendly. While supersonic flight itself is nothing new, aviation experts have their doubts about how United is going to make it green. The fuel required to power the engines of jets like these, which historically have been fossil fuels, is hard to make and hard to come by. Whether United and Boom can craft an alternative and get this fleet in the sky in the next few years is ambitious at the very least. Recode's Rebecca Heilweil explains United's supersonic dreams. [Click to view images]( [Good internet service is still a luxury in the US]( Lower-income Americans are way less likely to have broadband. [ Rani Molla / [Recode]( ] [Click to view images]( [Biden issues an order banning US investment in firms that aid surveillance and repression]( The new order, which initially lists 59 Chinese firms, substantially expands an order issued in November by President Donald J. Trump. [ David E. Sanger / [New York Times]( ] [Click to view images]( [Apple WWDC 2021: iOS 15, new MacBook Pros, and what else to expect]( The keynote kicks off June 7 at 1 pm ET. [ Jay Peters / [The Verge]( ] [Click to view images]( [Apple working on iPad Pro with wireless charging, new iPad Mini]( The company plans a redesigned mini and a thinner entry-level iPad. [ Mark Gurman / [Bloomberg]( ] [Click to view images]( [The kings of calm]( Inside the meteoric, chilled-out, totally paradoxical rise of app-enabled serenity. [ Annie Lowrey / [The Atlantic]( ] [This is Cool Section Title] [How pizza took over our freezers]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Facebook]( Twitter [Instagram]( [Recode by Vox]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving emails from Vox Media. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.