Quesst: The Flights – NeRDs Moonbase

NASA Instruments Will Listen for Supersonic X-59’s Quiet ‘Thump’

February 22, 2024 NeRD

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA recently completed a series of tests to reduce risks prior to Phase 2 of its Quesst mission, which will test the ability of the X-59 experimental aircraft to make sonic booms quieter. Credits: NASA/Steve Parcel NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft is unique – it’s designed to fly faster than the speed of sound, but without causing a loud sonic boom. To confirm the X-59’s ability to fly supersonic while only producing quiet sonic “thumps,” NASA needs to be able…

NASA Test Piloting Legends Reunite

October 23, 2023 NeRD

1 min read NASA Test Piloting Legends Reunite Former flight test instructor and current NASA test pilot Nils Larson reunited with former student and current astronaut Victor Glover on Oct. 21 during an open house at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. NASA / Dave Bowman Nils Larson, aerospace engineer and test pilot for NASA’s X-59 aircraft, met up with his former student, Artemis II astronaut Victor Glover, on Saturday, Oct. 21 during an open house held at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The pilots originally met…