NASA’s quiet supersonic X-59 flies from Alabama to Florida

NASA announced on November 5 that its experimental X-59 aircraft had flown from Birmingham, Alabama, to Daytona Beach, Florida. Built by Lockheed Martin for NASA’s Quesst mission, the aircraft made its first flight in October 2025 and is designed to produce a subdued thump instead of a sonic boom. The mission will gather data on how communities perceive the quieter sound to inform regulators about supersonic flights over land. NASA also said it is preparing to present the X-59 at MAX POWER and will share more information soon.