NASA Armstrong

The X-59 has touched down at its new home! On Oct. 28, 2025, the X-59 completed its first flight, taking off from the @LockheedMartin Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, and landing at @EdwardsAFB after a 67-minute flight. The quiet supersonic research aircraft then taxied to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, marking its transition from ground testing to flight operations.

X-59 Update: Second Flight has been rescheduled for Friday, March 20. 📢Interested media can RSVP to join a teleconference to learn more about upcoming test flights: go.nasa.gov/4754gqn

After nearly 40 years at NASA Armstrong, Center Director Bradley Flick will retire March 19. From flight systems engineer in 1986 to center director, Flick’s leadership helped advance aeronautics and expand what’s possible in flight research. Thank you, Brad, for your decades of service. 🚀 Learn more about his career: go.nasa.gov/4sTyFk2

The centerpiece of the Quesst mission is the X-59, which will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, while reducing the typically-loud sonic booms that occur when aircraft fly at those speeds to quieter sonic "thumps". NASA's goal through Quesst is to collect data on public response to the sounds of quiet supersonic flight and to provide that data to national and international regulators. This will help inform the establishment of noise thresholds for supersonic aircraft, opening the future to commercial quiet supersonic flight over land, greatly reducing flight times! Visit nasa.gov/quesst to follow the mission!

@NASAArmstrong What is the Quest mission about?

Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘️ Shock wave imaging is just one of the techniques NASA's SCHAMROQ project is using to help us prepare for future phases of our Quesst mission! For more info visit: go.nasa.gov/3PcW69o

We capture shock wave imagery through a method called schlieren photography. This method allows us to observe how shock waves behave and travel to the ground, where they are typically heard on the ground as a loud sonic boom. These observations show us what parts of a supersonic aircraft create the most powerful shock waves, or how certain environments impact how shock waves travel. Ultimately, they help enable us to make sonic booms quieter. Check out nasa.gov/quesst for more!

@NASAArmstrong How does shock-wave imaging help improve future supersonic flight?

NASA’s X-59 is prepping for its second flight ✈️ NASA test pilot Jim “Clue” Less will pilot the X-59 for the second flight. The flight marks the beginning of “envelope expansion,” where the quiet supersonic jet will start flight testing at faster speeds and higher altitudes. Ultimately, the X-59 will demonstrate that an aircraft can fly faster than the speed of sound while reducing the typical loud sonic boom to a quieter thump. 🔗: go.nasa.gov/3PeCq56

We’ve got a date for X-59’s second flight: 03/19! ✈️ This flight will kick off a series of flights known as envelope expansion, during which NASA will gradually take the X-59 faster & higher. 📢@NASA Invites Media to Learn About Upcoming Test Flights: go.nasa.gov/4754gqn

Calling all Innovators! ✈️ 🚀 Join us at NASA Armstrong’s Partnership Days on April 15-16, 2026, and explore opportunities to collaborate on groundbreaking research and development. Whether you’re an industry leader or government entity, this is your chance to connect with NASA experts and shape the future of aerospace, autonomy, sustainability, and more. Space is limited. RSVP is required by March 25 to secure your spot! 🔗: go.nasa.gov/4sDyQ2E

2025 was a big year for the Quesst mission! After years of design, development, and testing, NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft took to the skies for the first time October 28, marking a historic moment for the field of aeronautics research and the agency’s Quesst mission. Watch these highlights from our series, 59 seconds on the X-59, and see NASA test pilot Nils Larson give a behind the scenes look at what it took to fly the one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft for the first time!

From breaking the sound barrier to testing high-speed jets, NASA Armstrong has shaped aviation history! Our pioneering research fuels the future of flight. 🚀 Learn more here: nasa.gov/centers-and-fa…

How bright is the Moon? 🌖 NASA Armstrong took to the skies to measure it, helping make space-based sensors even more accurate. Better sensor data means better tools to track weather patterns, survey agriculture, and study Earth’s ecosystems, supporting decisions that affect daily life on Earth. A unique instrument mounted on NASA’s ER-2 high-altitude aircraft transformed the plane into an airborne lunar observatory. See how NASA Armstrong helped make this mission possible: go.nasa.gov/3ON0WKg

Do you think living in a city or in a suburb will affect how you respond to air taxis? NASA is working with partners to better understand how people respond to air taxi noise when these aircraft take to the skies. Learn more here: go.nasa.gov/3P2IBZA

First flights are complete! NASA continues work on a scale-model wing, attached to the bottom of one of our F-15 research jets, which is designed to reduce drag and lower fuel costs for future commercial aircraft. Learn more here: go.nasa.gov/4qZwFoS

Your voice matters! 🛰️ NASA is calling on the aerospace community to help prioritize civil space technology shortfalls. Share your input: go.nasa.gov/4aFeZJ5

No notes. Just jets. ✈️ Learn more about the aircraft flown at Armstrong: go.nasa.gov/3ZwPeFF

NASA Armstrong is developing and testing technologies for missions to the Moon and beyond! Teams at NASA Armstrong integrated and tested a launch abort system to help protect Artemis astronauts during emergencies and are collecting data to improve spacecraft safety and performance for future missions. Learn more about Armstrong contributions to NASA’s Artemis campaign: go.nasa.gov/4bHRLEn

From historic X-planes to the future of flight, @NASAAdmin Jared Isaacman sat down with test pilots Nils Larson and Jim “Clue” Less to talk NASA Armstrong’s legacy and what’s next for aeronautics. Explore more about NASA Armstrong: nasa.gov/armstrong/

Great to have @NASAAdmin Jared Isaacman at NASA Armstrong yesterday! His visit included briefings on the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft, our chase fleet, and Mars exploration work – key efforts driving innovation in aeronautics and space.

In 2016 we were … Can you spot some of our ongoing work? NASA Armstrong remains the agency’s home for high-risk flight research. Make sure to follow along to see more exciting work happening in 2026! Image 1: Supporting Orion spacecraft parachute tests to get humans back to the Moon. Image 2: Dreaming about what would become the X-59. Image 3: Collecting images of supersonic shock waves to support X-59 research. Image 4: Improving electric propulsion. Image 5: Overcoming barriers to commercial supersonic flight over land with our F-15 aircraft. Image 6: Flying our now retired remotely piloted Ikhana aircraft to help integrate these types of aircraft into the national airspace system. Image 7: Studying the dense African tropical forests in Gabon, Africa, with our C-20A science research aircraft. Image 8: Detecting atomic oxygen in the atmosphere of Mars with our now retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft. Image 9: Inspiring the next generation at the 2016 Los Angeles County Airshow in Lancaster, California. Image 10: Partnering with NOAA to test its new weather satellite using our ER-2 high-altitude science aircraft. 🔗: go.nasa.gov/4pSo4Uw

Today, NASA’s Day of Remembrance honors members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. On this day, NASA Armstrong also commemorates four pilots from its history who died at the stick of a NASA or National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) aircraft. We reflect on the lessons learned and reinforce NASA’s commitment to safety, the cornerstone upon which we build mission success. 🔗: go.nasa.gov/42pUayD #NASARemembers