The X-59 Questt aircraft has been under construction at Lockheed Martin’s “Skunk Works” facility in California since 2019.
At long last, Lockheed Martin and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) are ready to unveil the new X-59 Quest, a supersonic aircraft intended to break the sound barrier without producing a loud sonic boom.
The Questst aircraft has been under construction at Lockheed Martin’s “Skunk Works” facility in Palmdale, California, since 2019, according to space.com.
NASA’s experimental populated areas.
The US space agency will launch its painted X-59 aircraft for the first time in its hangar on January 12, while hosting a free livestream and encouraging the public to host viewing parties.
The agency also offers printable invitations and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) toolkits for educators.
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The aircraft features an elongated and tapering beak-shaped nose section that measures 38 feet (11.5 meters) long. The nose section will help shape the shock waves the plane produces during flight, NASA said in a 2021 statement.
The 99.7-foot-long, 29.5-foot-wide aircraft is designed to reach a speed of Mach 1.4, or 925 mph (1,489 kph) while flying at an altitude of 55,000 feet.
The X-59 is powered by a single engine built by General Electric Aviation.
The plane will conduct a research campaign in residential areas to collect data on people’s reactions to quieter sonic booms, which NASA will use to gain approval for commercial supersonic flights from regulatory agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration.
