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NASA’s experimental X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft is flying, and it’s been busy. ✈️

Built with Lockheed Martin, the X-59 is a 99.7-foot-long research jet with a sharply elongated nose, designed to reshape the shock waves that normally merge into a loud sonic boom. Instead, NASA expects a much quieter “thump,” like a distant door closing.

Its timeline so far:
🛫 October 28, 2025: first flight
🔊 June 5, 2026: first supersonic flight, at about Mach 1.1
🚀 June 12, 2026: reached its target mission conditions of Mach 1.4 at 55,000 feet
🇺🇸 October 28, 2026: set out on its first cross-country flight to Florida, a year to the day after first flight

There’s no forward-facing cockpit window. Pilots see ahead through the eXternal Vision System, which pairs cameras with high-resolution displays.

The next phase is the one that matters most. NASA plans to fly the aircraft over select communities to gather data on how people perceive the sound. That evidence could help regulators revisit the rules limiting supersonic flight over land, and potentially open the door to much shorter commercial flights.

Would you fly supersonic again? 👇

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