NASA’s X-59 Progresses Through Tests on the Path to Flight | Space

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.

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.

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 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…