X-59 Roll Out Ceremony

A close-up front view showcases the long, slightly flattened nose of the X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft, seen here bathed in colorful hangar lights shortly after its unveiling at a January 12, 2024 event at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land, currently banned in the United States, by making sonic booms quieter.