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.
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 […]
As flight operations for NASA’s quiet supersonic X-59 aircraft accelerate, its team has picked up their testing tempo, completing two test flights in a single day for the first time. The first dual-flight day was on April 30 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Making its 11th and 12th flights, the X-59 […]
