On Friday, March 20, 2026, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reported on the second flight of the prototype supersonic experimental aircraft, the Lockheed Martin X-59 QueSST (Quiet Supersonic Transport).
X-59 during its second flight near the Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California / Photo: Jim Ross, NASA
The X-59 aircraft carried out its second flight on Friday, beginning a series of several dozen test flights planned for 2026. Its maiden flight took place on October 28, 2025.
Although the duration of the flight was shortened due to a technical issue, the team was able to collect data that will support future testing.
“Despite the early landing, this is a good day for the team. We collected more data, and the pilot landed safely,” said Cathy Bahm, project manager for NASA’s Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Edwards, California. “We’re looking forward to getting back to flight as soon as possible.”
The aircraft took off at 10:54 a.m. Pacific Time from Edwards Air Force Base, near NASA Armstrong’s headquarters. A few minutes into the flight, pilot Jim “Clue” Less noticed an onboard system warning in the cockpit. In accordance with flight procedures, the aircraft returned to base and landed at 11:03 a.m.
“As we like to say, it was just like the simulator – and that’s what we like to hear,” Less said. “This is just the beginning of a long flight campaign.”
The aircraft was officially unveiled on January 12, 2024. According to the latest information, it will undergo accelerated testing in 2026, demonstrating performance and airworthiness through a process known as envelope expansion, gradually flying faster and higher to reach supersonic speeds.
The QueSST program aims to conduct acoustic testing of the aircraft, including flights over populated areas, to provide U.S. and international regulators with statistically significant data needed to approve new regulations that could enable quiet commercial supersonic flight over land. The goal is to validate the “low-boom” or “soft thump” concept, with a maximum sound level of 75 decibels at ground level. This could potentially halve commercial flight times and transform global air travel.
To meet the requirements of testing new technologies, the cockpit is positioned deeper within the fuselage, and the pilot has no direct forward visibility due to the lack of a traditional canopy. Instead, the aircraft uses an eXternal Vision System (XVS), based on a 4K camera mounted on the nose, along with a Collins EVS3600 camera as part of the Forward Vision System (FVS) located under the fuselage, both displaying imagery in the cockpit. The forward camera provides a view above the nose and also functions as a head-up display (HUD), while the lower system provides imagery below. The system was previously tested in August 2019 on a Beechcraft King Air UC-12B.
The aircraft is expected to reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.42 (approximately 1,488 km/h) at an altitude of 55,000 feet (16,764 meters), powered by a single General Electric F414-GE-100 engine. It is 30.7 meters long, has a wingspan of 9 meters, and a maximum takeoff weight of 14.7 metric tons. The cockpit, ejection seat, and upper canopy are derived from the Northrop T-38 trainer, while the landing gear comes from the F-16 Block 25 multirole aircraft.
NASA’s cooperation with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics under the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator (LBFD) project, part of the Integrated Aviation Systems Program, began in February 2016. A 2.45 × 1.83 m (8 × 6 ft) model was tested in a wind tunnel at one of the three facilities of the John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) phase was completed on June 23, 2017. The aircraft was built under a contract worth 247.5 million USD, signed on April 3, 2018. Assembly began at the Skunk Works facility in Palmdale in December 2019. The first flight was initially planned for 2021, then postponed to the end of 2022, and later expected by the end of 2023. Ultimately, the program experienced a four-year delay.