NASA's Supersonic X-59 Prepping for Ground Tests

NASA’s X-59 supersonic demonstration aircraft has moved “closer to the runway,” the agency declared yesterday, as it updated the latest progress toward first flight this year. The aircraft last month moved from its development station to the flight line, a space between the hangar and the runway at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. NASA called the move a milestone, preparing the Mach 1.4 aircraft for a series of ground tests that will be the precursor to the first flight.

The 100-foot-long X-plane, developed in partnership with Lockheed Martin, is part of a “Quesst” mission to gather noise data that could ultimately make supersonic operations over land possible in the U.S. Quesst will involve supersonic flights over various regions of the U.S. to measure human reaction to a quieter March 1.4 aircraft. The X-59 is designed with new technologies that would emit a lower boom, described as a soft thud, to buffer the impacts of the shockwaves associated with supersonic flight.

Once the trials are complete, NASA plans to hand the data over to U.S. and international regulators to reevaluate supersonic restrictions.