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Slideshow: The Airplanes Of The Future
NASA contracted with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman to imagine aircraft that could replace the current fleet, which hasn't seen a significant makeover since the 1950s.
The assignment? Design a plane that can:
- Fly 7,000 miles without refueling
- Carry a payload of 50 to 100 thousand pounds worth of passengers or cargo
- Be able to reach 80 percent the speed of sound - that's about 540 miles per hour
- Be ready to fly by 2025
This segment aired on January 27, 2011. The audio for this segment is not available.