NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft has been photographed flying over the Mojave Desert in California, specifically on April 14, 2026. The key milestone, which involved the aircraft transitioning to flying with its wheels up, is an important step in its test campaign, confirming that airplanes generally work better when they're not dragging their landing gear.
The X-59 has now completed its highest and fastest flights to date, expanding its operational range and making progress toward its ultimate goal of supersonic flight. In future flights, the team will perform the thrilling task of looking at factors like the performance of its controls, loads and structural dynamics, and subsystems including hydraulics, fuel, avionics, and landing gear. They will also be monitoring the performance of the eXternal Vision System, a series of cameras located on the X-59 connected to a display in the cockpit that takes the place of a traditional forward windscreen, because who needs to see where they're going with their own eyes?
NASA's Quesst mission, featuring this one-of-a-kind X-59 aircraft, will demonstrate technology to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, without generating loud sonic booms, a problem humanity has been desperate to solve since the Concorde retired. You can keep up with the latest X-59 news on the NASA Quesst blog, presumably for more updates on wheels going up and down.