WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After 25 test flights, NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic experimental aircraft steadily continues to pass performance marks set by its team. This successful run of tests has the aircraft on a path toward a new phase later this year, where NASA will evaluate the sonic thumps the X-59 is designed to make when flying faster than the speed of sound.
The X-59's 25th flight took off from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. It lasted a total of 72 minutes with the aircraft reaching Mach 1.2 at a height of approximately 49,000 feet. Like all of its test flights so far, the X-59 was accompanied by a chase plane to monitor it. That chase aircraft's sonic booms masked any noise from the X-59.
Reaching this point comes after years of design and analysis before the aircraft was built. Now, the X-59 team is seeing the predictions they made using computer models, wind tunnel tests, and other tools confirmed through flight testing.
'Through our ongoing flight tests with the X-59, we've gained invaluable insights into both the aircraft's performance and the unique challenges of the aircraft design,' said Cathy Bahm, project manager for NASA's Low Boom Flight Demonstrator project. 'Each test point has validated our models and predictions, and it has strengthened our confidence in the aircraft's performance. Every flight brings us closer to transitioning to the next phase where we will demonstrate the X-59's quiet supersonic flight capabilities.'
The X-59 is a revolutionary design, shaped so that when it flies faster than the speed of sound it will make just a quiet thump instead of a loud sonic boom. That required extensive modeling and design before construction began. Now that the aircraft is undergoing flight testing, one of the tools the X-59 team uses for monitoring progress is a 'real-time digital twin,' which compares flight data to simulated predictions.
So far, the X-59's real-world flight characteristics - how it moves through the air and responds to the forces acting on it - matches simulations closely, according to NASA.
The X-59 also has not suffered any unexpected phenomenon, such as instability or excessive vibration, in response to aerodynamic forces. Nils Larson, one of NASA's test pilots, has described X-59 flights as 'exciting but uneventful,' exactly what a test pilot wants.
The aircraft has come a long way from its early test flights with simple objectives, like fly and land safely while demonstrating stability. Since then, it was able to work up to its target cruise speed of Mach 1.4 (924 mph) and altitude of 55,000 feet relatively early in its test schedule. Much of the remaining work has focused on checking performance in all conditions of its flight envelope - the areas and speeds where it should be able to operate safely - including those on the 'low and slow' end.
'This is the phase we've been working toward. Building and flying a brand-new aircraft is an extraordinary accomplishment, but the next phase is where the real research begins, said Larry Cliatt, Acoustic Validation Technical Lead at Quesst Mission.
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