NASA’s X-59 supersonic aircraft approaches the runway in preparation for its maiden flight, which is expected to take place later this year. Finally, new photos show the supersonic X-59 parked on the flight deck at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The plane was moved from the yard to the flight line on June 19, he said advertisement NASA.
The achievement begins a series of ground tests to ensure the X-59 can be safe and ready to fly as part of NASA’s QueSST – Quiet SuperSonic Technology mission, which aims to prove the aircraft can fly faster than the speed of sound (or Mach). 1) Without generating the loud penetrating boom generally produced by supersonic aircraft.
“NASA will then fly the X-59 over various communities to collect data on human responses to sound generated during supersonic flight.Space agency officials said in a statement. “NASA will make this data set available to US and international regulators to enable commercial supersonic flight over Earth“.
The X-59 supersonic jet is expected to produce only a slight “bump” to people on the ground compared to conventional sonic thrust that occurs when Mach 1 is exceeded. Therefore, the X-59 could lead to new rules regarding supersonic overflights over the ground, opening new doors for faster air transportation of cargo and passengers.
The aircraft will remain parked near the runway during Lockheed Martin’s initial ground flight tests. The aircraft is 99.7 feet long by 29.5 feet wide and is powered by a single General Electric Aviation F414-GE-100 turbojet. NASA’s X-59 is designed to reach a speed of Mach 1.4, about 1,488 km/h, while flying at an altitude of 55,000 feet (16,764 meters).
If all goes as planned, the X-59 will fly over select US cities starting in 2024. Residents will be able to share their responses to the sound made by NASA’s X-59 planes. Then, the data collected from the flights will be shared with US and international regulators in 2027, when the QueSTT mission ends.
The most unique detail of this aircraft, which is by far one of the most amazing flying machines currently on the road, is certainly the pilot’s cockpit. The latest images provide perhaps the best view yet of the pilot’s forward vision system and reveal that the pilot actually has no conventional means of looking at the outside world in front of him, only sideways.
So how does the X-59 fly?
Part of the cockpit is something you might see in a computer because the pilot will see the sky in front of him through a 4K screen, which will display complex computer-generated images from two cameras mounted above and below the nose of the X-59 combined with terrain data from an advanced computer system. NASA calls this forward “window” the eExternal Vision System, or XVS. However, the two hatches and the traditional canopy are real windows and help the pilot see the horizon. In addition, displays below the XVS will provide a variety of aircraft systems and trajectory data for the pilot to fly safely.
The XVS serves as an additional safety aid to help the pilot maneuver safely through the skies and for airport approaches, landing and take-off. This modern sighting system was needed because the requisite shape and long nose of the X-59 would not allow for a protruding cockpit canopy. The X-59’s unique shape controls how air moves away from the aircraft, ultimately preventing sonic booms from disturbing communities on the ground.
What is NASA X-59?
Revolutionizing fast commercial air travel on the ground with first flight tests expected in 2022. In 2023, NASA will fly the X-59 over airspace at Armstrong Flight Research Center in California to demonstrate that it can produce a quieter, more confident sonic boom of its ability to operate in the national airspace system. More than 175 ground recording systems will measure the sound coming from the X-59.
In 2024, NASA will fly the X-59 over various communities across the country to assess people’s response to the sound the plane makes. The data collected will be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Organization for consideration in amending the current ban on supersonic flights over Earth. The X-59 is expected to operate smoothly with routine air traffic in all classes of airspace as it climbs to its flight altitude at supersonic speeds. With a test program of 1,000 flight hours, it will be exposed to a lot of air traffic, far more than previous X-planes.
This ban took effect in 1973 and has plagued commercial supersonic companies ever since, limiting supersonic travel to cruises only. Concorde was flown by British Airways and Air France, two airlines that provided service between 1976 and 2003.
If the rules change thanks to NASA data, the idea of a new fleet of supersonic commercial jets will become viable, allowing passengers to board and reach distant destinations in half the time. While a single pilot X-59 will never carry passengers, aircraft manufacturers may choose to incorporate its technology into their own designs.
Images: Lockheed Martin, NASA
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