NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is seen during its “aluminum bird” systems testing at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The test verified how the aircraft’s hardware and software work together, responding to pilot inputs and handling injected system failures.
Lockheed Martin/Garry Tice
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft successfully completed a critical series of tests in which the airplane was put through its paces for cruising high above the California desert – all without ever leaving the ground. The goal of ground-based simulation testing was to make sure the hardware and software that will allow the X-59 to fly safely are properly working together and able to handle any unexpected problems.
Learn more about this series of exercies, dubbed “aluminum bird” testing by engineers.
Image credit: Lockheed Martin/Garry Tice
美国国家航空航天局（NASA）的X-59低噪音超音速试验机在加利福尼亚州帕姆代尔洛克希德·马丁公司臭鼬工厂（Skunk Works）进行的“铝鸟”系统测试中亮相。此次测试验证了飞机硬件与软件之间的协同作用，包括对飞行员操作的响应能力以及在系统故障被模拟注入时的应对表现。
影像来源: Lockheed Martin/Garry Tice
X-59成功完成了这一关键测试系列。虽然测试期间飞机始终没有离开地面，但却模拟了其在加州沙漠上空高速巡航的状态。此次地面仿真测试的目标，是确保将来X-59真正飞行时，所有的硬件和软件系统能够安全配合运行，并具备处理突发问题的能力。
影像来源: Lockheed Martin/Garry Tice
