NASA and Lockheed Martin are finally ready to unveil the X-59 Questst, a supersonic jet capable of breaking the sound barrier without creating a deafening sonic boom.
Construction of the experimental X-59 Questt has been underway in Palmdale, California since 2019. The X-59 Questst is designed to fly at supersonic speeds and reduce the characteristic sonic boom, reducing the volume to a “rumble” sound reminiscent of a car door slamming shut. The plane could help change regulations that currently prohibit supersonic flight over densely populated areas because of the disturbance sonic booms can cause, NASA said.
On Friday, January 12, starting at 16:00 local time (00:00 January 13 Moscow time), NASA will hold a free online broadcast during which the painted X-59 will roll out of the hangar for the first time.
The X-59 was already shown in front of cameras in August 2023. But that was before the plane went to be painted in the final colors of red, white and blue.
During the latest presentation, the unique geometry of the X-59 was on full display. The aircraft is equipped with a pointed, elongated nose cone, 11.5 meters long, resembling a beak. According to NASA, this fairing will help shape the shock waves generated by the aircraft in flight.
Because of that nose, X-59 pilots can’t see through the windshield—because there isn’t one. Instead, pilots use something called an external vision system, or XVS, to see in front of the plane. The system uses a forward-facing video camera, a cockpit display and custom software to “create augmented reality with the X-59 pilot’s line of sight forward, along with overlaid graphical flight data.”
The 30-meter-long and 9-meter-wide aircraft is designed to reach a speed of Mach 1.4 or 1,489 km/h at an altitude of 16,764 meters. The X-59 is powered by a single engine manufactured by General Electric Aviation.
Once it is ready to fly, the X-59 will begin testing, during which it will fly over selected residential areas to collect data on how people on the ground perceive and react to the quieter sonic booms it creates.
NASA then uses this data to seek approval for commercial supersonic flights from regulators such as the Federal Aviation Administration. If successful, the developments will be used in new generation supersonic aircraft.
2024-01-06 12:00:00
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