Will the X-59 finally break the sound barrier?
(Image credit: NASA/Jim Ross)
NASA's X-59 jet is on the verge of finally breaking the sound barrier.The X-59 is a supersonic aircraft designed with a radical elongated geometry that aims to reduce the volume of the sonic booms it can create when breaking the sound barrier. NASA's goal with the X-59 is to help develop "quiet" supersonic technologies that could lead to aircraft designs that minimize the impact of sonic booms on the ground below, which could potentially enable current restrictions on supersonic flight to be lifted.After making its first test flight in October 2025 and going on 14 test flights since March 2026, the X-59 is finally ready to take on its first supersonic flight sometime this month, NASA says. According to the agency, the aircraft will reach Mach 1.4 (925 miles per hour or 1,489 kilometers per hour) at approximately 55,000 feet (16.7 kilometers). "What comes next is the first time this one-of-a-kind aircraft will fly supersonic," said Cathy Bahm, project manager for NASA's Low Boom Flight Demonstrator. "Completing the first mission-conditions flight is especially meaningful — it's the moment where we begin validating the aircraft in the environment it was designed for," Bahm said in a statement.NASA recently completed several key milestones in the X-59 testing program ahead of this first supersonic flight attempt. Just last month, the jet retracted its landing gear for the first time, revealing how the aircraft will look when in full flight.
