NASA and Lockheed Martin reveal quiet supersonic aircraft

This unique aircraft is designed to gather critical data, potentially enabling a new era of commercial aircraft capable of surpassing the speed of sound.

“This is a major accomplishment made possible only through the hard work and ingenuity from NASA and the entire X-59 team,” commented NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “In just a few short years we’ve gone from an ambitious concept to reality. NASA’s X-59 will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time.”

The aircraft was revealed in a ceremony by senior officials, including Melroy, at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, the prime contractor for the project.

At the heart of NASA’s Quesst mission, the X-59 aims to provide essential data to help reevaluate regulations currently prohibiting commercial supersonic flight over land. The ban, in place for half a century in the US and other countries, is due to the disruptive sonic booms created by such flights. Designed to travel at 1.4 times the speed of sound, or 925mph, the X-59 is engineered to minimise noise, producing a quieter sonic thump instead of a traditional boom.

“It’s thrilling to consider the level of ambition behind Quesst and its potential benefits,” said Bob Pearce, Associate Administrator for aeronautics research at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA will share the data and technology we generate from this one-of-a-kind mission with regulators and with industry. By demonstrating the possibility of quiet commercial supersonic travel over land, we seek to open new commercial markets for US companies and benefit travellers around the world.”

With the aircraft's rollout now complete, the Quesst team will focus on the next stages of preparation for its maiden flight, including integrated systems testing, engine runs, and taxi testing for the X-59.

The aircraft is scheduled to take off later this year, followed by its initial quiet supersonic flight. The Quesst team plans to conduct several flight tests at Skunk Works before transferring the aircraft to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, which will become its operational base.

“Across both teams, talented, dedicated, and passionate scientists, engineers, and production artisans have collaborated to develop and produce this aircraft,” stated John Clark, Vice President, and General Manager at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. “We’re honoured to be a part of this journey to shape the future of supersonic travel over land alongside NASA and our suppliers.”

Once the flight tests are completed by NASA, the agency plans to fly the X-59 over various cities across the US to gather public feedback on the aircraft's sound. This data will then be provided to the Federal Aviation Administration and international regulatory bodies.

The X-59 is an experimental aircraft, distinct from a prototype, with its technologies intended to inform the development of future generations of quiet supersonic aircraft. The aircraft's design is a marvel of engineering, measuring 99.7 feet in length and 29.5 feet in width. Its unique shape and advanced technological features are key to enabling quiet supersonic flight. A significant portion of the aircraft's length is its thin, tapered nose, designed to disrupt the shock waves that typically result in a sonic boom in supersonic aircraft.

The cockpit's position, located nearly halfway down the aircraft's length and lacking a forward-facing window, is a unique aspect of its design. Instead, the Quesst team has implemented the eXternal Vision System, comprising high-resolution cameras that feed into a 4K monitor in the cockpit.

Additionally, the aircraft's design includes the engine mounted on top and a smooth underside, which helps prevent the merging of shockwaves behind the aircraft, thereby avoiding the creation of a sonic boom.