Overview
- NASA says the roughly one-hour sortie from Edwards Air Force Base will begin with functional checks at about 230 mph at 12,000 feet, then step to 260 mph at 20,000 feet.
- Test pilot Jim “Clue” Less will fly the X-59, with Nils Larson observing in a NASA F/A-18 chase plane.
- The flight initiates a measured campaign to gradually increase speed and altitude over coming months toward about Mach 1.4 at 55,000 feet.
- Preparations included extensive post–first-flight inspections and reassembly plus a March 12 engine run of the modified F414-GE-100 at NASA Armstrong.
- The X-59, built with Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, will later undergo acoustic validation and community overflights to gather data for U.S. and international regulators.