NASA’s X-59 Completes First Wheels-Up Flight

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above the Mojave Desert during its first wheels-up flight on April 3, 2026. The aircraft took off and landed at its home base, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The flight marked a key milestone for the Quesst mission and provided the first look at the aircraft’s sleek design – the same configuration it will use to fly supersonic, generating a softer sonic “thump” instead of the loud sonic booms associated with flight faster than the speed of sound.