NASA X-59 Reaches Mach 1.1 in First Supersonic Flight as Quiet-Thump Test Nears
Updated
Updated · NASA · Jun 6
NASA X-59 Reaches Mach 1.1 in First Supersonic Flight as Quiet-Thump Test Nears
3 articles · Updated · NASA · Jun 6
Summary
Mach 1.1 at 43,400 feet marked the X-59’s first supersonic flight on June 5, an 81-minute test from Edwards Air Force Base flown by NASA pilot Jim “Clue” Less.
The milestone advances NASA’s envelope-expansion campaign, which has logged 16 flights in the past 90 days to assess handling at subsonic and supersonic speeds before sound-profile testing begins.
Days from now, the aircraft is expected to fly under “mission conditions” at Mach 1.4 and about 55,000 feet—the baseline profile for later overflights of U.S. communities.
Those community flights are central to Quesst: NASA plans to collect public-response data on the X-59’s quieter sonic signature and give it to regulators to help shape new overland supersonic noise standards.
The X-59 is designed to replace the traditional sonic boom with a quiet thump, a step NASA says could reopen the path to commercial supersonic travel over land.