NASA recently released a video that captures the first flight of its X-59 supersonic aircraft as it soared above the Southern California desert, allowing us to relive the excitement from the cockpit of the sleek jet.
X-59 took to the skies for its inaugural flight on October 28, spending around one hour in the air before landing near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The experimental vehicle is designed to break the sound barrier without the loud, explosive sound known as a sonic boom, making quiet supersonic flight a viable option for commercial aircraft.
The aircraft, built by aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin, took off from the company’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The nearly two-minute-long video captures the ultra-thin, pointy aircraft leaving its hangar and gliding its way on the runway before takeoff. X-59, piloted by Nils Larson, picked up speed and took to the skies for the first time, operating slower than the speed of sound at 230 miles per hour (370 kilometers per hour) and a maximum altitude of about 12,000 feet (3.6 kilometers).
“All the training, all the planning that you’ve done prepares you and there is a time when you realize the weight of the moment. But then the mission takes over.” Larson said in a statement. “The checklist starts. And it’s almost like you don’t even realize until it’s all over—it’s done.”
Although the cockpit has no forward-facing window, NASA developed an eXternal Vision System using cameras and advanced high-definition displays that allow the pilot to see ahead and below the aircraft.
Quiet speed
Last month’s test flight is the first in a series meant to verify X-59’s performance. During upcoming flights over the next few months, the plane will attempt to reach its desired speed and altitude while NASA measures its sound signature and conducts community acceptance testing.
“The X-59 is the first of its kind, and a major breakthrough in America’s push toward commercial air travel that’s both quiet and faster than ever before,” NASA’s acting administrator, Sean Duffy, said in a statement.
NASA began working on X-59 nearly a decade ago, assigning Lockheed Martin with the task of developing a quiet supersonic aircraft. When planes fly faster than the speed of sound, Mach 1, or about 767 miles per hour (1,234 kilometers per hour), they create a loud, explosive noise due to the shock waves created by the extreme speeds.
X-59’s sharp design is meant to reduce the pressure change that flows over the ground. X-59’s engine is mounted on top of the aircraft, which reduces the amount of noise from the plane that reaches the ground. Earlier this year, NASA wrapped up a series of tests on the single modified F414-GE-100 engine powering the entire plane and its subsystems. The engine testing made way for the X-59 to finally take flight.
“In this industry, there’s nothing like a first flight,” Brad Flick, center director of NASA Armstrong, said in a statement. “But there’s no recipe for how to fly an X-plane. You’ve got to figure it out, and adapt, and do the right thing, and make the right decisions.”
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