Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Date: 12/12/2023
NASA unveiled America’s new X-59 aircraft today at LMs Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The experimental aircraft is designed as an experimental test-bed for “quiet supersonic” air travel and it is hoped that it will serve as a serious starting point for commercial aircraft that can travel faster than the speed of sound, this time in a quieter, more efficient manner than previous airplanes like the Concorde.
While many think of NASA as just a space agency, it is also tasked with aerospace research — hence the Aeronautics in National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Other X-craft include the Boeing X-37, the winged spacecraft that SpaceX launched on Falcon Heavy last month from Kennedy Space Center and the X-15, the first crewed hypersonic aircraft that took its pilots to the edge of space and many others.
The X-15 #2 (56-6671) launches away from the B-52 mothership with its rocket engine ignited. The white patches near the middle of the ship are frost from the liquid oxygen used in the propulsion system, although very cold liquid nitrogen was also used to cool the payload bay, cockpit, windshields, and nose.
photo: NASA
These vehicles are designed to gather real-world test data of given aeronautical concepts, and the information gleaned from the used to inform future airplane designs. This something you can see for yourself nearly every time you take a commercial flight, even without realizing it: during the 1970s and 1980s, NASA research led to the development of vertical extensions that can be attached to wing tips to reduce aerodynamic drag without having to increase wing span. They’re often called “winglets” and are on the edge of most commercial airplanes in the United States today.
According to NASA, “the X-59 is at the center of NASA’s Quesst mission, which focuses on providing data to help regulators reconsider rules prohibiting commercial supersonic flight over land. For 50 years, the U.S. and other nations have prohibited such flights because of the disturbance caused by loud, startling sonic booms on the communities below. The X-59 is expected to fly at 1.4 times the speed of sound, or 925 mph. Its design, shaping and technologies will allow the aircraft to achieve these speeds while generating a quieter sonic thump.”
“This is a major accomplishment made possible only through the hard work and ingenuity from NASA and the entire X-59 team,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “In just a few short years we’ve gone from an ambitious concept to reality. NASA’s X-59 will help change how we travel, bringing us closer together in less time.”
Photo: capture from NASA video feed on 01/12/2024
NASA and Lockheed-Martin currently plan for the first flight of X-59 this year, after further qualification tests are completed to verify the plane’s airworthiness. Those tests include integrated systems testing, engine runs, and taxi testing.
After initial flight testing, NASA says they will “fly the aircraft over several to-be-selected cities across the U.S., collecting input about the sound the X-59 generates and how people perceive it. NASA will provide that data to the Federal Aviation Administration and international regulators.”
The agency also stressed that this is an experimental aircraft and not a prototype for any future airplanes, and that it should not be mistaken as such. NASA says that “[the X-59’s ] technologies are meant to inform future generations of quiet supersonic aircraft.”Those future aircraft have yet to be designed, and will undoubtedly rely on some of the data gathered during flights of this new airplane.
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