PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 21, 2023
Supersonic and Hypersonic Aircraft Testing Corridor Act
This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in consultation with the Department of Defense (DOD), to designate an overland supersonic and hypersonic testing corridor for military passenger aircraft, military non-passenger aircraft, and civil aircraft.
The FAA must designate the corridor within existing military operation areas, as practicable, that run from Edwards Air Force Base in California to the Utah Test and Training Range and Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
DOD must allow civil aircraft testing unless such testing would interfere with any military operations or testing in the corridor, or the FAA has not granted a required special flight authorization for the testing.
Further, testing may only occur from sunrise to sunset and may not include commercial passengers or cargo.
For civil aircraft testing that requires a special flight authorization, the FAA must (1) permit a measurable amount of sonic boom overpressure outside of the corridor if the available data is sufficient to determine that the sonic boom overpressure does not significantly affect the quality of the human environment, (2) not require additional environmental impact analysis regarding noise impact if certain requirements are met, and (3) allow for the reuse of certain research and findings from prior tests.
People & committees
Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] · R–UT
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.902 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.902 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.902 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.902 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.