NASA’s experimental X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology aircraft recently completed a series of advanced ground tests at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. 

According to NASA, the tests which simulated real flight conditions were conducted without the aircraft leaving the hangar.

NASA said the simulation exercises, dubbed “aluminum bird” testing, were part of the agency’s efforts to prepare the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology aircraft for flight. 

Though the aircraft remained on the ground, its systems operated as if it were airborne. Engineers simulated changes in altitude, speed, and temperature, allowing the flight computers to react just as they would during actual flight.

“The idea behind these tests is to command the airplane’s subsystems and flight computer to function as if it is flying,” Yohan Lin, the X-59’s lead avionics engineer at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center said in a press release. 

The findings were not detailed in NASA’s press release, but Lin explained that the tests revealed several areas needing fine-tuning, especially within the software systems. “These tests were very helpful,” he added. 

The recent tests mark a major milestone toward the X-59’s first flight, expected later this year.

The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to overcome one of the key barriers to supersonic flight over land, currently banned in the United States, by significantly reducing the intensity of sonic booms.

Measuring 100 feet in length with a 29.5-foot wingspan, the X-59 is powered by a General Electric F414 engine. It is designed to reach speeds up to Mach 1.5 (990 mph or 1,590 km/h) and will cruise at Mach 1.42 (940 mph or 1,510 km/h) at an altitude of approximately 55,000 feet (16,800 meters).

Shorter flight times, quieter booms: see how NASA’s X-59 experimental airplane could revolutionize supersonic flight in the documentary “X-59: NASA’s Quesst for Supersonic Flight,” streaming now for free on NASA+. https://t.co/7a6FTvxBwE pic.twitter.com/B5YJCTqsjH

— NASA (@NASA) December 30, 2024