{"id":8709,"date":"2019-12-16T20:53:40","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T20:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/?p=8709"},"modified":"2020-06-14T15:34:27","modified_gmt":"2020-06-14T15:34:27","slug":"nasas-x-59-quiet-supersonic-research-aircraft-cleared-for-final-assembly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/nasas-x-59-quiet-supersonic-research-aircraft-cleared-for-final-assembly\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Research Aircraft Cleared for Final Assembly"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s first large scale, piloted X-plane in more than three decades is cleared for final assembly and integration of its systems following a major project review by senior managers held Thursday at NASA Headquarters in Washington.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Image of the X-59 main assembly coming together. Credits: Lockheed Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The management review, known as Key Decision Point-D (KDP-D), was the last programmatic hurdle for the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft to clear before officials meet again in late 2020 to approve the airplane\u2019s first flight in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the completion of KDP-D we\u2019ve shown the project is on schedule, it\u2019s well planned and on track. We have everything in place to continue this\u00a0historic research mission<\/a>\u00a0for the nation\u2019s air-traveling public,\u201d said Bob Pearce, NASA\u2019s associate administrator for Aeronautics.<\/p>\n

The X-59 is\u00a0shaped<\/a>\u00a0to reduce the loudness of a sonic boom reaching the ground to that of a gentle thump, if it is heard at all. It will be flown above select U.S. communities to generate data from sensors and people on the ground in order to gauge public perception. That data will help regulators establish new rules to enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.<\/p>\n

Construction<\/a>\u00a0of the X-59, under a $247.5 million cost-plus-incentive-fee\u00a0contract<\/a>, is continuing at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company\u2019s\u00a0Skunk Works<\/a>\u00a0factory in Palmdale, California.<\/p>\n

Three major work areas are actively set up for building the airplane\u2019s main fuselage, wing and empennage. Final assembly and integration of the airplane\u2019s systems \u2013 including an innovative cockpit\u00a0eXternal Visibility System<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 is targeted for late 2020.<\/p>\n

Management of the X-59 QueSST development and construction falls under the\u00a0Low Boom Flight Demonstrator<\/a>\u00a0project, which is part of NASA\u2019s\u00a0Integrated Aviation Systems Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more information about NASA\u2019s aeronautics research, visit:\u00a0https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/aeronautics<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s first large scale, piloted X-plane in more than three decades is cleared for final assembly and integration of its systems following a major project review by senior managers held Thursday at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The management review, known as Key Decision Point-D (KDP-D), was the last programmatic hurdle for the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1388,72,1390,1389],"class_list":{"0":"post-8709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-military-defense","8":"tag-lockheed-martin","9":"tag-nasa","10":"tag-sonic-boom","11":"tag-x-59"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/6-14-2020-8-34-01-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}