Two NASA F-15 jets chased one another over the Mojave Desert and what they did was unprecedented

Two NASA F-15 jets were sent up into the skies above the Mojave Desert to help pave the way for the space agency’s quiet supersonic experimental aircraft.

NASA’s Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) mission features the one-of-a-kind X-59 aircraft. 

The mission is aiming to gather data that can help lead to quiet commercial supersonic flight over land.

Flight enthusiasts may be aware that there haven’t been any commercial supersonic flights since 2023, when Concorde was retired.

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Part of the reason we’ve not seen supersonic flight since is due to the super loud ‘sonic boom’, which led to many countries banning supersonic planes from flying over. 

In an attempt to solve that problem, NASA is working on its X-59 aircraft. 

The agency says rather than the ear-drum rattling sonic boom, its aircraft will make a noise similar to a car door slamming. 

Of course, to achieve such a goal, there’s a lot of testing involved, and NASA has been working away at the project for years. 

Last month, researchers tricked the X-59 into thinking it was flying’, so they could see how the plane would react when it really does take to the skies later this year. 

Now, NASA has shared information about new test flights it carried out, which involved sending a couple of F-150s up into the air above the Mojave Desert. 

The two NASA F-15 jets were kitted out with recording tools and flew faster than the speed of sound, so they could match the conditions the X-59 is expected to fly in. 

The flight series is called the Schlieren, Airborne Measurements, and Range Operations for Quesst (SCHAMROQ) project and was run by the Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. 

The SHAMROQ team developed and built three tools that are able to visualize the X-59’s unique shock waves while flying at Mach 1.4 altitudes above 50,000 feet.

One of the tools is used to measure the X-59’s shock waves when it hits top speed and – hopefully – record it as little more than a thump.

Another of the instruments is able to take pictures of the shock waves and the real-world airflow around the aircraft.

To make sure it gets an accurate picture, the third tool used was a guidance system known as the Airborne Location Integrating Geospatial Navigation System. 

Although NASA has been working on these tools for years, this is the first time it’s been able to put them into practice – an unprecedented move, thanks to the NASA F-15 jets. 

The space agency hasn’t shared the results of the test flights, but no doubt the data gathered will prove invaluable when it comes to the first X-59 flight, slated to take place later this year. 

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