NASA’s X-59 Aircraft and Test Pilot

NASA/Carla Escamilla NASA test pilot Mike Lippert poses for a photo ahead of his first time flying the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft on Oct. 21, 2026. The X-59 has flown numerous times since its inaugural flight in November 2025; its first supersonic flight was on June 5, 2026. Lippert took off from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in...