NASA Administrator Bridenstine stands with AFRC center director McBride by model NASA's Supersonic X-Plane, X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology or QueSST. Bridenstine spoke at press event at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The goal of X-59 is to quiet the sound when aircraft pierce the speed of sound and make a loud sonic boom on the ground.
After NASA Phoenix Mars Lander enters the Martian atmosphere, and is traveling at about 1.7 times the speed of sound, it will deploy its parachute.
NASA’s 2017 astronaut candidates (L to R) Jessica Watkins, Zena Cardman, Kayla Barron toured aircraft hangar at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California where they were briefed on the use of Armstrong's F-15 and F-18 aircraft for studying sonic booms. The aircraft will be used during the development of the low-boom X-59 aircraft that is planned to fly supersonically over land, which is not allowed at this time because of the loud noise created when flying beyond the speed of sound.
NASA’s 2017 astronaut candidates (L to R) Raja Chari, Bob Hines, Joshua Kutryk, Jasmin Moghbeli, Jonny Kim, and Jessica Watkins toured aircraft hangar at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California. On the left, NASA’s, X-59 pilot, briefs them on use of F-15 for studying sonic booms during the development of the low-boom X-59 aircraft that is planned to fly supersonically over land. Low-level supersonic flight is not allowed at this time because of the loud noise levels generated when flying beyond the speed of sound.
Technicians prepare a Pegasus rocket booster for flight tests with the X-43A "Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle," or "Hyper-X." The X-43A, which will be attached to the Pegasus booster and drop launched from NASA's B-52 mothership, was developed to research dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 up to Mach 10 (7 to 10 times the speed of sound, which varies with temperature and altitude).
A close-up view of the front end of a Pegasus rocket booster being prepared by technicians at the Dryden Flight Research Center for flight tests with the X-43A "Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle," or "Hyper-X." The X-43A, which will be attached to the Pegasus booster and drop launched from NASA's B-52 mothership, was developed to research dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 up to Mach 10 (7 to 10 times the speed of sound, which varies with temperature and altitude).
Jonathan Lopez works on a hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Feb. 13, 2025. The system measures strain and temperature, critical safety data for hypersonic vehicles that travel five time the speed of sound.
Jonathan Lopez and Nathan Rick prepare the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System for vibration tests in the Environmental Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.
Jonathan Lopez and Allen Parker confer on the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensor System at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on February 13, 2025. The system measures strain and temperature, critical safety data for hypersonic vehicles that travel five time the speed of sound.
Jonathan Lopez prepares the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System for vibration tests in the Environmental Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.
Jonathan Lopez prepares the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System for vibration tests in the Environmental Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.
NASA’s X-59 undergoes a structural stress test at Lockheed Martin’s facility at Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making a startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land.
NASA’s X-59 undergoes a structural stress test at Lockheed Martin’s facility at Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making a startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land.
A panoramic view of NASA’s X-59 in Fort Worth, Texas to undergo structural and fuel testing. The X-59’s nose makes up one third of the aircraft, at 38-feet in length. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making a startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land.
A quality inspector inspects the GE F-414 engine nozzle after installation at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. Once the aircraft and ground testing are complete, the X-59 will undergo flight testing, which will demonstrate the plane’s ability to fly supersonic - faster than the speed of sound - while reducing the loud sonic boom. This could enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.
NASA’s X-59 is lowered into the test fixture as it prepares to undergo structural stress tests at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making a startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land.
NASA’s X-59 undergoes a structural stress test at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59’s nose makes up one third of the aircraft, at 38-feet in length. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making a startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land
NASA’s X-59 undergoes a structural stress test at a Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59’s nose makes up one third of the aircraft, at 38-feet in length. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making aa startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land
A quality inspector checks NASA’s X-59 aircraft during the construction phase. The X-59 was built in Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. Once the aircraft and ground testing are complete, the X-59 will undergo flight testing, which will demonstrate the plane’s ability to fly supersonic - faster than the speed of sound - while reducing the loud sonic boom. This could enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.
This image shows the X-59’s engine inlet from the aft view, which is the rear of the airplane, looking forward. Once the aircraft and ground testing are complete, the X-59 will undergo flight testing, which will demonstrate the plane’s ability to fly supersonic - faster than the speed of sound - while reducing the loud sonic boom. This could enable commercial supersonic air travel over land again.
Microphone arrays are strategically positioned along the ground at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to collect sound signatures from sonic booms created by agency F-18 jets flying faster than the speed of sound. Several flights a day have been taking place the week of Aug. 21, 2017 as part of NASA's Sonic Booms in Atmospheric Turbulence, or SonicBAT II Program. NASA at Kennedy is partnering with the agency's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, Langley Research Center in Virginia, and Space Florida for a program in which F-18 jets will take off from the Shuttle Landing Facility and fly at supersonic speeds while agency researchers measure the effects of low-altitude turbulence caused by sonic booms.
Microphone arrays are strategically positioned along the ground at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to collect sound signatures from sonic booms created by agency F-18 jets flying faster than the speed of sound. Several flights a day have been taking place the week of Aug. 21, 2017 as part of NASA's Sonic Booms in Atmospheric Turbulence, or SonicBAT II Program. NASA at Kennedy is partnering with the agency's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, Langley Research Center in Virginia, and Space Florida for a program in which F-18 jets will take off from the Shuttle Landing Facility and fly at supersonic speeds while agency researchers measure the effects of low-altitude turbulence caused by sonic booms.
An engineer checks readings from microphone arrays that were strategically positioned along the ground at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to collect sound signatures from sonic booms created by agency F-18 jets flying faster than the speed of sound. Several flights a day have been taking place the week of Aug. 21, 2017 as part of NASA's Sonic Booms in Atmospheric Turbulence, or SonicBAT II Program. NASA at Kennedy is partnering with the agency's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, Langley Research Center in Virginia, and Space Florida for a program in which F-18 jets will take off from the Shuttle Landing Facility and fly at supersonic speeds while agency researchers measure the effects of low-altitude turbulence caused by sonic booms.
Microphone arrays and other instrumentation are strategically positioned along the ground at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They have been set up to collect sound signatures from sonic booms created by agency F-18 jets flying faster than the speed of sound. Several flights a day have been taking place the week of Aug. 21, 2017 as part of NASA's Sonic Booms in Atmospheric Turbulence, or SonicBAT II Program. NASA at Kennedy is partnering with the agency's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, Langley Research Center in Virginia, and Space Florida for a program in which F-18 jets will take off from the Shuttle Landing Facility and fly at supersonic speeds while agency researchers measure the effects of low-altitude turbulence caused by sonic booms.
Microphone arrays and other instrumentation are strategically positioned along the ground at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They have been set up to collect sound signatures from sonic booms created by agency F-18 jets flying faster than the speed of sound. Several flights a day have been taking place the week of Aug. 21, 2017 as part of NASA's Sonic Booms in Atmospheric Turbulence, or SonicBAT II Program. NASA at Kennedy is partnering with the agency's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, Langley Research Center in Virginia, and Space Florida for a program in which F-18 jets will take off from the Shuttle Landing Facility and fly at supersonic speeds while agency researchers measure the effects of low-altitude turbulence caused by sonic booms.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California during sunrise, shortly after completion of painting. With its unique design, including a 38-foot-long nose, the X-59 was built to demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, while reducing the typically loud sonic boom produced by aircraft at such speeds to a quieter sonic “thump”. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land, currently banned in the United States, by making sonic booms quieter.
About 450,000 gallons of water flowed at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was a milestone to confirm and baseline the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
Viewed from the front the #1 XB-70A (62-0001) is shown climbing out during take-off. Most flights were scheduled during the morning hours to take advantage of the cooler ambient air temperatures for improved propulsion efficiencies. The wing tips are extended straight out to provide a maximum lifting wing surface. The XB-70A, capable of flying three times the speed of sound, was the world's largest experimental aircraft in the 1960s. Two XB-70A aircraft were built. Ship #1 was flown by NASA in a high speed flight research program.
About 450,000 gallons of water flowed at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was a milestone to confirm and baseline the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
About 450,000 gallons of water flowed at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was a milestone to confirm and baseline the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
About 450,000 gallons of water flowed at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was a milestone to confirm and baseline the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
About 450,000 gallons of water flowed at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was a milestone to confirm and baseline the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California during sunrise, shortly after completion of painting. With its unique design, including a 38-foot-long nose, the X-59 was built to demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, while reducing the typically loud sonic boom produced by aircraft at such speeds to a quieter sonic “thump”. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land, currently banned in the United States, by making sonic booms quieter.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California during sunrise, shortly after completion of painting. With its unique design, including a 38-foot-long nose, the X-59 was built to demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, while reducing the typically loud sonic boom produced by aircraft at such speeds to a quieter sonic “thump”. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land, currently banned in the United States, by making sonic booms quieter.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California during sunrise, shortly after completion of painting. With its unique design, including a 38-foot-long nose, the X-59 was built to demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, while reducing the typically loud sonic boom produced by aircraft at such speeds to a quieter sonic “thump”. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land, currently banned in the United States, by making sonic booms quieter.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California during sunrise, shortly after completion of painting. With its unique design, including a 38-foot-long nose, the X-59 was built to demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, while reducing the typically loud sonic boom produced by aircraft at such speeds to a quieter sonic “thump”. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land, currently banned in the United States, by making sonic booms quieter.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California during sunrise, shortly after completion of painting. With its unique design, including a 38-foot-long nose, the X-59 was built to demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, while reducing the typically loud sonic boom produced by aircraft at such speeds to a quieter sonic “thump”. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land, currently banned in the United States, by making sonic booms quieter.
This photograph depicts an air-breathing rocket engine prototype in the test bay at the General Applied Science Lab facility in Ronkonkoma, New York. Air-breathing engines, known as rocket based, combined-cycle engines, get their initial take-off power from specially designed rockets, called air-augmented rockets, that boost performance about 15 percent over conventional rockets. When the vehicle's velocity reaches twice the speed of sound, the rockets are turned off and the engine relies totally on oxygen in the atmosphere to burn hydrogen fuel, as opposed to a rocket that must carry its own oxygen, thus reducing weight and flight costs. Once the vehicle has accelerated to about 10 times the speed of sound, the engine converts to a conventional rocket-powered system to propel the craft into orbit or sustain it to suborbital flight speed. NASA's Advanced Space Transportation Program at Marshall Space Flight Center, along with several industry partners and collegiate forces, is developing this technology to make space transportation affordable for everyone from business travelers to tourists. The goal is to reduce launch costs from today's price tag of $10,000 per pound to only hundreds of dollars per pound. NASA's series of hypersonic flight demonstrators currently include three air-breathing vehicles: the X-43A, X-43B and X-43C.
Composite image of Background Oriented Schlieren (BOS) data (contour) with a cut-out images of the T-38’s during a Mach Number 1.01 pass. This data is the first time shockwave interactions between two full scale aircraft traveling faster than the speed of sound have been imaged and shown with schlieren visualization. Original recording of the pass taken in the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor at near Edwards AFB in December of 2018. Image acquired by JT Heineck, schlieren data processed by Neal Smith
NASA's 2017 astronaut candidates (L to R) Zena Cardman, Loral O'Hara, Frank Rubio, Jonny Kim, Raja Chari practice flying in an X-59 QueSST simulator at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California. The low boom flight demonstrator, X-59, being built at Lockheed Martin and was designed to fly at supersonic speeds over land without the loud noise of breaking the sound barrier and disturbing communities.
Composite image of Background Oriented Schlieren (BOS) data (contour) with a cut-out images of the T-38’s during a Mach Number 1.01 pass. This data is the first time shockwave interactions between two full scale aircraft traveling faster than the speed of sound have been imaged and shown with schlieren visualization. Original recording of the pass taken in the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor at near Edwards AFB in December of 2018. Image acquired by JT Heineck, schlieren data processed by Neal Smith
Dave Richardson, director, Air Vehicle Design and Technologies, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, speaks after the announcement that Lockheed Martin won the contract to develop the first X-plane at a briefing, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
NASA’s F-15D research aircraft conducts a test flight near Edwards, California, with a newly installed near-field shock-sensing probe. Identical to a previously flown version that was intended as the backup, this new probe will capture shock wave data near the X-59 as it flies faster than the speed of sound, supporting NASA’s Quesst mission.
A model of the first Low Boom Flight Demonstrator is seen at a briefing on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Dr. Ed Waggoner, program director, Integrated Aviation Systems Program, NASA, speaks at a briefing on the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
NASA's 2017 astronaut candidate Kayla Barron practices flying in an X-59 QueSST simulator at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California. The low boom flight demonstrator, X-59, being built at Lockheed Martin and was designed to fly at supersonic speeds over land without the loud noise of breaking the sound barrier and disturbing communities.
NASA's 2017 astronaut candidate Kayla Barron practices flying in an X-59 QueSST simulator at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California. The low boom flight demonstrator, X-59, being built at Lockheed Martin and was designed to fly at supersonic speeds over land without the loud noise of breaking the sound barrier and disturbing communities.
Composite image of Background Oriented Schlieren (BOS) data (contour) with a cut-out images of the T-38’s during a Mach Number 1.01 pass. This data is the first time shockwave interactions between two full scale aircraft traveling faster than the speed of sound have been imaged and shown with schlieren visualization. Original recording of the pass taken in the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor at near Edwards AFB in December of 2018. Image acquired by JT Heineck, schlieren data processed by Neal Smith.
Dr. Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, NASA, announces Lockheed Martin as the winner of the contract to develop a Low Boom Flight Demonstrator at a briefing, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Allen Parker, Mark Hagiwara, Paul Bean, Patrick Chan, Jonathan Lopez (seated), and Frank Pena comprise the Fiber Optic Sensing System team at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Edwards, California. The systems on the table measure strain and temperature, critical safety data for hypersonic vehicles that travel five time the speed of sound.
From left, April Torres and Karen Estes watch incoming data from vibration tests on the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.
April Torres, from left, Cryss Punteney, and Karen Estes watch as data flows from the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.
Dave Richardson, director, Air Vehicle Design and Technologies, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, speaks after the announcement that Lockheed Martin won the contract to develop the first X-plane at a briefing, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Dr. Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, NASA, announces Lockheed Martin as the winner of the contract to develop a Low Boom Flight Demonstrator at a briefing, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
NASA's 2017 astronaut candidate Kayla Barron practices flying in an X-59 QueSST simulator at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California. The low boom flight demonstrator, X-59, being built at Lockheed Martin and was designed to fly at supersonic speeds over land without the loud noise of breaking the sound barrier and disturbing communities.
Peter Iosifidis, program manager, Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, speaks on a panel at a briefing after Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract to develop the first X-plane, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
NASA's 2017 astronaut candidate Kayla Barron practices flying in an X-59 QueSST simulator at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California. The low boom flight demonstrator, X-59, being built at Lockheed Martin and was designed to fly at supersonic speeds over land without the loud noise of breaking the sound barrier and disturbing communities.
NASA’s F-15D research aircraft conducts a test flight near Edwards, California, with a newly installed near-field shock-sensing probe. Identical to a previously flown version that was intended as the backup, this new probe will capture shock wave data near the X-59 as it flies faster than the speed of sound, supporting NASA’s Quesst mission.
J.D. Harrington, public affairs officer, Aeronautics Mission Directorate, NASA, speaks at a briefing on the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Peter Iosifidis, program manager, Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, speaks on a panel at a briefing after Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract to develop the first X-plane, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft successfully completed electromagnetic interference (EMI) testing at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. During EMI tests, the team examined each of the X-59’s internal electronic systems, ensuring they worked with one another without interference. The X-59 is designed to fly faster than the speed of sound while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quieter sonic thump.
During Bring Kids to Work Day at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on June 17, 2025, participants pose with flight suit cutouts in front of NASA’s Quesst display. NASA's Quesst mission, which features the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic experimental aircraft, will demonstrate technology to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, without generating loud sonic booms.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on a ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, during sunset. The one-of-a-kind aircraft is powered by a General Electric F414 engine, a variant of the engines used on F/A-18 fighter jets. The engine is mounted above the fuselage to reduce the number of shockwaves that reach the ground. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA's Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight and enable future commercial travel over land – faster than the speed of sound.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on a ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, during sunset. The one-of-a-kind aircraft is powered by a General Electric F414 engine, a variant of the engines used on F/A-18 fighter jets. The engine is mounted above the fuselage to reduce the number of shockwaves that reach the ground. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA's Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight and enable future commercial travel over land – faster than the speed of sound.
An engineer at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) observes a model of the Space Shuttle Orbiter being tested in the MSFC's 14x14-Inch Trisonic Wind Tunnel. The 14-Inch Wind Tunnel is a trisonic wind tunnel. This means it is capable of running subsonic, below the speed of sound; transonic, at or near the speed of sound (Mach 1,760 miles per hour at sea level); or supersonic, greater than Mach 1 up to Mach 5. It is an intermittent blowdown tunnel that operates by high pressure air flowing from storage to either vacuum or atmospheric conditions. The MSFC 14x14-Inch Trisonic Wind Tunnel has been an integral part of the development of the United States space program Rocket and launch vehicles from the Jupiter-C in 1958, through the Saturn family up to the current Space Shuttle and beyond have been tested in this Wind Tunnel. MSFC's 14x14-Inch Trisonic Wind Tunnel, as with most other wind tunnels, is named after the size of the test section. The 14-Inch Wind Tunnel, as in the past, will continue to play a large but unseen role in the development of America's space program.
This photograph shows an overall view of the Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) 14x14-Inch Trisonic Wind Tunnel. The 14-Inch Wind Tunnel is a trisonic wind tunnel. This means it is capable of running subsonic, below the speed of sound; transonic, at or near the speed of sound (Mach 1, 760 miles per hour at sea level); or supersonic, greater than Mach 1 up to Mach 5. It is an intermittent blowdown tunnel that operates by high pressure air flowing from storage to either vacuum or atmospheric conditions. The MSFC 14x14-Inch Trisonic Wind Tunnel has been an integral part of the development of the United States space program Rocket and launch vehicles from the Jupiter-C in 1958, through the Saturn family up to the current Space Shuttle and beyond have been tested in this Wind Tunnel. MSFC's 14x14-Inch Trisonic Wind Tunnel, as with most other wind tunnels, is named after the size of the test section. The 14-Inch Wind Tunnel, as in the past, will continue to play a large but unseen role in the development of America's space program.
The X-1E research aircraft provides a striking view at the entrance of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The X-1E, one of the three original X-1 aircraft modified with a raised cockpit canopy and an ejection seat, was flown at the facility between 1953 and 1958 to investigate speeds at twice that of sound, and also to evaluate a thin wing designed for high-speed flight. The Dryden complex was originally established in 1946 as a small high-speed flight station to support the X-1 program. The X-1 was the first aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds. The main administrative building is to the rear of the X-1E and is the center of a research installation that has grown to more than 450 government employees and nearly 400 civilian contractors. Located on the northwest "shore" of Rogers Dry Lake, the Dryden Center was built around the original administrative-hangar building constructed in 1954 at a cost of $3.8 million. Since then many additional support and operational facilities have been built including a number of unique test facilities such as the Thermalstructures Research Facility, Flow Visualization Facility, and the newest addition, the Integrated Test Facility.
About 450,000 gallons of water flow at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test on May 24, 2018, at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was performed by Exploration Ground Systems to confirm the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
About 450,000 gallons of water flow at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test on May 24, 2018, at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was performed by Exploration Ground Systems to confirm the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
About 450,000 gallons of water flow at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test on May 24, 2018, at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was performed by Exploration Ground Systems to confirm the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
About 450,000 gallons of water flow at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test on May 24, 2018, at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was performed by Exploration Ground Systems to confirm the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
About 450,000 gallons of water flow at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test on May 24, 2018, at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At peak flow, the water reached about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. The test was performed by Exploration Ground Systems to confirm the performance of the Ignition Overpressure/Sound Suppression system. During launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the high-speed water flow will help protect the vehicle from the extreme acoustic and temperature environment during ignition and liftoff.
An artist's rendering of the air-breathing, hypersonic X-43B, the third and largest of NASA's Hyper-X series flight demonstrators, which could fly later this decade. Revolutionizing the way we gain access to space is NASA's primary goal for the Hypersonic Investment Area, managed for NASA by the Advanced Space Transportation Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Hypersonic Investment area, which includes leading-edge partners in industry and academia, will support future generation reusable vehicles and improved access to space. These technology demonstrators, intended for flight testing by decade's end, are expected to yield a new generation of vehicles that routinely fly about 100,000 feet above Earth's surface and reach sustained speeds in excess of Mach 5 (3,750 mph), the point at which "supersonic" flight becomes "hypersonic" flight. The flight demonstrators, the Hyper-X series, will be powered by air-breathing rocket or turbine-based engines, and ram/scramjets. Air-breathing engines, known as combined-cycle systems, achieve their efficiency gains over rocket systems by getting their oxygen for combustion from the atmosphere, as opposed to a rocket that must carry its oxygen. Once a hypersonic vehicle has accelerated to more than twice the speed of sound, the turbine or rockets are turned off, and the engine relies solely on oxygen in the atmosphere to burn fuel. When the vehicle has accelerated to more than 10 to 15 times the speed of sound, the engine converts to a conventional rocket-powered system to propel the craft into orbit or sustain it to suborbital flight speed. NASA's series of hypersonic flight demonstrators includes three air-breathing vehicles: the X-43A, X-43B and X-43C.
Dr. Ed Waggoner, program director, Integrated Aviation Systems Program, NASA, right, speaks on a panel with Peter Iosifidis, program manager, Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, left, and Peter Coen, project manager, Commercial Supersonics Technology Project, Langley Research Center, NASA, center, at a briefing on the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Peter Coen, project manager, Commercial Supersonics Technology Project, Langley Research Center, NASA, center, speaks on a panel with Peter Iosifidis, Lockheed Martin, left, and Dr. Ed Waggoner, NASA, right, at a briefing on the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Peter Coen, project manager, Commercial Supersonics Technology Project, Langley Research Center, NASA, speaks on a panel with Peter Iosifidis, Lockheed Martin, left, and Dr. Ed Waggoner, NASA, right, at a briefing on the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Peter Coen, project manager, Commercial Supersonics Technology Project, Langley Research Center, NASA, speaks on a panel with Peter Iosifidis, Lockheed Martin, left, and Dr. Ed Waggoner, NASA, right, at a briefing on the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
The X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus® booster rocket are nestled under the wing of NASA's NB-52B carrier aircraft during pre-flight systems testing at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. The combined systems test was one of the last major milestones in the Hyper-X research program before the first X-43A flight. The X-43A flights will be the first actual flight tests of an aircraft powered by a revolutionary supersonic-combustion ramjet ("scramjet") engine capable of operating at hypersonic speeds (above Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound). The 12-foot, unpiloted research vehicle was developed and built by MicroCraft Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn., under NASA contract. The booster was built by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va. After being air-launched from NASA's venerable NB-52 mothership, the booster will accelerate the X-43A to test speed and altitude. The X-43A will then separate from the rocket and fly a pre-programmed trajectory, conducting aerodynamic and propulsion experiments until it descends into the Pacific Ocean. Three research flights are planned, two at Mach 7 and one at Mach 10.
As part of a combined systems test conducted by NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, NASA's NB-52B carrier aircraft rolls down a taxiway at Edwards Air Force Base with the X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus® booster rocket attached to a pylon under its right wing. The taxi test was one of the last major milestones in the Hyper-X research program before the first X-43A flight. The X-43A flights will be the first actual flight tests of an aircraft powered by a revolutionary supersonic-combustion ramjet ("scramjet") engine capable of operating at hypersonic speeds (above Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound). The 12-foot, unpiloted research vehicle was developed and built by MicroCraft Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn., under NASA contract. The booster was built by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va. After being air-launched from NASA's venerable NB-52 mothership, the booster will accelerate the X-43A to test speed and altitude. The X-43A will then separate from the rocket and fly a pre-programmed trajectory, conducting aerodynamic and propulsion experiments until it descends into the Pacific Ocean. Three research flights are planned, two at Mach 7 and one at Mach 10.
NASA's NB-52B carrier aircraft rolls down a taxiway at Edwards Air Force Base with the X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus® booster rocket slung from a pylon under its right wing. Part of a combined systems test conducted by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, the taxi test was one of the last major milestones in the Hyper-X research program before the first X-43A flight. The X-43A flights will be the first actual flight tests of an aircraft powered by a revolutionary supersonic-combustion ramjet ("scramjet") engine capable of operating at hypersonic speeds (above Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound). The 12-foot, unpiloted research vehicle was developed and built by MicroCraft Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn., under NASA contract. The booster was built by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va.,After being air-launched from NASA's venerable NB-52 mothership, the booster will accelerate the X-43A to test speed and altitude. The X-43A will then separate from the rocket and fly a pre-programmed trajectory, conducting aerodynamic and propulsion experiments until it descends into the Pacific Ocean. Three research flights are planned, two at Mach 7 and one at Mach 10, with the first tentatively scheduled for late spring to early summer, 2001.
The first of three X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus® booster rocket recently underwent combined systems testing while mounted to NASA's NB-52B carrier aircraft at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. The combined systems test was one of the last major milestones in the Hyper-X research program before the first X-43A flight. The X-43A flights will be the first actual flight tests of an aircraft powered by a revolutionary supersonic-combustion ramjet ("scramjet") engine capable of operating at hypersonic speeds (above Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound). The 12-foot, unpiloted research vehicle was developed and built by MicroCraft Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn., under NASA contract. The booster was built by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va.,After being air-launched from NASA's venerable NB-52 mothership, the booster will accelerate the X-43A to test speed and altitude. The X-43A will then separate from the rocket and fly a pre-programmed trajectory, conducting aerodynamic and propulsion experiments until it descends into the Pacific Ocean. Three research flights are planned, two at Mach 7 and one at Mach 10.
This photograph depicts an air-breathing rocket engine that completed an hour or 3,600 seconds of testing at the General Applied Sciences Laboratory in Ronkonkoma, New York. Referred to as ARGO by its design team, the engine is named after the mythological Greek ship that bore Jason and the Argonauts on their epic voyage of discovery. Air-breathing engines, known as rocket based, combined-cycle engines, get their initial take-off power from specially designed rockets, called air-augmented rockets, that boost performance about 15 percent over conventional rockets. When the vehicle's velocity reaches twice the speed of sound, the rockets are turned off and the engine relies totally on oxygen in the atmosphere to burn hydrogen fuel, as opposed to a rocket that must carry its own oxygen, thus reducing weight and flight costs. Once the vehicle has accelerated to about 10 times the speed of sound, the engine converts to a conventional rocket-powered system to propel the craft into orbit or sustain it to suborbital flight speed. NASA's Advanced SpaceTransportation Program at Marshall Space Flight Center, along with several industry partners and collegiate forces, is developing this technology to make space transportation affordable for everyone from business travelers to tourists. The goal is to reduce launch costs from today's price tag of $10,000 per pound to only hundreds of dollars per pound. NASA's series of hypersonic flight demonstrators currently include three air-breathing vehicles: the X-43A, X-43B and X-43C.
A flow test of the Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression water deluge system is in progress at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Oct. 15, 2018. At peak flow, the water reaches about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. It flows at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers. The testing is part of Exploration Ground System's preparation for the new Space Launch System rocket. Modifications were made to the pad after a previous wet flow test, increasing the performance of the system. During the launch of Exploration Mission-1 and subsequent missions, this water deluge system will release about 450,000 gallons of water across the mobile launcher and Flame Deflector to reduce the extreme heat and energy generated by the rocket during ignition and liftoff.
ISS040-E-124198 (6 Sept. 2014) --- Puget Sound is partly reflecting the sun in this detailed image taken by an Expedition 40 crew member on the International Space Station. Patterns of boat wakes are prominent in the sun’s partial reflection zone. The difference between the boat wakes in this view relates to the speed of the boat and the particular patterns (of several) that happen to be captured in the specific light reflection angles at the time the image was taken. The land areas show parts of Seattle. The darkest areas with rectangular grids are suburbs richly covered with trees. The broadly gray zones of the central city (bottom center) are brighter where structures are lower, as in the harbor zone (Harbor Island), and darker where the shadows of high-rise buildings downtown cast black shadows. Interstate Highway 5 bisects downtown.
A flow test of the Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression water deluge system is in progress at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Oct. 15, 2018. At peak flow, the water reaches about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. It flows at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers. The testing is part of Exploration Ground System's preparation for the new Space Launch System rocket. Modifications were made to the pad after a previous wet flow test, increasing the performance of the system. During the launch of Exploration Mission-1 and subsequent missions, this water deluge system will release about 450,000 gallons of water across the mobile launcher and Flame Deflector to reduce the extreme heat and energy generated by the rocket during ignition and liftoff.
Panelists Peter Iosifidis, program manager, Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, left, Peter Coen, project manager, Commercial Supersonics Technology Project, Langley Research Center, NASA, center, and Dr. Ed Waggoner, program director, Integrated Aviation Systems Program, NASA, right, are seen behind a model of the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator at a briefing, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
A flow test of the Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression water deluge system is in progress at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Oct. 15, 2018. At peak flow, the water reaches about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. It flows at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers. The testing is part of Exploration Ground System's preparation for the new Space Launch System rocket. Modifications were made to the pad after a previous wet flow test, increasing the performance of the system. During the launch of Exploration Mission-1 and subsequent missions, this water deluge system will release about 450,000 gallons of water across the mobile launcher and Flame Deflector to reduce the extreme heat and energy generated by the rocket during ignition and liftoff.
A flow test of the Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression water deluge system is in progress at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Oct. 15, 2018. At peak flow, the water reaches about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. It flows at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers. The testing is part of Exploration Ground System's preparation for the new Space Launch System rocket. Modifications were made to the pad after a previous wet flow test, increasing the performance of the system. During the launch of Exploration Mission-1 and subsequent missions, this water deluge system will release about 450,000 gallons of water across the mobile launcher and Flame Deflector to reduce the extreme heat and energy generated by the rocket during ignition and liftoff.
A flow test of the Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression water deluge system is in progress at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Oct. 15, 2018. At peak flow, the water will reach about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. It will flow at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers. The testing is part of Exploration Ground System's preparation for the new Space Launch System rocket. Modifications were made to the pad after a previous wet flow test, increasing the performance of the system. During the launch of Exploration Mission-1 and subsequent missions, this water deluge system will release about 450,000 gallons of water across the mobile launcher and Flame Deflector to reduce the extreme heat and energy generated by the rocket during ignition and liftoff.
A flow test of the Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression water deluge system is in progress at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Oct. 15, 2018. At peak flow, the water reaches about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. It flows at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers. The testing is part of Exploration Ground System's preparation for the new Space Launch System rocket. Modifications were made to the pad after a previous wet flow test, increasing the performance of the system. During the launch of Exploration Mission-1 and subsequent missions, this water deluge system will release about 450,000 gallons of water across the mobile launcher and Flame Deflector to reduce the extreme heat and energy generated by the rocket during ignition and liftoff.
A flow test of the Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression water deluge system is in progress at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Oct. 15, 2018. At peak flow, the water reaches about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. It flows at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers. The testing is part of Exploration Ground System's preparation for the new Space Launch System rocket. Modifications were made to the pad after a previous wet flow test, increasing the performance of the system. During the launch of Exploration Mission-1 and subsequent missions, this water deluge system will release about 450,000 gallons of water across the mobile launcher and Flame Deflector to reduce the extreme heat and energy generated by the rocket during ignition and liftoff.
A flow test of the Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression water deluge system begins at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Oct. 15, 2018. At peak flow, the water will reach about 100 feet in the air above the pad surface. It will flow at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench, flame deflector nozzles and mobile launcher interface risers. The testing is part of Exploration Ground System's preparation for the new Space Launch System rocket. Modifications were made to the pad after a previous wet flow test, increasing the performance of the system. During the launch of Exploration Mission-1 and subsequent missions, this water deluge system will release about 450,000 gallons of water across the mobile launcher and Flame Deflector to reduce the extreme heat and energy generated by the rocket during ignition and liftoff.
Brent Miller, of the V/STOL and Noise Division at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center, poses with a sonic inlet for the NASA Quiet Engine Program. NASA Lewis had first investigated methods for reducing aircraft engine noise in the mid-1950s. Those efforts were resurrected and expanded in the late 1960s. The researchers found that the use of a sonic, or high-throat-Mach-number, inlet was effective at reducing the noise from the engine inlet. The device accelerated the inlet air to near-sonic speeds which kept the forward moving sound waves away from the inlet. The device also deflected the sound waves into the wall to further reduce the noise. NASA Lewis researchers tested models of the sonic inlet in their 9- by 15-Foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel. They found that the general level of aerodynamic performance was good. The tests during simulated takeoff and landing conditions demonstrated the sonic inlet’s ability to provide good aerodynamic and acoustic performance The researchers then successfully tested two full-scale sonic inlet designs, one from Pratt and Whitney and one from General Electric, with fans. A full-scale engine was installed on a thrust stand to determine the sonic inlet’s effect on the engine’s performance. The amount of noise reduction increased as the inlet flow velocity increased, but the full-scale tests did not produce as great a decrease in noise as the earlier small-scale tests.
The first of three X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus® booster rocket recently underwent combined systems testing while mounted to NASA's NB-52B carrier aircraft at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The combined systems test was one of the last major milestones in the Hyper-X research program before the first X-43A flight. One of the major goals of the Hyper-X program is flight validation of airframe-integrated, air-breathing propulsion system, which so far have only been tested in ground facilities, such as wind tunnels. The X-43A flights will be the first actual flight tests of an aircraft powered by a revolutionary supersonic-combustion ramjet ("scramjet") engine capable of operating at hypersonic speeds above Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound). The X-43A design uses the underbody of the aircraft to form critical elements of the engine. The forebody shape helps compress the intake airflow, while the aft section acts as a nozzle to direct thrust. The 12-foot, unpiloted research vehicle was developed and built by MicroCraft Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn., under NASA contract. The booster, built by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va., will accelerate the X-43A after the X-43A/booster "stack" is air-launched from NASA's venerable NB-52 mothership. The X-43A will separate from the rocket at a predetermined altitude and speed and fly a pre-programmed trajectory, conducting aerodynamic and propulsion experiments until it descends into the Pacific Ocean. Three research flights are planned, two at Mach 7 and one at Mach 10.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Reflected in the nearby pool of water, Space Shuttle Atlantis arrives on the hard stand on Launch Pad 39B, propelled by the crawler-transporter. At right is the 290-foot high, 300,000-gallon water tank that aids in sound suppression during launch. The water releases just prior to the ignition of the shuttle engines and flows through 7-foot-diameter pipes for about 20 seconds, pouring into 16 nozzles atop the flame deflectors and from outlets in the main engines exhaust hole in the mobile launcher platform. Atop the fixed service structure is the 80-foot lightning mast that helps provide lightning protection. The slow speed of the crawler results in a 6- to 8-hour trek to the pad approximately 4 miles away. Atlantis' launch window begins Aug. 27 for an 11-day mission to the International Space Station. The STS-115 crew of six astronauts will continue construction of the station and install their cargo, the Port 3/4 truss segment with its two large solar arrays. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray
At Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif., KSC technician James Niehoff Jr. (left) helps attach the wing of the modified X-34, known as A-1A. Niehoff is one of eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab who have assisted Orbital Sciences Corporation and Dryden in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, the A-1A. The other KSC technicians are Kevin Boughner, Roger Cartier, Mike Dininny, Mike Lane, Jerry Moscoso, David Rowell and Bryan Taylor. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air-launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala
Two of KSC's X-34 technicians (far right), David Rowell and Roger Cartier, look at work being done on the modified A-1A at Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif. Since September, eight NASA engineering technicians from KSC's Engineering Prototype Lab have assisted Orbital Sciences Corporation and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in the complex process of converting the X-34 A-1 vehicle from captive carry status to unpowered flight status, the A-1A. The other KSC technicians are Kevin Boughner, Mike Dininny, Mike Lane, Jerry Moscoso, James Niehoff Jr. and Bryan Taylor. The X-34 is 58.3 feet long, 27.7 feet wide from wing tip to wing tip, and 11.5 feet tall from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The autonomously operated technology demonstrator will be air-launched from an L-1011 airplane and should be capable of flying eight times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 250,000 feet. The X-34 Project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala
A Lockheed F-94B Starfire on the hangar apron at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The Air Force contracted Lockheed in November 1948 to create the new F-94s fighters. The first test flight occurred only months later in April 1949. This quick turnaround was due to the fact that the F-94 was based largely on the TF-80 fighter and constructed with parts from the P-80, including its two General Electric I-40 turbojet engines. The F-94Bs entered the Korean War in late 1951, but were initially prevented from flying over enemy territory due to fear that their fire control system would be copied by the enemy if an F-94B went down. The Starfire went on to perform scores of missions escorting B-29 and B-26 bombers deep into enemy territory and acting as interceptors against enemy fighters. In mid-1954 the F-94s were retired from active military service. Lewis acquired the F-94B Starfire in April 1956. At the time, the aircraft industry was preparing for the first use of jet engines for commercial aviation. The amount of noise generated by the engines was a major obstacle. Lewis undertook an extensive program to understand the causes of the noise and develop methods for reducing it. This program included the study of aerodynamic sound at high speed and altitude using the F-94B.
This image shows Tropical Cyclone Fani just off the east coast of India in the Bay of Bengal. NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) collected the image at about 1 p.m. PDT (4 p.m. EDT) today, May 2. At the time, the cyclone's wind speeds were equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (249 kph) and gusts of up to 190 mph (306 kph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Friday, May 3. AIRS, in conjunction with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), senses emitted infrared and microwave radiation from Earth to provide a 3D look at weather and climate. The infrared image shows temperatures of the clouds or surface. The large purple area indicates very cold clouds carried high into the atmosphere by deep thunderstorms. Warmer areas, including the eye of the cyclone, are shown in blue. Shallower rain clouds appear green, while the orange areas represent mostly cloud-free air moving away from the storm. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22838
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the bright light of day, Space Shuttle Atlantis nears the hard stand on Launch Pad 39B. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building was 1:05 a.m. The shuttle sits on top of the mobile launcher platform, which in turn rests on the crawler-transporter. At right is the 290-foot high, 300,000- gallon water tank that aids in sound suppression during launch. The water releases just prior to the ignition of the shuttle engines and flows through 7-foot-diameter pipes for about 20 seconds, pouring into 16 nozzles atop the flame deflectors and from outlets in the main engines exhaust hole in the mobile launcher platform. The slow speed of the crawler results in a 6-hour trek to the pad approximately 4 miles away. Atlantis' launch window begins Aug. 27 for an 11-day mission to the International Space Station. The STS-115 crew of six astronauts will continue construction of the station and install their cargo, the Port 3/4 truss segment with its two large solar arrays. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder