NASA and Lockheed Martin Unveil X-59 Supersonic Jet

NASA and Lockheed Martin Unveil X-59 Supersonic Jet

• Lockheed Martin and NASA have unveiled the X-59 supersonic jet, which will gather data to support reconsidering laws against supersonic flight over land.
• The X-59 features a unique cockpit design with an “eXternal Vision System” built into the heads-up display and requires pilots to wear partial pressure suits.
• The next steps for the X-59 include engine testing, integrated systems testing, and its first flight later this year, followed by further testing stages to validate sound levels and measure noise on the ground.

Lockheed Martin and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have officially unveiled the nation’s newest supersonic jet. The X-59 will take to the skies later as the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which will gather comprehensive data to encourage regulators to reconsider laws prohibiting commercial supersonic flight over land.

The Quesst for quiet flights

The aircraft is the latest in the series of “X” designated aircraft that began with the Bell X-1, famously the first aircraft to break the sound barrier when piloted by Chuck Yeager in 1947. The X-59 is a collaboration between Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works Advanced Development Program and NASA.

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The aircraft was officially unveiled at a ceremony in California today, with Simple Flying in attendance. Reaching almost 100 feet long, the sleek jet is painted white with the NASA, Lockheed Martin, and Skunk Works logos prominently displayed. NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy highlighted the teamwork and dedication of all those involved in the project:

“This is a major accomplishment made possible only through the hard work and ingenuity from NASA and the entire X-59 team.

“In just a few short years we’ve gone from an ambitious concept to reality. NASA’s X-59 will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time.”

At 99.7 feet long and 29.5 feet wide, the X-59 is a unique experimental airplane, as opposed to a prototype of a future production aircraft.

How does it fly?

The single-pilot cockpit is derived from the T-38 trainer and features a unique “eXternal Vision System” built into the heads-up display instead of a front windscreen. X-59 lead test pilot David Nils Larson explained how the system works to Simple Flying. A front camera and an extendable bottom mount with three additional cameras provide a comprehensive view.

The system was tested on a King Air, with one pilot using the new HUD and the copilot looking out the windows. The heads-up display even identifies objects and hazards to alert the pilot in advance.

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Larson confirmed exclusively to Simple Flying that the aircraft will operate at up to 60,000 feet, above that of a typical fighter jet, requiring the pilot to wear partial pressure suits (such as those used by F-22 pilots). The ejection seats also had to be modified to carry additional oxygen should the pilot need to terminate the mission at such a high altitude.

The plane uses an F-18 Super Hornet engine to achieve speeds of up to 925 MPH (Mach 1.4). Significantly, the engine is mounted above the wings, and the airframe features an aft deck under the exhaust nozzle and a smooth underside to further prevent the sound waves from coming together to create a sonic boom.

How will it operate?

Simple Flying spoke to Cathy Hahn, the project manager for the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator project, about the next steps for the aircraft. Up next is engine testing, followed by integrated systems testing and taxi tests before the aircraft’s first flight, which was announced to be later this year.

The first ten flights will be out of the Palmdale facility before moving to the nearby NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base for Phase One testing. The initial tests will check the structure and systems while evaluating the aircraft’s limits to see how it handles stress.

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Last month, technical issues prompted the agency to push back the timeline of the jets first flight.

Phase Two is set to begin in 2025. This stage involves validating the expected sound levels with the actual noise the aircraft produces. A modified F-15 fighter will follow the jet in flight and fly underneath the test aircraft, measuring the sonic waves produced in real-time.

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Phase Three is the community overflight stage to measure the sound on the ground in a variety of environments. Nasa’s Quesst mission integration manager, Peter Coen, confirmed the team had identified 40 potential candidate airfields for community testing. With no speed brakes, spoilers, hooks, or a drag shoot to slow the aircraft, it requires over 10,000 feet to land.

There will be five final sites in diverse locations to evaluate how the noise is affected by the surroundings and quantify the sound produced while flying supersonically.

What happens next?

It will take approximately three years to build a comprehensive data set, which will then be presented to the FAA and international regulators. Bob Pearce, Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Research at NASA Headquarters in Washington, elaborated on some of the potential uses for the data acquired:

“It’s thrilling to consider the level of ambition behind Quesst and its potential benefits.

“NASA will share the data and technology we generate from this one-of-a-kind mission with regulators and with industry. By demonstrating the possibility of quiet commercial supersonic travel over land, we seek to open new commercial markets for U.S. companies and benefit travelers around the world.”

Lockheed Martin is already sharing its analysis with industry insiders as it looks to advance the supersonic aircraft sectors. According to company representatives, the first commercial products using the new technology will start to appear around 2035.