The X-59 is NASA's experimental new jet built to break the sound barrier without generating the thunderous sonic booms typically associated with supersonic flight.
After taxiing out of the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) Plant 42 facility, the X-59 took off from the Palmdale Regional Airport in California today (Oct. 28) at 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 GMT), according to aircraft tracker Flightradar24. The airport and USAF facility share a runway.
Videos and photos were posted to social media by aircraft spotters and photographers, showing the radically elongated X-59 taking off before flying north out of Palmdale. Photographer Jarod Hamilton caught the X-59 as it left the ground, making a steep climb into the air above the Mojave Desert.
NASA did not announce the flight publicly ahead of time. Following the flight, acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy praised the test flight in a Lockheed Martin statement. The X-59 was designed by NASA and built by Lockheed Martin at the company's storied Skunk Works facility in Palmdale.
Lockheed Martin's statement adds that the X-59 "performed exactly as planned" during its first flight.
Source: www.space.com
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