The team preparing NASA’s X-59 continues through testing in preparation for the quiet supersonic aircraft to make its first flight. This includes a trio of important structural tests and critical inspections on the path to flight. With the roll-out ceremony of the X-59 by NASA and Lockheed Martin, the aircraft was officially unveiled in January 2024.
The X-59 is an experimental plane that will fly faster than the speed of sound without a loud sonic boom. It will be the first of its kind to fly, with the goal of gathering sound data for NASA’s QueSST mission, which could open the door to commercial supersonic overland flight in the future.
As we know, the X-59 is an experimental aircraft that will fly supersonically without the typical loud sonic boom, revolutionizing commercial supersonic flight. It will be the first of its kind with this feature, aiming to collect sound data for NASA’s QueSST mission, which could pave the way for commercial supersonic flights over land, not just over water, in the near future.
Currently, commercial supersonic flight is only allowed over the ocean. This ban was enacted in 1973 and has since hindered commercial supersonic ventures, limiting faster-than-sound travel to oceanic routes. British Airways and Air France, with the Concorde, were two airlines offering such services between 1976 and 2003.
The X-59 is at the heart of NASA’s QueSST (Quiet SuperSonic Technology) mission, focused on providing data to help regulators reconsider the rules banning commercial supersonic flights over land. For 50 years, the U.S. and other countries have prohibited such flights due to the disturbance caused by loud sonic booms in communities below. The X-59 is expected to fly at 1.4 times the speed of sound, approximately 1,488 km/h (925 mph), at an altitude of 16,764 meters (55,000 feet). Its design, shape, and technologies will allow the aircraft to achieve these speeds while generating a quieter sound.
Because of its unique design, the X-59’s engineering team must do all it can to predict every aspect of it before it ever takes off, including how its fuselage, wings, and the control surfaces will behave together in flight. That means testing on the ground to give the team the data it needs to validate the models they’ve developed. “The testing not only tells us how structurally sound the aircraft is, but also what kind of forces it can take once it is in the air“, told Walt Silva, Senior Research Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, who serves as NASA’s structures lead for the X-59.
The X-59’s structural tests provide the team with valuable feedback. From 2022 to –2024 the engineers collected data on the forces that the aircraft will experience in flight and the potential effects of vibrations on the plane. “You do these tests, you get the data, and things compare well in some areas and in other areas you want to improve them”, Silva said. “So, you figure that all out and then you work towards making it better.”
Earlier this year, the X-59 underwent structural coupling tests that saw its control surfaces, including its ailerons, flaps and rudder, moved by computer. It was the last of three vital structural tests. In 2023, engineers applied “shakers” to parts of the plane to evaluate its response to vibrations, and in early 2022 they conducted a proof test to ensure the aircraft would absorb the forces it will experience during flight. This year the X-59 ejection seat was installed and passed inspection. The ejection seat is an additional safety measure that is critical for pilot safety during all aspects of flight.
With structural tests and ejection seat installation complete, the aircraft will advance toward a new milestone, starting up its engines for a series of test runs on the ground.
Also ahead for the X-59 is testing the airplane’s avionics and extensive wiring for potential electromagnetic interference, imitating flight conditions in a ground test environment, and finally, completing taxi tests to validate ground mobility before first flight. “First flights are always very intense”, said Natalie Spivey, aerospace engineer at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “There’s lots of anticipation, but we’re ready to get there and see how the aircraft responds in the air. It’ll be very exciting.”
Images: Lockheed Martin