X-59 Quesst Unveiled for 1st Time | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-06.23.25

Airborne-NextGen-06.24.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.25.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.26.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.27.25

Mon, Jan 15, 2024

X-59 Quesst Unveiled for 1st Time

New Supersonic Prototype Aims to Soften the Blow When Going Beyond Mach 1

No more CGI for the next-gen x-plane from NASA and Lockheed Martin now that the duo has finally debuted the quiet supersonic aircraft live in the metal.

The X-59 Quesst aircraft is a demonstrator to bear out the possibility of supersonic flight without the sonic booms. If successful, the concept will revolutionize public air travel with a whole new niche of high-flying, fast-moving, supersonic aircraft. The Concorde took a swing at the supersonic passenger craft idea, but it ultimately died a slow, expensive market death as its destinations limited its performance to reduce noise on the ground. That apparently ended supersonic pax carriage for good, but new money, new ideas, and fresh materials lie ready and waiting to take another crack at the market.

“This is a major accomplishment made possible only through the hard work and ingenuity from NASA and the entire X-59 team,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “In just a few short years we’ve gone from an ambitious concept to reality. NASA’s X-59 will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time.”

Melroy was joined by brass from Lockheed and NASA at a ceremony revealing the Quesst demonstrator at the former's Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The aircraft, if successful, won't necessarily be completely free of sonic booms, however. NASA wants to reduce the effect of the supersonic crack with sculpting, shaping, and materials placement that will slough off and delay the transition to supersonic along the body of the aircraft. If successful, the Quesst demonstrator will hit its supersonic cruise of 925 mph or 1.4 mach with a quiet "thump" instead of a loud "boom".

“It’s thrilling to consider the level of ambition behind Quesst and its potential benefits,” said Bob Pearce, associate administrator for aeronautics research at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA will share the data and technology we generate from this one-of-a-kind mission with regulators and with industry. By demonstrating the possibility of quiet commercial supersonic travel over land, we seek to open new commercial markets for U.S. companies and benefit travelers around the world.”

FMI: www.nasa.gov

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Rutan Long-EZ

He Attempted To Restart The Engine Three Times. On The Third Restart Attempt, He Noticed That Flames Were Coming Out From The Right Wing Near The Fuel Cap Analysis: The pilot repor>[...]

ANN FAQ: Turn On Post Notifications

Make Sure You NEVER Miss A New Story From Aero-News Network Do you ever feel like you never see posts from a certain person or page on Facebook or Instagram? Here’s how you c>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: ICAS Perspectives - Advice for New Air Show Performers

From 2009 (YouTube Edition): Leading Air Show Performers Give Their Best Advice for Newcomers On December 6th through December 9th, the Paris Las Vegas Hotel hosted over 1,500 air >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (06.28.25)

Aero Linx: NASA ASRS ASRS captures confidential reports, analyzes the resulting aviation safety data, and disseminates vital information to the aviation community. The ASRS is an i>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (06.28.25)

“For our inaugural Pylon Racing Seminar in Roswell, we were thrilled to certify 60 pilots across our six closed-course pylon race classes. Not only did this year’s PRS >[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC