NASA’s experimental X-59 QueSST has marked its first year in the air with a visit to Kennedy Space Center after completing 41 flights. The supersonic aircraft has also demonstrated a performance level that could eventually cut long-distance travel times in half.
Nicknamed the “Son of Concorde,” the needle-nosed jet is designed to reach 925 mph, or Mach 1.4, while cruising at 55,000 feet. That would put it more than twice as high and nearly twice as fast as conventional passenger aircraft.
Speed, however, is not the X-59’s most important innovation.
The name QueSST refers to “Quiet SuperSonic Technology.” Instead of producing the thunderous sonic boom associated with supersonic flight, the aircraft is engineered to create a far softer sound known as a “glide thump.”
If the technology can eventually be adapted for a larger passenger aircraft, it could help bring supersonic travel back to the continental United States and other populated regions.
A passenger version could fly from New York City to London in about 3.5 hours. The journey from New York to Los Angeles, which typically takes five to six hours, could be reduced to roughly 2.5 hours.
Commercial supersonic travel has been unavailable in the United States since the Concorde was retired in 2003. The aircraft faced high operating costs, limited seating and declining public interest after a fatal crash in 2000.
The X-59 was filmed departing its California base last week before being spotted landing at Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 28.
Video of the aircraft, recognizable by its unusual shape, quickly went viral as it flew over Texas. NASA chief Jared Isaacman confirmed on X that the jet was traveling to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The footage, captured by Victoria Fontana, shows the experimental supersonic aircraft passing over Fort Worth alongside one of NASA’s F-15 jets.
The sighting occurred exactly one year after the X-59 completed its first flight at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California.
The advanced aircraft is the centerpiece of NASA’s QueSST mission, which aims to develop a quieter alternative to the traditional sonic boom. Its aerodynamic design is intended to reduce the impact heard when the jet breaks the sound barrier.
NASA estimates that the X-59 program will cost $630 million.