X-59 Supersonic Test Jet Rolled Out At Skunk Works
A high-profile ceremony saw the completed X-59 formally unveiled at Palmdale, with a first flight now due before the end of the year.
BY
JOSEPH TREVITHICK, THOMAS NEWDICK
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PUBLISHED JAN 12, 2024 7:21 PM EST
NASA and Lockheed Martin's famed Skunk Work advanced projects division have formally debuted the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology experimental test aircraft, or QueSST. With build work on the X-59 now complete, the countdown for the first flight is on, with the future of supersonic passenger flight perhaps dependent on its successful outcome.
Today’s rollout, which took place at the Skunk Works facility within the U.S. Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, was much hyped by NASA and Lockheed Martin. The ceremony was broadcast live on various platforms and with virtual participants around the globe encouraged to host their own virtual watch parties.
The X-59 now certainly looks the part, resplendent in a recently applied paint scheme that includes a mainly white fuselage, a NASA “sonic blue” underside, and red accents on the wings.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/x-59-supersonic-test-jet-rolled-out-at-skunk-works
