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NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Research Aircraft Makes First Flight | Aviation Week Network

Flown by NASA X-59 lead pilot Nils Larson, the much-anticipated first flight of the Lockheed Martin-built aircraft began at 8:14 a.m. PDT Oct. 28.
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NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Research Aircraft Makes First Flight​

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NASA began flight tests of its needle-nosed X-59 Quesst quiet supersonic research aircraft with a 1 hr. 7 min. initial sortie from Palmdale, California, to the nearby Edwards AFB on Oct. 28.

Flown by NASA X-59 lead pilot Nils Larson, the much-anticipated first flight of the Lockheed Martin-built aircraft began at 8:14 a.m. Pacific time with an unrestricted climb from Palmdale’s 12,000 ft.-long runway 07/25.

Larson flew the GE Aerospace F414-powered aircraft to 12,000 ft. and conducted basic handling checks at speeds between 170 kts. and 250 kts. while orbiting Edwards AFB. After several extended circuits, the aircraft descended for a landing on the base’s 15,024 ft.-long runway 22 Left at 9:21 a.m. Before landing, Larson made a low approach and go-around which included a pass over NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center.

First flight of the aircraft, which is designed to gather data on the public response to shaped low sonic booms by conducting supersonic test flights over U.S. cities, follows the start of taxi tests on July 10. Initially rolled out in January 2024, the 99.7 ft.-long sharply swept delta wing aircraft went through an exhaustive series of ground tests which revealed nagging issues with the flight control computer, hydraulic system and other components—all of which pushed flight tests into late 2025.


With a design research speed of Mach 1.4 and an altitude range up to 55,000 ft., the X-59 incorporates several key features to minimize the intensity of a sonic boom. These include the aircraft’s distinctive extended sharp nose section, fuselage shaping to prevent shockwaves merging, and a top-mounted engine fed from a diverter-less bump inlet which directs shockwaves upward.

Following post-flight analysis, NASA is scheduled to begin envelope expansion which will eventually see the X-59 reach transonic and supersonic speeds to close out the first part of a three-phase effort. Phase two, likely to begin in 2026, will validate the aircraft’s acoustic characteristics while phase three will be focused on community response.

Although NASA originally planned to provide overflight noise data to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in time for the 2028 meeting of its Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), which planned to decide on the boom standard, delays to the start of flight tests have pushed this target back to the CAEP/15 meeting in 2030.

NASA says the low boom mission of the X-59 remains highly relevant despite President Trump’s executive order in June directing the FAA to lift the longstanding ban on overland supersonic flight.
 
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