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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on a ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, during sunset. The one-of-a-kind aircraft is powered by a General Electric F414 engine, a variant of the engines used on F/A-18 fighter jets. The engine is mounted above the fuselage to reduce the number of shockwaves that reach the ground. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight and enable future commercial travel over land – faster than the speed of sound.Lockheed Martin Corporation/Garry Tice The team behind NASA’s X-59 completed another critical ground test in March, ensuring the quiet supersonic aircraft will be able to maintain a specific speed during operation. The test, known as engine speed hold, is the latest marker of progress as the X-59 nears first flight this year.
“Engine speed hold is essentially the aircraft’s version of cruise control,” said Paul Dees, NASA’s X-59 deputy propulsion lead at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “The pilot engages speed hold at their current speed, then can adjust it incrementally up or down as needed.”
The X-59 team had previously conducted a similar test on the engine – but only as an isolated system. The March test verified the speed hold functions properly after integration into the aircraft’s avionics.
“We needed to verify that speed hold worked not just within the engine itself but as part of the entire aircraft system.” Dees explained. “This test confirmed that all components – software, mechanical linkages, and control laws – work together as intended.”
The successful test confirmed the aircraft’s ability to precisely control speed, which will be invaluable during flight. This capability will increase pilot safety, allowing them to focus on other critical aspects of flight operation.
“The pilot is going to be very busy during first flight, ensuring the aircraft is stable and controllable,” Dees said. “Having speed hold offload some of that workload makes first flight that much safer.”
The team originally planned to check the speed hold as part of an upcoming series of ground test trials where they will feed the aircraft with a robust set of data to verify functionality under both normal and failure conditions, known as aluminum bird tests. But the team recognized a chance to test sooner.
“It was a target of opportunity,” Dees said. “We realized we were ready to test engine speed hold separately while other systems continued with finalizing their software. If we can learn something earlier, that’s always better.”
With every successful test, the integrated NASA and Lockheed Martin team brings the X-59 closer to first flight, and closer to making aviation history through quiet supersonic technology.
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Last Updated Mar 26, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactNicolas Cholulanicolas.h.cholula@nasa.gov Related Terms
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By NASA
The official portrait of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 members with (from left) Mission Specialist Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos; Pilot Nicole Ayers and Commander Anne McClain, both NASA astronauts; and Mission Specialist Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).NASA/Bill Stafford/Helen Arase Vargas Four crew members are preparing to launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission to perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities aboard the microgravity laboratory.
NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The flight is the 10th crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station, and the 11th human spaceflight as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
As teams progress through Dragon spacecraft milestones for Crew-10, they also are preparing a second-flight Falcon 9 booster for the mission. Once all rocket and spacecraft system checkouts are complete and all components are certified for flight, teams will mate Dragon to the Falcon 9 rocket in SpaceX’s hangar at the launch site. The integrated spacecraft and rocket will then be rolled to the pad and raised to vertical for a dry dress rehearsal with the crew and an integrated static fire test prior to launch.
Crew
The four members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission (from left) Mission Specialist Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos, NASA Astronauts Nichole Ayers, pilot, and Anne McClain, commander, along with Mission Specialist Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) are pictured training inside a Dragon training spacecraft at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California.SpaceX Selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2013, this will be McClain’s second spaceflight. A colonel in the U.S. Army, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and holds master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering, International Security, and Strategic Studies. The Spokane, Washington, native was an instructor pilot in the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. McClain has more than 2,300 flight hours in 24 rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, including more than 800 in combat, and was a member of the U.S. Women’s National Rugby Team. On her first spaceflight, McClain spent 204 days as a flight engineer during Expeditions 58 and 59 and completed two spacewalks, totaling 13 hours and 8 minutes. Since then, she has served in various roles, including branch chief and space station assistant to the chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office. Follow @astroannimal on X and @astro_annimal on Instagram.
This mission will be the first spaceflight for Ayers, who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021. Ayers is a major in the U.S. Air Force and the first member of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class named to a crew. The Colorado native graduated from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a minor in Russian, and was a member of the academy’s varsity volleyball team. She later earned a master’s in Computational and Applied Mathematics from Rice University in Houston. Ayers served as an instructor pilot and mission commander in the T-38 ADAIR and F-22 Raptor, leading multinational and multiservice missions worldwide. She has more than 1,400 total flight hours, including more than 200 in combat. Follow @astro_ayers on X and @astro_ayers on Instagram.
With 113 days in space, Crew-10 will mark Onishi’s second trip to the space station. After being selected as an astronaut by JAXA in 2009, he flew as a flight engineer for Expeditions 48 and 49, becoming the first Japanese astronaut to robotically capture the Cygnus spacecraft. He also constructed a new experimental environment aboard Kibo, the station’s Japanese experiment module. After his first spaceflight, Onishi became certified as a JAXA flight director, leading the team responsible for operating Kibo from JAXA Mission Control in Tsukuba, Japan. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Tokyo, and was a pilot for All Nippon Airways, flying more than 3,700 flight hours in the Boeing 767. Follow astro_onishi on X.
The Crew-10 mission also will be Peskov’s first spaceflight. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, he earned a degree in Engineering from the Ulyanovsk Civil Aviation School and was a co-pilot on the Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft for airlines Nordwind and Ikar. Assigned as a test cosmonaut in 2020, he has additional experience in skydiving, zero-gravity training, scuba diving, and wilderness survival.
Mission Overview
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 members stand between Falcon 9 first-stage boosters at SpaceX’s HangarX facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are Mission Specialist Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos, Mission Specialist Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), along with NASA Astronauts Commander Anne McClain and Pilot Nichole Ayers.SpaceX Following liftoff, the Falcon 9 rocket will accelerate Dragon to approximately 17,500 mph. Once in orbit, the crew and SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California, will monitor a series of maneuvers that will guide Dragon to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. The spacecraft is designed to dock autonomously, but the crew can take control and pilot manually, if necessary.
After docking, Crew-10 will be welcomed aboard the station by the seven-member crew of Expedition 72 and conduct a short handover period on science and maintenance activities with the departing Crew-9 crew members. Then, NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will undock from the space station and return to Earth. Ahead of Crew-9 return, mission teams will review weather conditions at the splashdown sites off the coast of Florida prior to departure from station.
Crew-10 will conduct new scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. The crew is scheduled to conduct material flammability tests for future spacecraft designs, engage with students via ham radio and use its existing hardware to test a backup lunar navigation solution, and participate in an integrated study to better understand physiological and psychological changes to the human body to provide valuable insights for future deep space missions.
These are just a few of the more than 200 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations taking place during the mission.
While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-10 will welcome a Soyuz spacecraft with three new crew members, including NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, and they will bid farewell to the Soyuz carrying NASA astronaut Don Pettit. The crew also is expected to see the arrival of the SpaceX Dragon, Roscosmos Progress, and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft, as well as the short-duration private Axiom Mission 4 crew.
The cadre will fly aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, which previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3, Crew-5, and Crew-7 missions.
Commercial crew missions enable NASA to maximize use of the space station, where astronauts have lived and worked continuously for more than 24 years, testing technologies, performing research, and developing the skills needed to operate future commercial destinations in low Earth orbit, and explore farther from Earth. Research conducted on the space station benefits people on Earth and paves the way for future long-duration missions to the Moon and beyond through NASA’s Artemis missions.
Learn more about the space station, its research, and crew, at: https://www.nasa.gov/station
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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA GRX-810 Licensing Team, GRC
* Denotes Team Lead
NASA Ames Research Center
John Lawson
NASA Glenn Research Center
Steven M. Arnold
Aaron B. Brister
Robert W. Carter
Robert H. Earp
Timothy P. Gabb
Christopher J. Giuffre
Paul R. Gradl
Jason M. Hanna
Bryan J. Harder
Amy B. Hiltabidel
Dale A. Hopkins
Christopher A. Kantzos
Michael J. Kulis
Geoffrey S. Minter
Brian T. Newbacher
Callista M. Puchmeyer
Richard W. Rauser
Harvey L. Schabes
Timothy M. Smith*
Aaron C. Thompson
Mary F. Wadel
Austin J. Whitt
Laura G. Wilson
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
Paul Gradl
HX5, LLC
Christopher J. Giuffre
Aaron C. Thompson
Austin J. Whitt
University of Toledo
Richard W. Rauser
2024 AA Award Honorees
2024 AA Award Honorees PDF
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Last Updated Mar 06, 2025 EditorLillian GipsonContactJim Bankejim.banke@nasa.gov Related Terms
Associate Administrator Awards View the full article
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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
eVTOL Propulsion Team, GRC
* Denotes Team Lead
NASA Glenn Research Center
Aaron D. Anderson
Devin K. Boyle
Jeffryes W. Chapman
Peggy A. Cornell
Timothy P. Dever
Justin P. Elchert
Henry B. Fain
Xavier Collazo Fernandez
Matthew G. Granger
Jonathan M. Gutknecht
Michael C. Halbig
Patrick A. Hanlon
Hashmatullah Hasseeb
David Hausser
Scott A. Hensley
Keith R. Hunker
Michael J. Hurrell
Keith P. Johnson
Greg L. Kimnach
John M. Koudelka
Timothy L. Krantz
Brian P. Malone
Sandi G. Miller
Nuha S. Nawash
Paul M. Nowak
Joseph J. Pinakidis
Meelad Ranaiefar
Trey D. Rupp
David J. Sadey
Jonathan A. Salem
Justin J. Scheidler
Andrew D. Smith
Mark A. Stevens
Thomas F. Tallerico
Linda M. Taylor
Casey J. Theman
Mark J. Valco*
Joseph S. Wisniewski
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Zachary A. Cameron
Amentum
Francis R. Gaspare
David J. Henrickson
Ryan M. McManamon
Alan J. Revilock
Connecticut Reserve Technologies
Eric H. Baker
HX5 Sierra
Nathan A. Baker
John W. Gresh
George E. Horning
Sigurds L. Lauge
Brett M. Norris
Nicolas Umpierre
Bill J. Vaccareillo
John Veneziano
NASA Financial Support Services
Madeline Duncan
Ohio Aerospace Institute
Mrityunjay Singh
Universities Space Research Association
Paula J. Heimann
2024 AA Award Honorees
2024 AA Award Honorees PDF
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Last Updated Mar 06, 2025 EditorLillian GipsonContactJim Bankejim.banke@nasa.gov Related Terms
Associate Administrator Awards View the full article
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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Self-Aligned Focusing Schlieren Team
* Denotes Team Lead
NASA Langley Research Center
Brett F. Bathel*
Wayne E. Page
Josh M. Weisberger
2024 AA Award Honorees
2024 AA Award Honorees PDF
ARMD Associate Administrator Awards
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