Supersonic X-59 flight rescheduled by NASA for 2024
NewsOctober 13, 2023
PALMDALE, California. NASA's Quesst mission has revised the inaugural flight date for the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft to 2024, according to a recent statement from the agency.
Constructed as a singular experimental aircraft, the X-59 has been developed via a collaboration between NASA and Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. The X-59 fuses new technological advancements with elements and systems from several renowned aircraft, and it incorporates landing gear from an F-16 and a life-support system inspired by an F-15, the statement reads.
Over the course of 2023, the Quesst team identified various technical obstacles, leading to the necessity for additional time to integrate systems cohesively into the aircraft, the agency says, adding that the team has also been addressing occasional complications with certain safety-redundant computers responsible for managing the aircraft's functionalities.
The team has worked over the past year to complete the X-59's tail structure and the subsequent transition to crucial ground tests, the agency says. The objective of the X-59 is to demonstrate supersonic flight capabilities, transitioning the typically deafening sonic boom to a subdued sonic thud.
