NASA X-59 Makes Historic First Flight Over California

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft conducted its first flight today from the U.S. Air Force’s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The flight is a major milestone in the agency’s Quesst mission to demonstrate low-boom supersonic flight. The Skunk Works–built jet took off at approximately 8:14 a.m. local time for a short shakedown flight reaching about 240 mph and an altitude near 12,000 feet before landing at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards. NASA test pilot Nils Larson evaluated basic handling qualities and system integration.

The first flight begins a months-long series of envelope-expansion tests to confirm airworthiness and safety before the X-59 moves into higher-speed runs exceeding the speed of sound. Built by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works under NASA’s Qu