NASA’s X-59: Quiet Supersonic Engine Testing | Armstrong Flight Research Center

NASA’s X-59: Quiet Supersonic Engine Testing | Armstrong Flight Research Center

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft completed a series of engine run tests on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. These tests mark one of the final ground preparations before the aircraft’s second flight.

The X-59 aircraft builds on decades of supersonic flight research and is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission. The vast amount of data collected over the years has given designers the tools they needed to craft the shape of the X-59. The goal is to enable the aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds and reduce a loud sonic boom to a quieter “sonic thump.”

Data gathered during X-59 research flights will be shared with the U.S. and international regulators to inform the establishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.

The X-59’s engine, a modified F414-GE-100, packs 22,000 pounds of thrust. This will enable the X-59 to achieve the desired cruising speed of Mach 1.4 (925 miles per hour) at an altitude of approximately 55,000 feet. It sits in a nontraditional spot–atop the aircraft—to aid in making the X-59 quieter.

The X-59's goal is to help change existing national and international aviation rules that ban commercial supersonic flight over land.

For more information about the X-59 and NASA's Quesst mission, visit www.nasa.gov/quesst

Image Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Jim Ross
Date: March 12, 2026

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