NASA's experimental X-59 Quesst jet successfully completed its inaugural flight over the Mojave Desert in Southern California. The aircraft aims to reduce sonic boom noise, potentially enabling supersonic commercial flights over land. This marks a key step toward quieter, faster air travel.
On Tuesday, about an hour after sunrise, NASA's newest experimental supersonic jet, the X-59 Quesst (Quiet SuperSonic Technology), took to the skies for the first time over the Mojave Desert in Southern California. The flight represents a significant milestone in developing quieter supersonic aircraft.
The X-59 is designed to decrease the noise associated with a sonic boom when an aircraft breaks the sound barrier. This innovation could pave the way for future commercial jets to operate at supersonic speeds—more than twice as fast as current commercial airliners—over land, addressing long-standing restrictions on such flights due to noise concerns.
As part of NASA's Quesst mission, the X-59's inaugural flight tests its ability to fly supersonically while producing a much softer sound, often described as a 'thump' rather than a disruptive boom. The successful takeoff advances efforts to make supersonic travel viable for passengers, potentially revolutionizing air travel efficiency.
This event builds on decades of research into quiet supersonic technology, with the X-59 now entering a phase of further testing to gather data on its noise profile during high-speed flights.