NASA, Lockheed Martin's Supersonic X-59 Aircraft About To Fly Soon After Completing Several Tests [LOOK]

NASA and Lockheed Martin have completed two crucial tests for the supersonic X-59 aircraft. The spacecraft is one step closer to its inaugural flight.

In a new YouTube video, engineers at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works facility in Palmdale discussed the work on the upcoming silent supersonic flyer. This spacecraft arrived in April following stress testing in Fort Worth, Texas.

The X-59 supersonic jet video, which Lockheed released on Wednesday (May 10), begins with an astounding time-lapse of the jet coming together in front of a big team of specialists working to make supersonic flying as quiet as possible.

NASA Supersonic X-59

If all goes according to plan, the X-59 will take to the skies for the first time later this year. Following that, more acoustic validation flights are planned for next year, followed by community overflights in early 2024 to assess the sonic boom's loudness.

"NASA plans to deliver results of the community overflights to the International Civil Aviation Organization and Federal Aviation Administration in 2027," the space agency said in a recent report.

"With that information in hand, regulators will be able to decide if a change should be made in rules that prohibit supersonic flight over land - a decision that would be expected in 2028."

Suppose NASA and private companies like Boom Supersonic are successful. In that case, commercial supersonic airliners might be back in the skies soon, drastically cutting travel times while also addressing one of the Concorde's main flaws.

Supersonic X-59's Digital Engineering

The X-59 aircraft is meant to provide a quieter sonic boom, allowing supersonic aircraft to fly over populated areas at the speed of sound (767 mph).

One of the problems with the Concorde before 2003 was that its sonic boom was so loud that it had to fly at lower speeds over populous regions, Interesting Engineering said. On the other hand, NASA said per Space.com that the X-59 should be no louder than a car door slamming 20 feet (6 meters) away.

In a new video released by Lockheed Martin, X-59 Air Vehicle Engineering Lead Michael Buonanno claims that the X-59 has passed two critical tests: a structural proof test and a fuel system test, demonstrating that the aircraft appropriately gauges fuel. Now it's getting ready for its maiden flying test.

The X-59 air vehicle engineering lead highlighted in the video (per Eurasian Times) that "digital engineering has been integral to the design of X-59 since its early stages. Unlike the traditional aircraft, where we extensively used wind tunnels to shape and understand the flow around the configuration. We use thousands of computer simulations to characterize the nuance of every single flow feature on the airplane."

Meanwhile, X-59 Finite Element Analysis Lead Tony Delagarza emphasized the importance of aeroelastic modeling in achieving the requisite "silent" boom levels. These models were one of the "key enablers" that allowed NASA and Lockheed Martin to develop an airplane that would have been impossible to build 20 or 30 years ago. The X-59's supersonic noise will be "closer to a car door slamming" than the Concorde's huge supersonic boom, which could "shatter windows," according to Delagarza.

"NASA's goal is to collect and provide data to regulators that may finally solve the sonic boom challenge and open the future to commercial supersonic flight over land, reducing flight times drastically," the agency said in an April 18 statement.

Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times.