NASA added a new X-59 test pilot to support the agency’s Quesst mission: Mike Lippert, a research test pilot based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.  

“This fulfills a lifelong dream of conducting airborne research and experimental flight test for NASA in the high desert — contributing to humankind’s understanding of the science of flight and the nature of the world around us,” Lippert said. 

Lippert will fly the X-59, along with the F-15 and F-18 support aircraft to monitor the quiet supersonic X-plane when it’s in the air. He joins Nils Larson and Jim “Clue” Less, who have been flying the X-59 since its first flight in October 2025.  

A South Carolina native, Lippert served 20 years with the U.S. Marine Corps before retiring last year as a lieutenant colonel. Like his fellow test pilots, he boasts an impressive flight resume, including logging more than 2,600 hours of flight time in 60 different types of aircraft.  

Lippert said he finds test pilot work especially rewarding. 

“For me, the joy of taking part in experimental flight test and airborne research is the experience of discovery and learning something new every day,” he said. “It is incredibly rewarding to be part of a team solving complex problems and venturing into the unknown, together.” 

Lippert spent the majority of his career flying the AV-8B Harrier operationally and serving as a test pilot in the F-35 program. He is also an aerospace engineer, earning a bachelor’s degree from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and a Master of Science in flight test engineering from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Additionally, he earned a Master of Science in systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.  

Lippert is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama Graduate School in Tuscaloosa, where his research focuses on high-speed gas dynamics, including supersonic and hypersonic fluid mechanics — complementing his work on the Quesst mission. 

Lippert is busy preparing for his role at NASA by flying training flights on support aircraft and spending time in the X-59 simulator. He is expected to begin flying the X-59 later this summer. 

More X-59 to Explore

Read more on the Quesst mission page.

The post Meet NASA’s New X-59 Test Pilot  appeared first on NASA Science.

Michael T. Lippert is a research test pilot at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. He is assigned to fly the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft, along with the F-15 and F/A-18 support aircraft, and to support NASA’s advanced air mobility research projects.

Experience

Prior to joining NASA in 2026, Lippert served 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2025. He was a flight instructor at Naval Air Station Kingsville in Texas, where he trained U.S. Navy and Marine Corps officers in tactical jet aircraft. He has more than 2,600 hours of flight experience in 60 types of aircraft.

The bulk of his career was spent flying the AV-8B Harrier operationally and serving as a test pilot in the F-35 program. During his last two assignments, he served as the chief test pilot of Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, and as the government flight test director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.

Education

Lippert earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering in 2005 from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and a Master of Science in flight test engineering in 2016 from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Lippert also earned a Master of Science in systems engineering in 2019 from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama Graduate School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His research focuses on high-speed gas dynamics, including supersonic and hypersonic fluid mechanics.

Awards

Lippert is an associate fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was part of the multi-agency team that received the Collier Trophy in 2018 for the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System. He also contributed to the team that received a Silver Medal from the Royal Aeronautical Society for F-35 testing aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth, a British Royal Navy aircraft carrier.

The post Michael T. Lippert appeared first on NASA Science.

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