As NASA’s experimental X-59 supersonic jet wrapped up its second test flight, everything seemed to function as expected during a smooth landing on the runway. Nevertheless, the streamlined aircraft had only been in the air for nine minutes on Friday, March 20, when a cockpit warning light necessitated an early landing. This alert was distinct from a caution light that had surfaced during a previous takeoff attempt just prior to 10 a.m. P.T., as noted by Cathy Bahm, project manager at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center.

The short flight, which departed from Edwards Air Force Base in California at 10:54 a.m. P.T., represented only the second occasion the aircraft had taken to the skies. Although the team had initially aimed for approximately an hour of flight time, leaders underscored that even brief missions yield crucial data to propel the project forward. Bob Pearce, head of NASA’s aeronautics research, remarked that the choice to terminate the flight early was the appropriate one. The agency looks forward to pinpointing and addressing issues during this phase of the X-plane, designed by the U.S. to examine new flight technologies and concepts.

“At times, it’s easy to overlook that constructing this type of experimental aircraft entails creating something entirely new,” Pearce stated during a press briefing. “In the realm of X-planes, this is quite ordinary.”

The X-59 forms a part of a long-term initiative aimed at altering the speeds at which commercial aircraft can fly over land. Conventional supersonic planes generate a loud boom upon breaking the sound barrier, which is the reason the U.S. government prohibits regular supersonic passenger flights above populated regions. NASA and its contractor, Lockheed Martin, developed the X-59 to achieve speeds surpassing sound while only producing a “thump,” intending to furnish regulators and the industry with the necessary proof to reassess existing restrictions.

At the supersonic velocities NASA targets for the X-59 — approximately 925 mph — a non-stop journey from New York to L.A. could take under three hours. Present-day commercial airlines generally cruise at about 550 mph along that route, resulting in a typical travel time of about 5 to 6 hours across the country.

A sonic boom occurs when an aircraft surpasses the speed of sound, condensing pressure waves into a singular shock wave that impacts the ground like a sudden burst of air. NASA crafted the X-59 with a shape that disperses those pressure changes throughout the aircraft, transforming that single instantaneous shock into a series of smaller pulses.

Residents below did not perceive the X-59’s thump during either of the initial two test flights — and they were not meant to. The aircraft did not attain sufficient speed during either flight to generate it. Both missions purposefully remained at subsonic speeds. NASA is utilizing these preliminary tests to evaluate systems and observe aircraft handling.

During Friday’s test, the aircraft was meant to fly for around an hour, achieving a cruising speed of 230 mph at 12,000 feet before ramping up to 260 mph at 20,000 feet. Officials confirmed that the plane never surpassed 230 mph.

“I certainly wished for more to discuss than just nine minutes of flight,” remarked Less, who piloted the X-59 for the first time on this mission. “Even though I hadn’t planned to land quite so urgently on my first landing, the aircraft operated superbly.”

He characterized the aircraft as handling similarly to its simulators. After hundreds of hours of testing in the simulator, Less and other test pilots practiced using the unconventional vision system that merges camera images into a high-definition display. However, this marked his first experience flying without a traditional front window.

The elongated nose design that helps mitigate the sonic boom does not allow for a standard cockpit windscreen. Nevertheless, in certain scenarios, the system provides improved visibility compared to the naked eye, he mentioned. If a pilot is looking into the sunlight, for instance, image processing can lessen glare and enhance contrast.

“It genuinely felt comfortable,” he noted. “Even though I wasn’t looking out the front, I could see out the sides and correlate that.”

Over 100 test flights are scheduled. NASA plans to gradually advance toward higher, faster flights before trialing those muffled booms over urban areas.