This summer, NASA test pilot Mike Lippert powered up the X‑59 cockpit for the first time, running the aircraft’s engines on the ground during a key step in his months of preparation and training to fly the experimental aircraft. 

“Getting into the cockpit of the X‑59 felt very comfortable,” said Lippert, the newest X-59 test pilot for NASA’s Quesst mission. “The whole team has done a tremendous job of making sure I am trained and prepared.”

Lippert’s first powered interaction with the aircraft demonstrated how mentorship works in NASA’s test pilot community. The X‑59’s two established pilots, Nils Larson and Jim “Clue” Less, guided him throughout the test. Larson monitored Lippert’s coordination with the control room, while Less answered questions and provided coaching. 

Their feedback, along with insights from experienced engineers, turned the startup sequence into a detailed training exercise to strengthen Lippert’s understanding of the X‑59’s systems and the pace of test operations. 

The X-59 is a revolutionary design, shaped to create a quiet thump instead of a sonic boom when flying faster than the speed of sound. The test pilots’ experience and skill will allow NASA to safely test the aircraft, then eventually fly it over U.S. communities to gather data on how the public perceives the sounds it makes. 

The engine run also introduced Lippert to the X‑59’s maintenance crew. As the test progressed, Lippert saw how the cockpit and control room work together during critical operations. Watching the real-time rhythm, he said, provided a better understanding of how NASA’s flight test teams align to ensure safety and precision. 

Lippert credited the test team’s operating practices and leadership for helping him prepare for flight. He spent extensive time in the X-59’s high-fidelity simulator — designed to match the aircraft’s cockpit — for training, aircraft familiarization, and mission rehearsal. The simulation team’s members are absolute experts on the aircraft and have been key contributors to his training and the program as a whole, Lippert said. 

Lippert said he felt energized after powering on the aircraft’s systems for the first time, adding the milestone left him feeling ready for upcoming test flights. The X-59 will continue to progress through envelope expansion and test its performance under various flight conditions. In the coming months, it will advance toward acoustic validation flight tests to study the sonic thumps it is designed to make.

Learn more about the Quesst mission on NASA’s site.  

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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.

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NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft reached a major milestone Friday, June 5, when it flew faster than the speed of sound for the first time.  

The 81-minute flight achieved a speed of Mach 1.1 (approximately 713 mph) at an altitude of 43,400 feet, with the X-59 performing as expected. For NASA test pilot Jim “Clue” Less, the plane’s instruments were the only indication of flying supersonic — exactly what the team wanted. 

“You know you are supersonic when gauges say you are supersonic. I didn’t feel anything,” Less said. “It went smoothly, and we easily got to Mach 1.1.” 

The X-59 is designed to fly at supersonic speeds while creating only a quiet thump instead of a loud sonic boom. For this flight, a NASA F‑15 chase plane flew nearby to monitor the test. Its loud sonic booms obscured any sound made by the X-59. The X-59 will conduct flights focused on its sound profile during a later phase of testing. 

Now that the X-59 has officially kicked off supersonic flight tests, the next big step is its first mission conditions flight. During this test, the X-59 will fly at the same speed and altitude planned for future tests, where the aircraft will fly over several U.S. communities to gather data from people on the ground about its noise levels: Mach 1.4 (925 mph) at 55,000 feet.  

“The plane wants to go faster, and we are looking forward to that,” Less said. 

The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate quieter supersonic flight and to help enable commercial supersonic flight over land.  

This flight was also the first time the X‑59 appeared in NASA’s flight tracker.

More X-59 to Explore

Read more on the Quesst mission page.

The post NASA’s X-59 Flies Supersonic for First Time  appeared first on NASA Science.

On June 5, 2026, NASA’s experimental X-59 aircraft flew faster than the speed of sound for the first time, setting the stage for demonstrating its quiet supersonic capabilities later this year. NASA test pilot Jim “Clue” Less took off and landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California, reaching a top speed of approximately Mach 1.1 (713 mph). The flight lasted 81 minutes, with the team focusing on flying qualities at both subsonic and then supersonic speeds.

The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight and help enable commercial supersonic flight over land worldwide. These advancements will help travelers reach their preferred destinations faster, spending less time in the air.

Learn more about the milestone and Quesst.

Image credit: NASA/Lori Losey

The post Supersonic! appeared first on NASA Science.

On June 5, 2026, NASA’s experimental X-59 aircraft flew faster than the speed of sound for the first time, setting the stage for demonstrating its quiet supersonic capabilities later this year. NASA test pilot Jim “Clue” Less took off and landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California, reaching a top speed of approximately Mach 1.1 (713 mph). The flight lasted 81 minutes, with the team focusing on flying qualities at both subsonic and then supersonic speeds.

The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight and help enable commercial supersonic flight over land worldwide. These advancements will help travelers reach their preferred destinations faster, spending less time in the air.

Learn more about the milestone and Quesst.

Image credit: NASA/Lori Losey