NASA'S EXPERIMENTAL SUPERSONIC X-PLANE PROJECT HAS A NEWNAME: THE X-59 QUESST

摘要

So, what's in the name?Well, the "X-59" part is a nod back to AmericanrnX-plane history, which kicked off with the world's first supersonicrnplane, the Bell X-1, famously piloted by Chuck Yeager in 1947 when itrnbroke the speed of sound. Yeager nicknamed the plane "Glamourous Glenis"rnafter his wife, according to NASA. The "QueSST" part of the X-59rnmoniker is sort of a NASA inside joke, one that acknowledges the spacernagency's long-running quest (get it?) for quiet supersonic technology, orrnSST.The U.S. Air Force assigned the X-59 number to NASA's experimentalrnsupersonic plane and let the agency know on Tuesday, NASA officials saidrnin a statementWednesday (June 27). Before receiving its X number,rnNASA's supersonic plane project was called the Low-Boom FlightrnDemonstration mission. Lockheed Martin is building the jet for NASA torndevelop the technology needed for quiet supersonic aircraft for futurerncommercial travel.