Updated

NASA test pilot Mike Lippert posed for a photo ahead of his first flight in the agency's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft on October 21, 2026. The X-59 has flown numerous times since its inaugural flight in November 2025. The X-59's first supersonic flight occurred on June 5, 2026, and Lippert took off from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center. NASA published the image and its accompanying details.