NASA’s X-59 QueSST aircraft ready for ground testing

News, US January 9, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Lockheed Martin recently released photos ahead of the structural test of its latest X-Plane, X-59 QueSST (Quiet Supersonic Technology) which aims to become a game-changing aircraft to address the main problem with the supersonic flights, the Sonic Boom. NASA’s X-59 aircraft is all set for its critical ground testing that would ensure whether it can withstand the stresses that typically occur during a supersonic flight.

The aircraft is being developed at the Skunk Works, which is NASA’s Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator facility. The plane is almost 100 feet long and 14 feet high with a wingspan that spreads up to 29 and a half feet.

X-59 is a single-seat experimental supersonic aircraft that is designed to reduce the sonic boom. The aircraft is designed to reduce the loudness of the sonic boom through its sleek design and shape. X-59 accomplishes this by tailoring the volume and lift distribution associated with supersonic flight. The plane can achieve the cruise speed of Mach 1.42 which translates to 1520 km/h while creating only 75 Perceived Level Decibels (PLdB) of sound at the ground which is acceptable noise. To put it in perspective, a vacuum cleaner creates the same decibels of sound when operated inside a room.

*^{The team at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, merged the major sections of the X-59 SuperSonic aircraft. (Image Credit: Lockheed Martin/Garry Tice)}*

The project was initiated in 2016 when Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract for the primary design for the project. The initial time frame for designing was aimed at the end of 2020 after which the ground tests were planned to be initiated. After receiving initial approval from the wind tunnel tests with the 8% sized model, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $247.5 million contract by NASA in 2018 for designing and building the plane by the end of 2021.

Simultaneously when the plane was being built in 2018, NASA began its social experiment of evaluating the public response towards the supersonic thump produced by the flight. NASA deployed noise monitoring sensors as well as involved more than 400 residents for their feedback about the supersonic thump which was produced by F/A-18 Hornet diving from the 50,000 feet to briefly achieve supersonic speeds that X-59 is expected to achieve during its cruise speed.