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NASA Quesst

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.

Viewing Posts from June 2026

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    NASA’s X-59 Reaches Speed, Altitude for Future Quiet Supersonic Flights

    The X-59 in flight on June 12, 2026 against a blue sky.

    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 […]

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    NASA’s X-59 Flies Supersonic for First Time 

    NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above the clouds during its first supersonic flight. The aircraft is shown in side profile during level flight with desert and mountain terrain visible below.

    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 […]

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