No takeoff, no engine: NASA's stealth supersonic aircraft demonstrates its high-altitude capabilities

NASA continues to make breakthroughs that leave the scientific community speechless. Now, NASA's quiet, supersonic X-59 aircraft has completed crucial tests that put its ability to fly at high altitudes over the California desert, all without taking off.

"The idea behind these tests is to control the aircraft's subsystems and flight computer to perform as if it were flying ," Yohan Lin, X-59 lead avionics engineer at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center, said in a statement.

The goal of the ground simulation tests was to ensure that the hardware and software that will allow the X-59 to fly safely work together properly and are capable of handling any unexpected problems. Any new aircraft is a combination of systems, and identifying the small tweaks needed to optimize performance is an important step in a disciplined approach to flight.

"We thought we might find some details during testing that would prompt us to fine-tune them to make them work better, especially with some of the software, and that's what we experienced. So these tests were very helpful ," Lin said.

The completion of testing marks another milestone on the to-do list before the X-59 makes its first flight this year , continuing NASA's Quest mission to facilitate commercial supersonic flight over land.

During testing, NASA engineers and contractor Lockheed Martin powered down most of the X-59's systems, leaving the engine off. For example, if the pilot moved the control stick in a certain direction, the flight computer would move the rudder or other control surfaces of the aircraft, just as it would in flight.

At the same time, the aircraft was electronically connected to a ground computer that sends simulated signals , which the X-59 interprets as real, such as changes in altitude, speed, temperature, or the status of various systems.