X-59 Prepares for Supersonic Flight Tests

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above mountains near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. NASA continues expanding the aircraft’s flight envelope to evaluate its performance across a range of flight conditions ahead of flight tests at speeds faster than the speed of sound in support of the agency’s Quesst mission.

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above mountains near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. NASA continues expanding the aircraft’s flight envelope to evaluate its performance across a range of flight conditions ahead of flight tests at speeds faster than the speed of sound in support of the agency’s Quesst mission.

Photographer NASA/Jim Ross
Location AFRC
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