NASA’s Quiet Supersonic X-59 Nears First Flight

Medium- and high-speed taxiing marks the final phase of ground testing for the experimental design.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at 01:02 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

NASA test pilot Nils Larson gets in the cockpit for X-59 ground testing at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in California. [Courtesy: Lockheed Martin]

Key Takeaways:

NASA and Lockheed Martin’s X-59 aircraft is nearing its maiden flight, designed with unique features to reduce loud sonic booms to quiet "thumps" as part of the Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QUESST) effort.
The X-59 incorporates innovative design elements, such as a long, tapered nose, a top-mounted engine, and an external vision system replacing a forward-facing window, all engineered to suppress noise.
Test flights of the X-59 will gather crucial data for U.S. and international regulators to develop new noise standards, aiming to potentially lift the 1973 ban on civil supersonic flight over land.
This project aligns with broader industry and political efforts to modernize supersonic flight regulations, shifting focus from speed limits to permissible noise levels.

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NASA and Lockheed Martin’s supersonic X-59 aircraft—which moved under its own power for the first time in July—is nearing its maiden flight.

The space agency on Tuesday said it is “about to begin” medium- and high-speed X-59 taxi tests, the final step before takeoff. The linchpin of NASA’s Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QUESST) effort, X-59 test flights will help U.S. and international regulators create noise standards for civil supersonic flight over land, which the FAA has banned since 1973.