NASA’s dream of bringing back supersonic passenger flights took a big step recently when its X-59 jet completed its first Taxi test at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Palmdale, California. For the first time, the plane moved under its own power on a runway, showing that it’s almost ready for takeoff as per NASA.
The Taxi may seem very simple, the plane just moves on the ground, but it’s actually a very big milestone. It shows that the jet’s steering, brakes, and other systems are working properly as they should. NASA test pilot Nils Larson was in the cockpit during the test, and the team confirmed that everything worked as they planned.
In the coming weeks will run more tests and slowly increase the speed. The goal is to reach just below a takeoff speed in a high-speed Taxi test, before it officially takes to the skies this year.
NASA’s X-59 Seeks to Restore Supersonic Travel Without the Sonic Boom
The X-59 is a very important part of the NASA Quest mission, which is a project that hopes to bring back supersonic flights without the loud boom that led to the overland bans in the 1970s. Instead of a boom, this aircraft is designed to create a soft thump even while flying faster than the speed of sound.
Once the X-59 is flying, NASA will test its various communities in America to study how people respond to the sound. The feedback will shape future rules around supersonic travel. Results from these tests are expected by 2027, will be shared with global aviation regulators.
NASA’s X-59 May Enable London to New York in 4 Hours
The X-59 is created to fly around 925 to 990 mph, which is fast enough to cut the London to New York trip to 4 hours. That’s almost half the time of a normal flight today. There is also a little talk of even faster planes in the future. NASA has studied jets that could fly at Mach 2 to Mach 4, cutting travel time to just 90 minutes for the same journey. Although the X-59’s first flight has faced some delays, NASA now expects it to fly before the end of 2025. With each successful test, the possibility of quick travel becomes more real.
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