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NASA’s X-59 Completes 'Aluminum Bird' Test
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About this work
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft successfully completed its “aluminum bird” systems test at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. With NASA pilot James Less in the cockpit, the X-59 team simulated flight conditions from takeoff to landing – without ever leaving the ground. The test verified how the aircraft’s hardware and software work together, responding to pilot inputs and handling injected system failures.
NASA Image and Video Library’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineNASA’s X-59 Completes 'Aluminum Bird' Test. NASA/AFRC, 2025-05-07. Public domain. ID: P25-037-18.
