ExecutiveGov reports that NASA “said Wednesday it tested the Airborne Location Integrating Geospatial Navigation System in preparation for future demonstrations of the Lockheed Martin-made X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology or QueSST plane.” Before 2024 demonstrations of the aircraft intended to quiet the sonic boom that occurs during supersonic flight, NASA “has to test X-59’s quietness through acoustic validation. An F-15 aircraft equipped with a shock-sensing probe will gather needed information by measuring QueSST’s shock waves.”
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Tag: QueSST
NASA Shares Time-Lapse Video of X-59 QueSST Construction
The Daily Mail (UK) reports that NASA shared a time-lapse video showing construction of the X-59 QueSST aircraft at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The 43-second clip shows development of the fuselage and the 29.5-foot-wide wing.
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NASA Reaches Halfway Point In Construction Of QueSST Demonstrator
Aviation International News reports that NASA now expects the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) demonstrator to make its first flight in 2022, and the agency said that construction of the demonstrator was halfway complete as of the end of 2020. NASA “said assembly of the Mach 1.4 aircraft ‘made great strides’ in 2020 as work progressed on the flight deck, wings, and other hardware. In addition, GE Aviation delivered the F414-GE-100 engine that will power the X-59 QueSST in the third quarter.” In November, the agency completed “the closing of the wing section, which NASA termed as the ‘structural backbone of the aircraft.’”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
NASA Initiates Engines Tests on Experimental X-59
Flying Magazine reports, “NASA has fired up the engine of its experimental X-59 supersonic aircraft for the first time, marking the launch of testing to ensure the powerplant and systems work together.” The “X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft is part of NASA’s Low Boom Flight Demonstration project aimed at collecting data to help shape regulations for possible future commercial supersonic flight. … The modified F414-GE-100 engine is expected to enable the aircraft to fly Mach 1.4, or around 925 mph, according to NASA.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine