NASA Rehearses How to Measure X-59’s Noise Levels

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NASA test pilot Nils Larson walks around an F-15B aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. He wears a green G-suit over his tan flight suit and looks up at the nose of the aircraft. The F-15 canopy is open, and support crew stand near the aircraft as the pilots walks around. The aircraft sits higher than the pilot, allowing a partial view of the area on the opposite side.

NASA test pilot Nils Larson walks around an F-15B research aircraft for a rehearsal flight supporting the agency’s Quesst mission at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The flight was part of a full-scale dress rehearsal for Phase 2 of the mission, which will eventually measure quiet sonic thumps generated by the X-59. The flight series helped NASA teams refine procedures and practice data collection ahead of future X-59 flights.

NASA/Christopher LC Clark

In a stretch of California’s Mojave Desert, NASA conducted a full-scale “dress rehearsal” to prepare how it will measure the noise generated by the X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft.

The team behind the successful test flight series operates under NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology project. Beginning June 3 and concluding this week, researchers conducted a dry run for Phase 2 of NASA’s Quesst mission, when it will capture audio of the sonic thumps the X-59 will produce, rather than loud sonic booms associated with supersonic flight.

“The dress rehearsal was critical for us,” said Larry Cliatt, sub-project manager for the Quesst acoustic validation phase, who is based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “It gave us the opportunity to run through every aspect of our operation, from flight planning to data collection. In between those activities, we practiced aircraft operations, setting up the Ground Recording Systems, meteorological data collecting, and refining control room procedures. We were able to fine-tune our timelines, improve communication across teams, and ensure that when we perform these test with the X-59 aircraft, everything will run smoothly.”

A NASA TG-14 glider aircraft is prepared for flight at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, in support of the agency’s Quesst mission. The aircraft is equipped with onboard microphones to capture sonic boom noise generated during rehearsal flights, helping researchers measure the acoustic signature of supersonic aircraft closer to the ground.

NASA/Jim Ross

During the tests, at NASA Armstrong, an F-15B aircraft served as a stand-in for the X-59, flying faster than the speed of sound and making multiple passes over the Mojave sands. While it flew, researchers captured acoustic data using a linear array of ground recording systems spaced across miles of open desert, recorded weather readings, and measured the shock waves it generated.

For a supersonic aircraft like the F-15B, shock waves typically result in loud sonic booms, but the X-59 is designed to diffuse them in a way that will dramatically limit noise.

NASA’s Quesst mission aims to enable quiet supersonic flight over land using data from the X-59. The experimental aircraft will begin making its first flights this year – the first phase of Quesst.

A NASA intern kneels on the desert floor, positioning a microphone on a white platform as part of a ground recording system (GRS) setup. He wears a maroon shirt, jeans, and a dark ballcap. Desert shrubs and dry terrain stretch into the background under bright sunlight. The GRS equipment includes a microphone, foam windshields, and cables for data collection.

A NASA intern sets up ground recording system (GRS) units in California’s Mojave Desert during a Phase 2 rehearsal of the agency’s Quesst mission. The GRS units were placed across miles of desert terrain to capture the acoustic signature of supersonic aircraft during rehearsal flights and in preparation for the start of the actual tests.

NASA/Christopher LC Clark

But even before it takes to the air, the mission began its preparations for Phase 2 with the dry run, which focused on practicing under realistic test conditions and identifying issues before the official campaign begins, not collecting data from the F-15B.

Through Quesst’s development of the X-59, NASA will deliver design tools and technology for quiet supersonic airliners that will achieve the high speeds desired by commercial operators without disturbing people on the ground. NASA will also validate design tools through ground and flight testing, providing aircraft manufacturers the ability to explore new quiet supersonic concepts and have confidence that their resulting designs will meet requirements for quiet flight.

Most importantly, Quesst will gather data to understand community response to sounds generated during flight – key knowledge for a quiet supersonic future.