Aviation history was just very quietly made in the skies of Southern California. The X-59 NASA supersonic jet completed its first test flight on Tuesday morning, bringing ultra-fast commercial air travel one step closer to reality. Built by aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, the X-59 is designed to fly at supersonic speeds with minimal noise. During the inaugural flight, the aircraft traveled from the Skunk Works facility in Palmdale to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards. Lockheed Martin says it “performed exactly as planned,” reaching subsonic speeds of 230 mph and a peak altitude of 12,000 feet. Measuring just under 100 feet, the single-engine jet features a distinctive sculpted body designed to reduce noise at high speeds. Rather than producing the typical sonic boom when breaking the sound barrier, the X-59 will reportedly make a sonic “thud” about as loud as a washing machine. The space agency believes that such low-decibel flight could expedite the return of..
