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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA/Jacob Shaw
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft has officially begun taxi tests, marking the first time this one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft has moved under its own power.
NASA test pilot Nils Larson and the X-59 team, made up of NASA and contractor Lockheed Martin personnel, completed the aircraft’s first low-speed taxi test at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, on July 10, 2025.
The taxiing represents the X-59’s last series of ground tests before first flight. Over the coming weeks, the aircraft will gradually increase its speed, leading up to a high-speed taxi test that will take the aircraft just short of the point where it would take off.
During the low-speed tests, engineers and flight crews monitored how the X-59 handled as it moved across the runway, working to validate critical systems like steering and braking. These checks help ensure the aircraft’s stability and control across a range of conditions, giving pilots and engineers confidence that all systems are functioning as expected.
The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight by reducing the loud sonic boom to a quieter “thump.” Data gathered from the X-59 will be shared with U.S. and international regulators to inform the establishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft taxis across the runway during a low-speed taxi test at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, on July 10, 2025. The test marks the start of taxi tests and the last series of ground tests before first flight.NASA/Carla Thomas NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft moves under its own power for the first time at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, on July 10, 2025. Guided by the aircraft’s crew chief, the event marks the beginning of taxi tests – a key milestone and the final series of ground tests before first flight.NASA/Carla Thomas Share
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Last Updated Jul 17, 2025 Related Terms
Aeronautics Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Ames Research Center Armstrong Flight Research Center Commercial Supersonic Technology Glenn Research Center Integrated Aviation Systems Program Langley Research Center Low Boom Flight Demonstrator Quesst (X-59) Supersonic Flight Explore More
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Quesst
Quesst is NASA's mission to demonstrate how the X-59 can fly supersonic without generating loud sonic booms and then survey…
Integrated Aviation Systems Program
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By Space Force
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Operations Command accepted a modernized operating system for Global Positioning System, which is designed to maintain resiliency of the constellation and improve positioning, navigation and timing services to meet user demand now and in the future.
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The high-altitude WB-57 aircraft departed July 8, 2025, from Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, headed to the Texas Hill Country. The aircraft will use the DyNAMITE (Day/Night Airborne Motion Imager for Terrestrial Environments) sensor system to take video mosaics of the area to assist with the emergency response effort. Photo Credit: NASA/Morgan Gridley In response to recent flooding near Kerrville, Texas, NASA deployed two aircraft to assist state and local authorities in ongoing recovery operations.
The aircraft are part of the response from NASA’s Disasters Response Coordination System, which is activated to support emergency response for the flooding and is working closely with the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the humanitarian groups Save the Children and GiveDirectly.
Persistent cloud-cover has made it difficult to obtain clear satellite imagery, so the Disasters Program coordinated with NASA’s Airborne Science Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston to conduct a series of flights to gather observations of the impacted regions. NASA is sharing these data directly with emergency response teams to inform their search and rescue efforts and aid decision-making and resource allocation.
The high-altitude WB-57 aircraft operated by NASA Johnson departed from Ellington Field on July 8 to conduct aerial surveys. The aircraft is equipped with the DyNAMITE (Day/Night Airborne Motion Imager for Terrestrial Environments) sensor.
The DyNAMITE sensor views the Guadalupe River[KA1] [RC2] and several miles of the surrounding area, providing high-resolution imagery critical to assessing damage and supporting coordination of ground-based recovery efforts. This system enables real-time collection and analysis of data, enhancing situational awareness and accelerating emergency response times.
In addition, the agency’s Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) is flying out of NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, aboard a Gulfstream III. Managed by the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the UAVSAR team is planning to collect observations over the Guadalupe, San Gabriel, and Colorado river basins Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Because UAVSAR can penetrate vegetation to spot water that optical sensors are unable to detect, the team’s goal is to characterize the extent of flooding to help with understanding the amount of damage within communities.
Flights are being coordinated with FEMA, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, and local responders to ensure data is quickly delivered to those making decisions on the ground. Imagery collected will be sent to NASA’s Disaster Response Coordination System.
Additionally, the Disasters Program, which is part of NASA’s Earth Science Division, is working to produce maps and data to assess the location and severity of flooding in the region and damage to buildings and infrastructure. These data are being shared on the NASA Disasters Mapping Portal as they become available.
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Last Updated Jul 09, 2025 Related Terms
Earth Applied Sciences Program Earth Science Division Ellington Field Floods General Jet Propulsion Laboratory Johnson Space Center NASA Aircraft NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate WB-57 Explore More
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By NASA
2 Min Read I Am Artemis: Joe Pavicic
Listen to this audio excerpt from Joe Pavicic, Artemis operations project engineer
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Your browser does not support the audio element. Joe Pavicic will never forget when he told the Artemis launch director teams were NO-GO for launch.
Before Artemis I lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in November 2022, the launch team made multiple launch attempts the months prior.
“During a previous Artemis I launch attempt, there was an issue with engine three,” said Pavicic, operations project engineer who worked on the engines console during Artemis I. “One sensor was showing that it wasn’t seeing liquid hydrogen through it. It was showing that it was at ambient temperature.”
And I had to tell the launch director, ‘We can't get there today with the current criteria that we have. My recommendation is a NO-GO.’
Joe pavicic
Operations Project Engineer
Prior to engine ignition, launch team controllers must first chill the engines before the cryogenic liquid propellant fuels and lifts the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft into the heavens and onward to the Moon. Chilling the engines ensures the hardware doesn’t get damaged when exposed to the super-cooled liquid hydrogen at -423 degrees Fahrenheit.
NASA/Kim Shiflett “We tried everything we could think of,” Pavicic recalls. “Any procedure we could try, we tried it, and we just never saw those rates that we should have.”
Thus, Pavicic, who is originally from West Palm Beach and studied aerospace engineering at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, went back to the drawing board with the rest of his team, working days and nights rewriting procedures and learning new lessons about the engines and sensors until they were finally able to get to a successful launch.
“I just remember after I said, 'NO-GO,' I felt like all these people came to watch the launch, all my family, and I'm like, ‘I'm the guy,' but I told myself, ‘I'm not going to be the one to say this for the next launch attempt. I'm going to do what I can to get us there.’
joe pavicic
Operations Project Engineer
NASA successfully launched and flew the Artemis I mission and now, Pavicic is working as one of the operations project engineers, continuing to help the launch team develop new launch commit criteria and procedures within the launch countdown ahead of Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission, which will send four astronauts around the Moon and back in 10 days next year.
About the Author
Antonia Jaramillo
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Last Updated Jul 09, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
Lisa Pace knows a marathon when she sees one. An avid runner, she has participated in five marathons and more than 50 half marathons. Though she prefers to move quickly, she also knows the value of taking her time. “I solve most of my problems while running – or realize those problems aren’t worth worrying about,” she said.
She has learned to take a similar approach to her work at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Earlier in my career, I raced to get things done and felt the need to do as much as possible on my own,” she said. “Over time, I’ve learned to trust my team and pause to give others an opportunity to contribute. There are times when quick action is needed, but it is often a marathon, not a sprint.”
Official portrait of Lisa Pace.NASA/Josh Valcarcel Pace is chief of the Exploration Development Integration Division within the Exploration Architecture, Integration, and Science Directorate at Johnson. In that role, she leads a team of roughly 120 civil servants and contractors in providing mission-level system engineering and integration services that bring different architecture elements together to achieve the agency’s goals. Today that team supports Artemis missions, NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative and other areas as needed.
Lisa Pace, seated at the head of the table, leads an Exploration Development Integration Division team meeting at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA/James Blair “The Artemis missions come together through multiple programs and projects,” Pace explained. “We stitch them together to ensure the end-to-end mission meets its intended requirements. That includes verifying those requirements before flight and ensuring agreements between programs are honored and conflicts resolved.” The division also manages mission-level review and flight readiness processes from planning through execution, up to the final certification of flight readiness.
Leading the division through the planning, launch, and landing of Artemis I was a career highlight for Pace, though she feels fortunate to have worked on many great projects during her time with NASA. “My coolest and most rewarding project involved designing and deploying an orbital debris tracking telescope on Ascension Island about 10 years ago,” she said. “The engineers, scientists, and military personnel I got to work and travel with on that beautiful island is tough to top!”
Pace says luck and great timing led her to NASA. Engineering jobs were plentiful when she graduated from Virginia Tech in 2000, and she quickly received an offer from Lockheed Martin to become a facility engineer in Johnson’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, or ARES. “I thought working in the building where they keep the Moon rocks would be cool – and it was! Twenty-five years later, I’m still here,” Pace said.
During that time, she has learned a lot about problem-solving and team building. “I often find that when we disagree over the ‘right’ way to do something, there is no one right answer – it just depends on your perspective,” she said. “I take the time to listen to people, understand their side, and build relationships to find common ground.”
Lisa Pace, right, participates in a holiday competition hosted by her division.Image courtesy of Lisa Pace She also emphasizes the importance of getting to know your colleagues. “Relationships are everything,” she said. “They make the work so much more meaningful. I carry that lesson over to my personal life and value my time with family and friends outside of work.”
Investing time in relationships has given Pace another unexpected skill – that of matchmaker. “I’m responsible for setting up five couples who are now married, and have six kids between them,” she said, adding that she knew one couple from Johnson.
She hopes that strong relationships transfer to the Artemis Generation. “I hope to pass on a strong NASA brand and the family culture that I’ve been fortunate to have, working here for the last 25 years.”
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