NASA has announced that its X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft has been cleared for final assembly and systems integration, a move the agency called the “last programmatic hurdle” for QueSST prior to flight signoff. Approval for final assembly of the X-59 was given at a Key Decision Point-D (KDP-D) management review last week. Assembly and systems integration are expected to be completed by late 2020, with the aircraft’s first flight scheduled for 2021.
“With the completion of KDP-D we’ve shown the project is on schedule, it’s well planned and on track,” said NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Bob Pearce. “We have everything in place to continue this historic research mission for the nation’s air-traveling public.”
The X-59 QueSST aircraft is designed to “reduce the loudness of a sonic boom reaching the ground.” According to NASA, it will be used to gather data that will “help regulators establish new rules to enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.” As previously reported by AVweb, the X-59 is being built by Lockheed Martin at the company’s Skunk Works factory in Palmdale, California. Lockheed Martin was awarded the $247.5 million contract in early 2018.
$247.5M contract to — ostensibly — repeat most of the work already done by the Northrop Grumman / DARPA / NAVY / NASA “SSBD” program 15 years ago. This is a waste of money, not needed and if private Companies want to build a supersonic transport for very wealthy people … let THEM pay for it … not the US Taxpayers !! The basic tenets of quieting supersonic flight have already been published BY NASA !! See: “Quieting the Boom.”
$247.5M so that our Regulators in the FAA — the very same people who are complicit in the MCAS debacle — can write more Regulations. All they have to do is re-visit the data already collected by NASA Dryden testing. And if MORE testing is required … go to the Tico Air Museum and resurrect the SSBD airplane.
This is just a subsidy to keep Lockheed / Martin in Palmdale capitalized and its people working.
SIGH !!!
If people really need to go from A to B in a hurry then why not go sub-orbital?
We already have that technology.
Good point, Mark. NASA is already testing the scramjet so wealthy folks could probably lay supine in one of those things and hang on tight while they get someplace REAL fast !!
Just sain’ that we already have the technology to go real fast around the world. As said many times, it only comes down to how fast are you willing to spend.