Management author Angelo Kinicki defines innovation as “finding new ways to deliver new or better goods and services.” (Kinicki) Naturally, it helps when consumers are willing to pay more for it.  But why is innovation important and how does a large federal agency like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) use innovation to push the limits of space and sound to sustain competitive advantage?  We’ll use one of NASA’s latest achievements – a newly released image of America’s first civil supersonic jet breaking the sound barrier – as an example.    

First, we need to consider that there are two forms of innovation: process innovation and product innovation.  Process innovation “is a change in the way a productor service is conceived, manufactured or distributed.” (Kinicki) Starbucks utilized process innovation  when they created a “highly efficient and customer-centric ordering and fulfillment process.” (Jain) This revolutionized the coffee industry using digital technology, mobile ordering, and personalized customer experiences. In contrast, product innovation “is a change in the appearance of functionality performance of a product or service or the creation of a new one.” (Kinicki) Tesla’s Model S is an example of product innovation in the electric vehicle market. It offered long-range capabilities, high-performance features, and advanced autonomous driving capabilities, setting a new benchmark for electric vehicle and reshaping the perception of electric cars.” (Jain) Both process and product innovation play a key role in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. This is especially relevant in the face of NASA’s primary competition like Elon Musk’s Space X. 

The year 2025 has spotlighted product innovation at its pinnacle, as NASA’s first civil supersonic jet, in collaboration with Boom’s Supersonic demonstrator aircraft XB-1, broke the sound barrier at speeds exceeding Mach 1 (761.23 miles per hour); nearly as impressive, no sonic boom occurred during the flight. This is important, as it paves the way for the return of commercial supersonic air travel, which is up to 50% faster than traditional air travel. In the past, international governments banned supersonic air travel due to their thunderous booms and restricted them to only being allowed over the sea.   With this latest achievement, the new technology heralds the long-awaited return of supersonic commercial airlines, with plans to increase operations to more than 600 routes worldwide. An expert notes that “the advent of digital engineering is a huge enabler for why supersonic flight’s coming back. We’ve innovated in aerodynamics,  materials, and propulsion ” (O’Hare) 

With 130 orders and pre-orders from American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines, the future of aviation is here and its supersonic commercial aviation.  Let’s meet in Paris for lunch; I’ll see you in an hour and a half.