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NASA test pilot Mike Lippert flies X-59 for first time
NASA said test pilot Mike Lippert posed before his first flight in the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft on Oct. 21, 2026, taking off from Armstrong Flight Research Center and landing about an hour later.
NASA test pilot Mike Lippert flew the agency's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft for the first time on Oct. 21, 2026, NASA said in an image article posted Monday1.
Lippert took off from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and landed one hour later, according to NASA1. The agency published a photograph of Lippert on a ladder beside the open cockpit, holding his helmet, credited to NASA photographer Carla Escamilla1.
NASA said the X-59 has flown numerous times since its inaugural flight in November 2025, and that its first supersonic flight was June 5, 20261.
The Oct. 21 flight came after scheduled maintenance and a review of the X-59's systems following what NASA called the aircraft's busiest week of testing to date1.
Sources
NASAOfficial source