NASA’s X-59 Aircraft Continues Operational Testing after First Supersonic Flight

NASA’s X-59 Aircraft Continues Operational Testing after First Supersonic Flight

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft can be seen flying along the Bell X-1 Supersonic Corridor in California and above NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, during flight testing in support of NASA’s Quesst mission. NASA continues X-59 flight days during envelope expansion testing as teams work to better understand how the aircraft responds throughout its operating range.

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.

Learn more about NASA's Quesst mission: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/quesst/

Keep up with the latest about X-59: 
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/quesst/

Image Credit: NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC)/Jim Ross
Release Date: April 28-June 10, 2026

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