NASA's Quiet Supersonic X-59 Jet Flies Across the US to Florida

NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is flying across the United States for the first time. It is headed to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The jet left Edwards Air Force Base in California on Oct. 28, exactly one year after its first flight.

Lockheed Martin built the X-59 for NASA's Quesst mission. The agency says it has flown 40 times since that first flight.

The Route to Florida

The X-59 stopped first in El Paso, Texas. It then flew on to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, where it spent the night. It landed in Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday, Oct. 29, according to flight records cited by AVweb.

NASA F-15 and F/A-18 chase planes accompanied the trip, Aviation International News reports. NASA test pilots Nils Larson and Jim "Clue" Less are flying the aircraft. Clash Report could not confirm that the jet has landed at Kennedy. Birmingham was its last confirmed stop in the flight records reviewed.

A Year of Flight Testing

The X-59 first flew on Oct. 28, 2025. That flight lasted 67 minutes and reached about 12,000 feet at 230 mph. It first broke the sound barrier on June 5, 2026, reaching about Mach 1.1, NASA says.

Since then, NASA says the aircraft has completed 40 more flights. It has reached more than 56,000 feet and speeds up to Mach 1.53. Its intended cruise conditions are Mach 1.4 at 55,000 feet.

How the X-59 Stays Quiet

The X-59 is built to make a soft "thump" instead of a sonic boom. Its very long nose shapes the shock waves so they do not merge into one loud boom. The cockpit has no forward window, so the pilot sees ahead through a camera-based vision system.

At its intended altitude and speed, NASA projects a thump like a car door closing 20 feet away. NASA's design target is about 75 PLdB, a perceived-loudness measure rather than ordinary decibels. These figures are projections, because acoustic validation has not yet been completed.

What Comes Next

The X-59 will be on static display at NASA's MAX POWER aerospace expo and air show at Kennedy Space Center. Public gates open on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8. NASA also lists an X-59 team media event on Nov. 8.

Next, NASA will move to acoustic validation, using ground and airborne tools to measure the thump. It then plans to fly over selected U.S. communities and survey residents about the noise.

The data is meant to help regulators decide whether to allow commercial supersonic flight over land. The U.S. has banned it since 1973. NASA is also racing rivals on other fronts, including a nuclear reactor for the Moon.