NASA X-59 reached Mach 1.1 on Friday during its first supersonic run, marking a key step in the agency’s quiet supersonic aircraft program.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration test pilot Jim “Clue” Less took off at 11:08 am local time and flew the aircraft for 81 minutes. The jet reached 1,147km/h at an altitude of 3,228 meters.
The milestone followed an intensive test phase after the aircraft’s launch in October last year. NASA said the X-59 completed 16 test flights in the past three months before crossing the sound barrier.
NASA's experimental X-59 aircraft has officially broken the sound barrier and completed its first supersonic flight on Friday, marking a major milestone in the development of the agency's quiet supersonic technology.
– The aircraft reached a speed of approximately Mach 1.1 at… pic.twitter.com/L0xgZSNaFs
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) June 6, 2026The aircraft is part of NASA’s Quesst mission. The program aims to reduce the loud sonic boom from overland supersonic flight to what the agency describes as a “quiet, barely audible thump.”
Read: NASA X-59 Set for First Supersonic Flight in June
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman thanked NASA teams and Lockheed Martin Skunk Works for helping reach the milestone. He said he hoped the flight would be the first of many collaborations as NASA rebuilds its X-plane portfolio.
The X-59 was developed with Lockheed Martin and has been described as the “Son of Concorde.” NASA plans to use the aircraft to test whether quieter supersonic flight can support future commercial land travel.
In the final testing phase, NASA aims to push the aircraft toward Mach 1.6 at 60,000 feet.
