NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft took off for its historic first flight on Oct. 28, 2025, at 11:14 a.m. EDT from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. The one-of-a-kind aircraft flew for 67 minutes before landing and taxiing to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA test pilot Nils Larson flew […]
Category: Armstrong Flight Research Center
NASA’s Quesst Mission Marks X-59’s Historic First Flight
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft took off for its historic first flight on Oct. 28 at 11:14 a.m. EDT from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. The one-of-a-kind aircraft flew for 67 minutes before landing and taxiing to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA test pilot Nils Larson flew the […]
NASA’s Quesst Mission Marks X-59’s Historic First Flight
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft took off for its historic first flight on Oct. 28 at 11:14 a.m. EDT from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. The one-of-a-kind aircraft flew for 67 minutes before landing and taxiing to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA test pilot Nils Larson flew the […]
NASA’s X-59 Completes First Flight, Prepares for More Flight Testing
After years of design, development, and testing, NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft took to the skies for the first time Oct. 28, marking a historic moment for the field of aeronautics research and the agency’s Quesst mission. The X-59, designed to fly at supersonic speeds and reduce the sound of loud sonic booms to […]
NASA Lab Builds New Aircraft to Support Complex Flight Research
NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, is building a new subscale aircraft to support increasingly complex flight research, offering a more flexible and cost-effective alternative to crewed missions. The aircraft is being built by Justin Hall, chief pilot at NASA Armstrong’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory, and Justin Link, a small uncrewed […]
NASA’s X-59 Moves Toward First Flight at Speed of Safety
As NASA’s one-of-a-kind X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft approaches first flight, its team is mapping every step from taxi and takeoff to cruising and landing – and their decision-making is guided by safety. First flight will be a lower-altitude loop at about 240 mph to check system integration, kicking off a phase of flight testing […]
NASA’s X-59 Moves Toward First Flight at Speed of Safety
As NASA’s one-of-a-kind X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft approaches first flight, its team is mapping every step from taxi and takeoff to cruising and landing – and their decision-making is guided by safety. First flight will be a lower-altitude loop at about 240 mph to check system integration, kicking off a phase of flight testing […]
NASA Armstrong to Host Partnership Day Oct. 21-22
NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, invites innovative companies, government agencies, and organizations to attend Partnership Days, scheduled for Oct. 21-22, 2025, at the center. The event offers a unique opportunity to explore collaboration with NASA on cutting-edge research and development in areas such as aerospace, autonomy, sustainability, and more. Attendees will engage […]
NASA Tests Tools to Assess Drone Safety Over Cities
A future with advanced air mobility aircraft populating the skies will require the U.S. to implement enhanced preflight planning that can mitigate potential risks well before takeoff – and NASA is working to develop the tools to make that happen. Preflight planning is critical to ensuring safety in the complex, high-risk environments of the future […]
Epic Research Can Help Mars Missions
The parachute of the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy, or EPIC, test experiment deploys following an air launch from an Alta X drone on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA researchers are developing technology to make supersonic parachutes safer and more reliable for delivering instruments and payloads […]