First flight X-59 QueSST delayed
The first flight of the Lockheed X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) low-boom supersonic demonstrator has been pushed back to next year.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) the decision to delay the first flight has been made after after a series of subsystem issues were encountered late this summer during check-out tests at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale (CA). NASA plans to release a more specific timeline for first flight when the flight readiness review is completed, following integrated testing.
The X-59 has been designed to collect community-response data on the public acceptability of reduced sonic booms. The data will be used by US and international authorities to determine whether a boom standard can be set that will enable lifting of the prohibition on civil supersonic flight over land which has been in place since the 1970s. The current plan to revise the rules on commercial supersonic travel over land is that the results of the community overflights will be delivered to the ICAO and the FAA in 2027, allowing for a decision to be made to revise the rules in 2028.
Lockheed Martin's website on the QueSST gives some details on the dimension of the aircraft and flight and expected sound details. The X-59 will cruise at 55.000 ft, can reach speeds of Mach 1.4 (925 mph) and the sonic boom creates a sound of 75 PLdB (Perceived Level of Decibels) which is as loud as a car door closing.
Scramble Magazine first wrote on the X-59 on 21 April 2022.
Credit photo: Lockheed Martin