Page 1 - Aerotech News and Review August 1 2025

JOURNAL OF AEROSPACE, DEFENSE INDUSTRY AND VETERANS NEWS
NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic aircraft begins taxi tests
NASA photograph by Carla Thomas
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft taxis across the runway during a low-speed taxi test at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., July 10, 2025. The test marks the start of taxi tests and the last series of ground tests before first flight.
by Nicolas Cholulu
NASA Armstrong
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic re- search aircraft has officially begun taxi tests, marking the first time this one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft has moved under its own power.
NASA test pilot Nils Larson and the X-59 team, made up of NASA and
contractor Lockheed Martin personnel, completed the aircraft’s first low-speed taxi test at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., on July 10, 2025.
The taxiing represents the X-59’s last series of ground tests before first flight. Over the coming weeks, the air- craft will gradually increase its speed, leading up to a high-speed taxi test that will take the aircraft just short
of the point where it would take off. During the low-speed tests, engineers and flight crews monitored how the X-59 handled as it moved across the runway, working to validate critical systems like steering and braking. These checks help ensure the aircraft’s stability and control across a range of conditions, giving pilots and engineers confidence that all
systems are functioning as expected.
The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to demon- strate quiet supersonic flight by reduc- ing the loud sonic boom to a quieter “thump.” Data gathered from the X-59 will be shared with U.S. and interna- tional regulators to inform the estab- lishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.
Aug. 1, 2025 • Volume 40, Issue 8 Serving the aerospace industry since 1986 www.aerotechnews.com www.facebook.com/aerotechnews
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