The NASA X-59 supersonic jet has begun taxi tests as it takes another step closer to its highly anticipated, super quiet, first flight.
The Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) mission centers around the one-of-a-kind X-59 aircraft.
QueSST is aiming to gather data that can help pave the way for quiet commercial supersonic travel.
The latest round of tests marks the first time the NASA X-59 supersonic plane has moved under its own power.
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The taxi tests are an important step for the NASA X-59 supersonic jet
NASA has been working away on the QueSST mission and the X-59 supersonic aircraft for years.
The US space agency is hopeful that it can help to usher in a new age of supersonic commercial travel that is a lot quieter than ever before.
Rather than making an ear-splitting sonic boom, NASA says its X-59 will make a noise similar to a car door slamming.
The NASA X-59 supersonic jet is on course to take its inaugural flight later this year, and the aircraft has been through numerous testing phases, including being tested in a wind tunnel.
Last week, NASA announced it has started some very important on-the-ground tests.
Test pilot Nils Larson and the X-59 team completed the aircraft’s first low-speed taxi test at US Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, on July 10, 2025.
During the tests, the team was able to monitor how X-59 handled on the runway, as well as being able to see how its critical systems, such as braking and steering, worked.
The taxi tests will be the X-59’s last series of ground tests before the first flight.
“Over the coming weeks, the aircraft will gradually increase its speed, leading up to a high-speed taxi test that will take the aircraft just short of the point where it would take off,” the US space agency said.
The tests help the team to understand how the X-59 will perform under various conditions.
What’s going on with supersonic commercial flight?
Flight enthusiasts may be aware that there haven’t been any commercial supersonic flights since 2023, when Concorde was retired.
Part of the reason we’ve not seen supersonic flight since is due to the super loud ‘sonic boom’, which led to many countries banning supersonic planes from flying over.
This is a problem the NASA X-59 supersonic jet hopes to solve.
However, NASA isn’t the only name currently working on modern supersonic flight.
Colorado-based Boom Supersonic is gaining momentum with it’s ‘Son of Concorde’ aircraft.
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