NASA's Quesst mission, which features the one-of-a-kind X-59 aircraft, will demonstrate technology to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, without generating loud sonic booms. NASA will then survey how people respond when the X-59 flies overhead, sharing these reactions to the quieter sonic "thumps" with national and international regulators to inform the establishment of new data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land. Quesst is supported through NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.
This summer, NASA test pilot Mike Lippert powered up the X‑59 cockpit for the first time, running the aircraft’s engines on the ground during a key step in his months of preparation and training to fly the experimental aircraft. “Getting into the cockpit of the X‑59 felt very comfortable,” said Lippert, the newest X-59 test pilot for NASA’s Quesst mission. “The whole team has done a tremendous job of making sure […]
After 25 test flights, NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic experimental aircraft steadily continues to pass performance marks set by its team. This successful run of tests has the aircraft on a path toward a new phase later this year, where NASA will evaluate the sonic thumps the X-59 is designed to make when flying faster than […]
The most common misconception about sonic booms is that they’re just the sound created at the moment when an aircraft “breaks the sound barrier.” In reality, a sonic boom is continuous, the audible evidence of invisible pressure waves forming as an aircraft travels faster than sound. As these waves travel toward the ground, they can merge, creating an explosive bang heard by everyone the aircraft passes over. Sonic booms have been a problem since aircraft first began exceeding the speed of sound, or Mach 1, so disturbing to people below that for decades U.S. and international regulations banned commercial supersonic flight over […]
NASA added a new X-59 test pilot to support the agency’s Quesst mission: Mike Lippert, a research test pilot based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “This fulfills a lifelong dream of conducting airborne research and experimental flight test for NASA in the high desert — contributing to humankind’s understanding of the science of flight and the nature of the world around us,” Lippert said. Lippert will fly the X-59, along with the […]
You may have noticed that NASA’s X-59 has a shadow – another aircraft trailing it from a safe distance. That sidekick is known as a “chase plane,” and it has an important role in NASA’s Quesst mission. Chase planes are commonly used during the flight testing of major experimental aircraft, providing an extra layer of observation and support for test pilots. […]
In celebration of the X-59’s recent supersonic milestone flights, NASA’s Quesst mission invites you to refresh your phone wallpaper and virtual meeting background with images of this unique aircraft in action. NASA is releasing multiple images sized to fit your device screens. Your next video call can boast NASA’s X-59 in flight, on the ground – or even from the cockpit. Chosen from the X-59’s first series flights where the plane expanded its operational envelope expansion testing by going higher and […]
NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft reached a major milestone Friday, June 12, flying Mach 1.4 (about 924 mph) and an altitude of 55,000 feet, the conditions required for the aircraft to make future flights critical to its mission. The X-59 still has months of performance testing ahead, but after those are complete, NASA’s Quesst mission will fly the aircraft over several U.S. communities to collect data on public perception of the quiet sonic thump it will make at […]
NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft reached a major milestone Friday, June 5, when it flew faster than the speed of sound for the first time. The 81-minute flight achieved a speed of Mach 1.1 (approximately 713 mph) at an altitude of 43,400 feet, with the X-59 performing as expected. For NASA test pilot Jim “Clue” Less, the plane’s instruments were the only indication of flying supersonic — exactly what the team wanted. “You know you are supersonic when gauges say you are supersonic. I didn’t feel anything,” Less said. “It went […]
After completing a series of initial test flights at high and low altitudes, NASA’s X-59 aircraft is undergoing a scheduled maintenance period inside its hangar. Teams at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, have removed panels on the aircraft to take a better look inside. This allows for thorough visual inspections to confirm […]
Although NASA’s X-59 is designed to fly supersonic, its test flight schedule is about more than just going gradually faster and higher – sometimes, to make sure the aircraft is fully mission-ready, slower and lower is the way to go. The X-59 has completed initial test flights at high altitudes and near-supersonic speeds, opening the […]