NASA's X-59 'quiet' supersonic jet aces key 'cruise control' test ahead of 1st flight

NASA's X-59 'quiet' supersonic jet aces key 'cruise control' test ahead of 1st flight

NASA's "quiet" new supersonic jet, the X-59, just passed a key engine test, bringing it closer to its first flight later this year.

3 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on a ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, at sunset. This one-of-a-kind aircraft is powered by a General Electric F414 engine, a variant of the engines used on the F/A-18. The engine is mounted above the fuselage to reduce the amount of shock waves reaching the ground. The X-59 is the centerp…