NASA’s Quiet Supersonic X-59 Completes First Wheels-Up Flight | NASA Armstrong

NASA’s Quiet Supersonic X-59 Completes First Wheels-Up Flight | NASA Armstrong

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft is on display in its sleek configuration following its first wheels-up flight on April 3, 2026, from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The transition marks a key milestone for the Quesst mission and an important step in the aircraft’s test campaign, which aims to enable quiet commercial supersonic flight over land.

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

Video Credit: NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC)
Duration: 43 seconds
Release Date: April 15, 2026

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