India, Sept. 7 -- After 25 test flights, NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic experimental aircraft steadily continues to pass performance marks set by its team. This successful run of tests has the aircraft on a path toward a new phase later this year, where NASA will evaluate the sonic thumps the X-59 is designed to make when flying faster than the speed of sound.
The X-59's 25th flight took off from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. It lasted a total of 72 minutes with the aircraft reaching Mach 1.2 at a height of approximately 49,000 feet. Like all of its test flights so far, the X-59 was accompanied by a chase plane to monitor it. That chase aircraft's sonic booms masked any noise from the X-59.
Reaching this po...