The planned surveys are part of NASA’s Quesst mission. After flying the X-59 over selected communities, NASA intends to ask people on the ground what they hear and share their reactions with regulators. The agency says its goal is to replace a loud sonic boom with a quieter thump; the responses would help inform consideration of rules based on noise levels rather than speed. [S1]
The existing U.S. prohibition on commercial supersonic flight over land reflects concerns about sonic boom noise, NASA says. Its proposed research gives the experience of people beneath the flight path a role in the evidence regulators could consider, while leaving any change in the rules to those regulators. [S1]
Lockheed Martin assembled the X-59 at its Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. NASA said the team would continue ground testing before a first flight planned for later in 2024. [S1]
Source documents
- NASA’s X-59 Rollout Embodies Aeronautical Traditionhttps://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/x-59-rollout-preview/