X-59?is?Soaring?Through Envelope Expansion
The X?59 has returned to the skies after a comprehensive round of maintenance and software upgrades?following its first flight, officially?entering?the aircraft’s envelope?expansion campaign?where it is?flying higher,?faster?and farther?at a rapid pace.
The?Numbers?(and?Counting):
- Flights completed: Ten
- Altitude Reached:?~?43,000 feet
- Speed Reached:?~ .95 Mach
- Total Flight Time:?11.7 hours
- Longest Flight:?~ 1.7?hours
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“Every flight and every test point is a step toward a future where cities can be connected in a fraction of today’s travel time without the noise penalty that?constrained the original supersonic era,” said Pat LeBeau, X-59 program manager, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works?.???
Looking Ahead
The primary?objectives?of the envelope expansion campaign are to?validate?the X-59's performance at diverse speed and altitude profiles. Moving forward, the X-59 will continue to test its performance at high and fast test points as well as low and slow test points. From there, the joint Lockheed Martin and NASA team will move quickly into supersonic speeds and eventually the aircraft’s design points of?roughly 55,000?feet and Mach 1.4,?where it will create the first ever quiet supersonic?thump.
By successfully completing the jet’s envelope?expansion flights, the program moves closer to delivering a scientifically?validated?low-boom?specification?that regulators can use to certify future supersonic operations over populated areas, eventually leading to?the return of?supersonic commercial air travel.?
The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind innovation, driven by the teams at Skunk Works and NASA who were willing to push the boundaries of engineering and invention?to do something?that’s?never been done?before.?
Quiet supersonic?flight?is right around the corner – thanks to the X-59 and the daring teams turning imagination into first-of-its-kind?aircraft.