Page 5 - Aerotech News and Review – May 2 2025

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NASA calibrates second shock-sensing probe for X-59 testing
by Nicholas Cholula
NASA Armstrong
When you’re testing a cut- ting-edge NASA aircraft, you need specialized tools to con- duct tests and capture data — but if those tools need main- tenance, you need to wait until they’re fixed.
Unless you have a backup.
That’s why NASA recently calibrated a new shock-sensing
probe to capture shock wave data when the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic research air- craft begins its test flights.
When an aircraft flies faster than the speed of sound, it pro- duces shock waves that travel through the air, creating loud sonic booms. The X-59 will divert those shock waves, pro- ducing just a quiet supersonic
______ See X-59, on Page 8
NASA photograph by Steve Freeman
NASA photograph by Jim Ross
NASA’s F-15D research aircraft conducts a flight test near Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., with a newly installed near-shock sensing probe. Identical to a previously flown version that was intended as the backup, this new probe will capture shock wave data near the X-59 as it flies faster than the speed of sound, supporting NASA’s Quesst mission.
LEFT: NASA test pilot Nils Larson inspects the agency’s F-15D research aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., ahead of a calibration flight for a newly installed near-field shock-sensing probe. Mounted on the F-15D, the probe is designed to measure shock waves generated by the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft during flight. The data will help researchers better understand how shock waves behave in close proximity to the aircraft, supporting NASA’s Quesst mission to enable quiet supersonic flight over land.
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