NASA’s X-59 takes off on its first test flight
By Jesus Diaz | Published: 2025-10-29 19:00:00 | Source: Fast Company – co-design
Finally, the X-59 was airborne. NASA’s quiet supersonic plane soared into the skies of Palmdale, California, landing successfully a few minutes later. While this initial sortie on October 28 was a subsonic check of basic systems and airworthiness, the flight represents the penultimate step toward reviving supersonic passenger travel over land.
It also marks the beginning of a race to see which of the three supersonic aircraft ideas will win out and become the dominant design of the 21st century. An arrow-like shape from Lockheed Martin’s X-59 was developed to avoid sonic booms. Then we have Boom Supersonic’s XB-1, which aims not to avoid sonic booms, but to prevent them from reaching the ground, thanks to computer calculations and clever use of atmospheric physics altogether. Finally, let’s not forget that China is also in this race with a design that seems to mix the ideas of the X-59 and XB-1.
The significance of the X-59 lies in the spectacular failure of the Concorde. Despite being a technological marvel, its eardrum-shattering sonic boom sparked a public outcry that led to a ban on supersonic flight over populated areas in 1971, a move that crippled its commercial case and was followed by regulators around the world. Now, even though the Trump administration has lifted this ban on the United States, the rest of the world still does not allow these flights.
Design X-59
The X-59 was designed to make all bans obsolete worldwide. This project aims to prove that a supersonic aircraft can fly without causing an annoying bang, and instead generates a quiet “thump” no louder than the sound of a car door closing. “The real accomplishment of supersonic flight is to be able to fly above the ground again, so that you have those long routes where that supersonic flight is more useful,” Dave Richardson, director of the X-59 program at Lockheed Martin, told me last year, when the physical prototype was unveiled.
Made from recycled parts and bolted to the fuselage in a radical arrow shape, the X-59 looks more like a weapon than a research vehicle, or the long, sharp needle of an aircraft. Its design is a magic trick. According to Richardson, the secret to its quiet ride isn’t some exotic new material or engine. “There is no radical technology in the plane itself,” he explained. “It’s really just the shape of the plane.”
This form — with a nose a third of its length, a forward-facing windowless cockpit, and an engine mounted on its back — was born of massive computing power. Advanced modeling has allowed engineers to simulate the behavior of shock waves, a process that previously required “hundreds or thousands of times more expensive” in a wind tunnel.
Lockheed Martin’s design works by fundamentally reshaping the physics of sonic booms. Instead of allowing the shock waves generated by the plane’s movement through the air to combine into a huge, explosive boom, the X-59’s slim shape was designed to keep them separate. “You want to be able to stretch and manage different shocks along the plane,” Richardson said.
Each item is meticulously placed to support this goal. The engine air intake is located at the top of the fuselage, so the shock wave travels upward, away from the ground. The pilot navigates using a high-definition “external vision system” instead of a window, eliminating canopy bulge that could create a powerful shock wave.
The ultimate goal is not to build a new aircraft, but to collect data. The goal of NASA’s QueSST (Supersonic Sound Technology) mission is to convert Concorde’s 105-decibel boom — as loud as a chainsaw — into a 75-decibel sound. This is an important data point. The X-59 is an experimental instrument designed to fly over communities and ask a simple question: Is such a quiet strike acceptable? Personal feedback from people on the ground will be compiled into a database for US and international regulatory bodies, providing the evidence they need to rewrite the rules around supersonic flight.
Experience flying a new type of aircraft
This inaugural flight, piloted by Nils Larsson, was just the beginning of a rigorous testing process. Over the coming months, the X-59 will fly faster and higher, eventually exceeding Mach 1.4 at an altitude of 55,000 feet. Once its performance is validated, the aircraft will begin flights across several US cities. If the public response is positive and the data support the rule change, the path will be cleared.
For commercial manufacturers, Richardson said they could “immediately begin” producing a new generation of supersonic aircraft once the regulations are repealed. The future of dramatically shorter travel times now depends on the performance of this wonderful and exotic aircraft.
Meanwhile, after successfully testing the XB-1, Boom Supersonic is moving forward with the Overture, its first commercial aircraft. If the company continues to develop it at the current pace, it may actually become the winner of this silent supersonic race.
Blake Scholl, the company’s CEO, told me a few months ago that the introduction was designed to fit the airport’s existing infrastructure. The aircraft will be able to operate from existing gates and runways, making it practical for commercial use. He claimed that it would be impossible for something like the X-59 to fit into the plane because it would be absurdly long and impossible to fit into existing airports without redesigning or building new gates.
However, it is too early to know what will happen, since the X-59 still needs to start and successfully complete the test campaign – and the introduction must actually be achieved. Same thing with Chinese design. For now, it’s exciting to see all these amazing machines taking off and making history – wherever we go next.
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(tags for translation) Engineering
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