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yesterday

NASA’s X-59 Cuts Short Second Test Flight After Return-To-Base Call

The low-boom demonstrator is progressing through a stepwise envelope-expansion campaign to generate data that could guide rulemaking on overland supersonic flight.

NASA X-59 supersonic test aircraft
NASA’s quiet supersonic X-59 aircraft made its second test flight on Friday.
Image

Overview

  • NASA said the X-59 took off at 10:54 a.m. local time on March 20 from Edwards Air Force Base and returned early following a return-to-base call, with the pilot and aircraft landing safely.
  • Details on what prompted the call and whether any test points were achieved have not been released, and flight-tracking data indicated roughly eight minutes aloft.
  • The second flight had been slated to begin performance and envelope expansion at about 230 mph and 12,000 feet, then target roughly 260 mph at 20,000 feet.
  • NASA identified test pilot Jim “Clue” Less at the controls with NASA test pilot Nils Larson in an F/A-18 chase aircraft to observe the mission.
  • Between the October 2025 first flight and this attempt, teams removed and reinstalled the engine and other components, completed more than 70 panel actions, and conducted a March 12 engine run, with future tests aiming toward Mach 1.4 at 55,000 feet and later acoustic validation and community overflights.