Commercial faster-than-sound travel over land doesn’t happen anymore—but in the U.S., it could soon, with the debut of a new experimental plane developed by NASA and Lockheed Martin. The X-59 aircraft is designed to test out sonic boom-less supersonic flight, producing only sonic ‘thumps’ as it speeds through the…
NASA’s freshly painted X-59 aircraft will be rolled out of its hangar on Friday, January 12, in the lead-up to its first takeoff. The experimental plane, built by Lockheed Martin, is designed to develop a quieter type of supersonic flight.
NASA’s supersonic experimental plane—the linchpin of the agency’s Quesst mission—is set to roll out of its warehouse in the California desert next week. We’re gassed for the big moment: the X-59 has been in development for six years, and, if successful, it will demonstrate supersonic flight without sonic booms.
X-planes are a class of experimental aircraft designed to test and demonstrate new innovations in flight—some were created for NASA, others for DARPA or the U.S. military. The first X-plane, X-1, was flown by Chuck Yeager in the 1940s and was the first craft to fly faster than the speed of sound. Over the decades,…
Jon Kotwicki
