NASA's Supersonic X-59 Readying For Structural Testing

Experimental aircraft is expected to be shipped to Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas by year's end.

Mark Spoor

Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 07:07 PM ET

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The aircraft will undergo ground testing to ensure it can hold up to flight loads and stresses. Credit: NASA

Key Takeaways:

NASA's X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft is being transported from California to Texas for structural and fuel system testing, with its first flight expected next year.
The X-59's primary goal is to demonstrate technology that reduces loud sonic booms to quiet thumps, aiming to gather data to inform future regulations for commercial supersonic flight over land.

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NASA’s low-boom supersonic experimental aircraft will soon be transported from the production floor at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company’s Skunk Works factory in Palmdale, California, to Texas for structural testing.

The X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) experimental aircraft is part of a NASA’s Low Boom Flight Demonstration project aimed at collecting data to help shape regulations for possible future commercial supersonic flight over land.