On February 10, in the skies above the Mojave Desert, the Boom Supersonic XB-1 test jet roared past Mach 1, tearing through the sound barrier. But this time, there was no need to take it on faith.

The photograph shows the XB-1 streaking across the sky, its silhouette framed by vivid orange ... a barrier to overland supersonic flights. The Concorde was banned from virtually every country ...

Concorde’s first commercial flights took place in 1976 between London and Bahrain, and Paris and Rio de Janeiro. BBC Archive: Originally broadcast on 3 March 1969.