NASA runs first engine tests on supersonic X-59 research aircraft

Mike Heuer
·2 min read
NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft, pictured on Dec. 12, sits on the apron outside Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, Calif. NASA File Photo by Steve Freeman/UPI
NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft, pictured on Dec. 12, sits on the apron outside Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, Calif. NASA File Photo by Steve Freeman/UPI

Nov. 6 (UPI) -- NASA engineers fired the engines on the X-59 research aircraft in advance of planned test flights to determine if the aircraft can reduce sonic booms and make supersonic flight over land quieter.

Engineers began test-firing the experimental aircraft's jet engine at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, Calif., on Oct. 30 to see if the aircraft's systems work properly while the engine is in use before its inaugural test flight sometime in the near future.

The single-engine aircraft that Lockheed Martin designed and built is the research aircraft for NASA's Quiet SuperSonic Technology mission that NASA officials refer to as the Quesst mission. NASA first unveiled the experimental aircraft on Jan. 12.

The mission's intent is to make supersonic flight quieter and safer over residential areas.

The experimental aircraft has a very long needle-like nose with no windshield due to the inability of pilot to see what is below the nose.

Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Canin sits in the cockpit of NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft in a run stall at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, Calif., prior to its first engine run on Oct. 30. Photo by Carla Thomas/NASA
Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Canin sits in the cockpit of NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft in a run stall at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, Calif., prior to its first engine run on Oct. 30. Photo by Carla Thomas/NASA

The X-59's nose accounts for 38 feet of its 99.7 foot length, and pilots will use an External Vision System that uses forward-facing cameras linked to cockpit displays to enable its lone pilot to safely fly the aircraft.

The aircraft's delta-shaped wings give it a wingspan of 29.5 feet, and it has a maximum takeoff weight of 32,300 pounds.

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits in its run stall at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, Calif., prior to its first engine run on Oct. 30. Photo by Carla Thomas/NASA
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits in its run stall at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, Calif., prior to its first engine run on Oct. 30. Photo by Carla Thomas/NASA

General Electric Aviation designed and built the engine that is expected to enable the X-59 to fly at up to 925 mph, which is equal to Mach 1.4, with a maximum altitude of 55,000 feet.

Instead of causing a loud sonic boom while flying over land, the aircraft is supposed to produce more of a soft thud.

NASA pilots will fly the aircraft over between four and six residential areas in 2026 and record data on how the public experiences the sonic disturbances caused while the aircraft exceeds the speed of sound.

NASA will ask residents of respective flyover communities their impression of the X-59 and the amount of noise it produces.

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