NASA and Lockheed Martin Unveil Experimental Supersonic Aircraft X-59 [VIDEO]

NASA and Lockheed Martin have officially introduced the experimental silent supersonic aircraft X-59. The key feature of this aircraft is the absence of a sonic boom during its supersonic flight, as stated in NASA's announcement. The companies plan to utilize this experimental aircraft to determine the direction for the development of a new generation of commercial supersonic planes.

"This is a significant achievement made possible through the persistent work and innovation of NASA and the entire X-59 team. In just a few years, we have gone from an ambitious concept to reality. NASA X-59 will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer in much less time," said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy.

The first flight of the aircraft at subsonic speed is scheduled for later this year, followed by its first test supersonic flight. After the completion of initial flight tests, NASA plans to fly it over several U.S. cities, collecting data on the sound generated by X-59 and its impact on people. This data will be shared with the Federal Aviation Administration and international regulators.

According to plans, the speed of X-59 will exceed the speed of sound by 1.4 times, reaching 1488 km/h. The design, shape, and technologies of the aircraft will allow it to achieve this speed while generating less noticeable sonic booms. Specifically, the thin and narrowed nose, constituting nearly a third of the length of the aircraft, will reduce the loudness of shockwaves typically produced by supersonic planes when exceeding the speed of sound.

Due to this configuration, the cockpit of the X-59 is located almost halfway down the length of the aircraft and lacks forward-facing windows. Instead, the aircraft employs an external video surveillance system — a series of high-resolution cameras that provide images on a 4K monitor in the cockpit.

It's worth noting that for 50 years, the U.S. and other countries prohibited supersonic flights over land due to loud sonic booms causing harm to people living in areas under the flight paths.

The Gaze recently reported that NASA has announced the rescheduling of the launch dates for the Artemis crewed missions, aiming to be the first human flights to the Moon since 1972. The initial crewed mission, Artemis II, was initially planned for this year but is now rescheduled for September 2025 for safety considerations.