How would you like traveling by air at a rate as fast as the speed of sound? If the recent initiative from the United States government comes to fruition, jet setters could soon be riding the future of the aviation industry.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is now in the process of developing a suitable substitute in place of the defunct Concorde passenger jet, according to CNBC. The space agency is commissioning Lockheed Martin, a tech company that specializes in aerospace, to come up with a new design for Quiet Supersonic Technology or Quesst, per The Guardian.

CNBC notes that NASA awarded the contract amounting to $20 million to Lockheed Martin for the preliminary design of a quieter supersonic jet, to get its "X-Planes" project underway as part of the New Aviation Horizons initiative. If everything goes according to plan, NASA intends to launch the flight test for the new jet in 2020.

The Concorde jet was taken out from its active flight service back in 2003 because it was deemed as impractical in terms of costs and the loud noise output from its supersonic activity. The partnership between NASA and Lockheed Martin hopes to develop a high-speed passenger jet that produces a soft thump supersonic "heartbeat" as opposed to the loud supersonic boom, notes The Guardian.

"NASA is working hard to make flight greener, safer and quieter -- all while developing aircraft that travel faster, and building an aviation system that operates more efficiently," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in a statement.

"It's worth noting that it's been almost 70 years since Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 as part of our predecessor agency's high speed research," Bolden explained during an event in Arlington, Virginia where NASA announced the project. "Now we're continuing that supersonic X-plane legacy with this preliminary design award for a quieter supersonic jet with an aim toward passenger flight."

This initiative from NASA is a welcome development for the future of travel, particularly in air flight. If the project prove to be successful, this would significantly cut the travel time and possibly offer more affordable flight fares.

The Concorde had its limitations because of its prohibitive loud boom sound. It was banned in the United States for months in its earlier flights and was reduced to flying at less than the speed of sound later on to avoid the supersonic noise, BT.com reported.