NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Aircraft Begins Taxi Tests

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft has officially begun taxi testing, marking the first time the unique experimental jet has moved under its own power.

On July 10, 2025, NASA test pilot Nils Larson and a combined team from NASA and Lockheed Martin successfully completed the X-59’s first low-speed taxi test at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.

This milestone is the final phase of ground testing before the aircraft’s maiden flight. In the coming weeks, the X-59 will undergo progressively faster taxi tests, culminating in a high-speed run approaching liftoff speed.

Throughout the low-speed trials, engineers and flight crews closely observed the aircraft’s performance on the runway, checking key systems such as steering and braking. These evaluations are crucial to ensuring the X-59’s stability and control under various conditions, confirming that the aircraft is ready for flight.

The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to prove that supersonic flight can be quiet enough for commercial use over land. By reducing the sonic boom to a soft “thump,” NASA aims to collect data that could help regulators in the U.S. and abroad establish new noise standards for future supersonic air travel.