NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic analysis plane accomplished its first low-speed taxi check at U.S. Air Power Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, on July 10, 2025. This marked the primary time the one-of-a-kind experimental plane has ever moved below its personal energy.
Through the check, engineers and flight crews monitored the X-59 because it moved throughout the runway, working to validate vital techniques like steering and braking. The taxiing represents the beginning of the X-59’s closing sequence of floor assessments earlier than first flight.
The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which goals to show quiet supersonic flight by decreasing the loud sonic increase to a quieter “thump.”
Picture Credit score: NASA/Carla Thomas