X-59 flyr neste måned - AIN

NASA Will Roll Out X-59 Supersonic Flight Demonstrator in January

Rollout of the X-59 Quesst is scheduled for January 12

Despite the delay of the first flight to 2024, NASA's X-59 March 1.4 demonstrator has checked off several milestones. © Lockheed Martin

By HANNEKE WEITERING • Science & Technology Editor

December 12, 2023

NASA plans to unveil its X-59 quiet supersonic technology (Quesst) demonstrator aircraft on January 12 during a public ceremony at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California.

Lockheed Martin has been developing the X-59 alongside NASA since 2016, and the first flight of the supersonic aircraft had been anticipated to take place this year. However, in October, agency officials delayed the inaugural flight to 2024, citing “several technical challenges identified over the course of 2023,” including “intermittent issues with some of the safety-redundant computers.” A firm date for the first flight will be scheduled following a pending flight readiness review. 

Earlier this year, the Quesst team moved the X-59 out of the assembly room and onto the flight line, a space between the hangar and the runway, to proceed with ground testing in preparation for the first flight. The X-59 aircraft was then relocated to the paint barn at Skunk Works in mid-November for a fresh paint job and new livery that will be revealed at the rollout.

NASA and Lockheed are developing the 100-foot-long X-plane to demonstrate the ability to fly faster than the speed of sound without generating a loud sonic boom—the main reason why commercial supersonic flight over land is currently prohibited.

NASA says the aircraft will produce a much quieter “thump” as it breaks the sound barrier, and the agency intends to fly the aircraft over communities in the U.S. in 2024 to collect data on how residents perceive the noise. It will then share that data with regulators who may want to reconsider bans on commercial supersonic flights.