NASA's X-59 Completes First Wheels-Up Flight

https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/quesst/2026/04/15/nasas-x-59-shows-streamlined-profile-in-wheels-up-flights/

5•big_toast•1h ago

Comments

gnabgib•1h ago

(Not supersonic yet - top speed 460mph (mach 1 = 761))

First flight Wheels-down (2 points, 6 months ago) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45748035

Taxi tests (138 points, 9 months ago, 133 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44615033

Cleared for final assembly (90 points, 2019, 60 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21834889

big_toast•1h ago

I found a link that said they were discussing the testing schedule with media, but haven't found a timeline for when they might go supersonic.

First X-59 post on hn was 8 years ago!

big_toast•1h ago

"The X-59’s thin, tapered nose accounts for almost a third of its length, and will break up the shock waves that would ordinarily result in a supersonic aircraft causing a sonic boom." [1]

The video with the wheels up must be really satisfying for the people who worked on it. Beautiful.

[1]:https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-lockheed-martin-revea...