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Quesst: The Vehicle

NASA’s first purpose-built, supersonic X-plane in decades will soon take to the skies. A single pilot is to fly the 99.7-foot-long, 29.5-foot-wide aircraft powered by a single jet engine. Its design research speed will be Mach 1.4, or 925 mph, flying at 55,000 feet. NASA will use the experimental X-59 to provide data that could change the rules that ban supersonic flight over land by proving a sonic boom can be reduced to a barely-audible sonic thump heard on the ground.

In this photo, NASA’s X-59 aircraft is shown at sunrise at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. Open desert can be seen behind the aircraft. The X-59’s design features a long nose, approximately one-third of the aircraft’s nearly 100-foot length, swept-back wings, and an engine mounted on top and toward the rear of the fuselage.

Quesst: The Vehicle News

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from the Quesst mission on the X-59 aircraft.

X-59 Fires Up its Engine for First Time on its Way to Takeoff
4 min read

Lee esta historia en español aquí. NASA’s Quesst mission marked a major milestone with the start of tests on the…

Article
NASA’s X-59 Progresses Through Tests on the Path to Flight
3 min read

Lee esta historia en español aquí. The team preparing NASA’s X-59 continues through testing in preparation for the quiet supersonic aircraft to…

Article
NASA’s X-59 Passes Milestone Toward Safe First Flight 
4 min read

NASA has taken the next step toward verifying the airworthiness for its quiet supersonic X-59 aircraft with the completion of…

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NASA, Lockheed Martin Reveal X-59 Quiet Supersonic Aircraft
4 min read

NASA and Lockheed Martin formally debuted the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft Friday. Using this one-of-a-kind experimental airplane, NASA aims…

News Release
NASA’s X-59 Rollout Embodies Aeronautical Tradition
5 min read

Lee esta historia en español aquí. NASA’s X-59 aircraft is heading out of the hangar – preparing to embark on…

Article
NASA Invites You to X-59 Rollout Watch Party
2 min read

It’s almost time for NASA’s supersonic X-59 airplane to make its red, white, and blue public debut, and you’re invited…

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