No wonder that NASA has ever a lot of surprises for the humankind. One the newest is a silent supersonic jet that has broken the milestones within this industry. The X-59’s design is such that it produces “sonic thumps” rather than “sonic booms” (see the left image) like other supersonic aircraft. In our opinion this is also a ceremony for success of polymers. If polymers didn’t have such a booming improvement and evolution, NASA could never had such successes. The article is edited by Christopher McFadden and has been chosen as a Christmas EVE for our readers.
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NASA has announced that it has completed the first full burn test for its X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft. Conducted on December 12 at NASA’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, this test is a major milestone for the project as it ramps for full flight testing.
The afterburner is an essential component of the X-59’s F414-GE-100 engine to enable the aircraft to achieve supersonic flight speeds. According to NASA, the test successfully operated within expected temperature limits.
This test comes just over a month after its first-ever test in October of this year. That test was also conducted at Skunk Works, with the engine run-up at low speeds to check for leaks and other potential issues.
It also comes just under a year after NASA officially announced the X-59 to the public in 2023. Since then, the X-59 project has progressed at pace, albeit with some delays.
A major milestone for the X-59
The aircraft’s engine delivers around 22,000 pounds of thrust, providing enough power to push the X-59 to Mach 1.4 at approximately 55,000 feet. The engine is also located in a nacelle atop the aircraft (similar to the third engine of the McDonnell Douglas DC–10).
In case you are unaware, the X-59 is part of NASA’s Quiet SuperSonic Technology (Quesst) mission, hoping to reduce the noise of sonic booms for supersonic aircraft. If successful, the X-59 will pave the way for enabling supersonic aircraft to operate over populated areas.
This, in turn, will help resurrect this form of transport from the dead since the retirement of the famous Concorde. To this end, the Quesst mission collaborates with other commercial partners to help reduce long-distance flight times across the United States and the globe.
Flight testing to come in 2025
To help reduce its sonic boom, the X-59 has been designed in such a way as to produce more of a “sonic thump” when bearing the sound barrier. Data collected from tests should, it is hoped, help regulators understand public perception of these “sonic thumps.”
Moving forward, once the engine runs are complete, the X-59 team will conduct aluminum bird testing, feeding data to the aircraft under both normal and failure conditions. These will then be followed up with a series of taxi tests, where the aircraft will be moving around on the ground under its own power.
These tests will help preparations for the first flight. According to NASA, the X-59 should conduct its first flight testing sometime in 2025.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Christopher McFadden Christopher graduated from Cardiff University in 2004 with a Masters Degree in Geology. Since then, he has worked exclusively within the Built Environment, Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Consultancy industries. He is a qualified and accredited Energy Consultant, Green Deal Assessor and Practitioner member of IEMA. Chris’s main interests range from Science and Engineering, Military and Ancient History to Politics and Philosophy.
