X-59 Debuts
The centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission to enable a future that includes commercial supersonic air travel over land, the X-59 quiet supersonic technology aircraft made its public debut on Jan. 12, 2024. This special report has all the details and background.
The X-59 transcends its role as a mere aircraft; it stands as a symbol of our collective ambition to redefine the future of supersonic travel.
pam melroy
NASA Deputy Administrator
jan. 12, 2024
The Big Moment
NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Research Aircraft Unveiled
With a dramatic curtain drop, NASA and Lockheed Martin publicly unveiled the X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft at a ceremony in Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. Credits: NASA/Steve Freeman
Learn Morejan. 12, 2024
The Big Moment
NASA, Lockheed Martin Unveil X-59 to Public
Watch the official rollout ceremony of NASA’s newly painted X-59 supersonic aircraft as it happened live on Jan. 12, 2024, at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California.
Learn MoreX-59 Rollout Ceremony Album
X-59 Rollout Watch Parties
You didn’t need to be in California to take in the historic spectacle of the X-59’s public debut. Thousands of people around the world tuned in to NASA’s multimedia services to view the ceremony. This included more than 285 locations in 21 countries (see map) where watch parties were hosted by student groups, museums, aviation enthusiasts, and many others.
Some Assembly Required: An X-59 Image Gallery
Quesst Mission
Interested in flying to your next destination in half the time? NASA's Quesst mission is leading a government-industry team to collect data that could make commercial supersonic flight over land possible, dramatically reducing air travel time in the United States or anywhere in the world. The centerpiece of the mission is the X-59 aircraft.
Learn More About the Quesst Mission about Quesst Mission
Innovative ideas, advanced simulation, and ground and flight testing showed us it was possible to design an aircraft that would produce a soft thump instead of a sonic boom.
robert pearce
NASA's Associate Administrator for Aeronautics
Quieting the Boom
Key research that led to the X-59, and inspired Bob Pearce's quote above, is detailed in the NASA book "Quieting the Boom: The Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstrator and the Quest for Quiet Supersonic Flight." The book presents the story of the airplane seen here, as well as a general history of sonic boom research, emphasizing the people and organizations. The Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstrator culminated four decades of study and research on mitigating the strength of sonic booms.
Download the e-Book
Next Step for the X-59: First Flight
With the rollout ceremony accomplished, the next major milestone for the X-59 and the Quesst mission will be first flight. Targeted for later this year, that historic event will follow a final series of ground tests of the single-seat aircraft, as well as a comprehensive flight readiness review. When those flights do happen, pilot duties will be shared among the trio of flyers seen here: NASA’s Nils Larson (left), Lockheed Martin’s Dan “Dog” Canin, and NASA’s Jim Less.
