NASA said its Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, is marking 80 years since five National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics engineers arrived at Muroc Army Airfield on Sept. 30, 1946, to pursue supersonic flight. In a release dated Sept. 28, 2026, the agency also said Administrator Jared Isaacman recently named Armstrong its Center of Excellence for Flight Test and Aircraft Operations.
From the X-1 to the X-59
According to NASA, NACA flew the X-1 aircraft faster than the speed of sound in less than two years after engineers arrived at the high desert airfield, a milestone the agency describes as important in aviation history.
NASA said the same skies now host the X-59 supersonic X-plane, which is intended to demonstrate that supersonic flight does not have to come with a boom. The agency said the X-59 is undergoing rigorous testing and a series of flights at Armstrong to prepare for upcoming quiet supersonic demonstrations over U.S. communities.
New designation and Artemis support
NASA said Isaacman's designation of Armstrong as the agency's Center of Excellence for Flight Test and Aircraft Operations recognizes what it called the center's unmatched rigor in executing unique missions only NASA can fly.
The agency said Armstrong supports its Artemis missions and return to the Moon using research aircraft including a 737 for astronaut suit testing, the G-III for Artemis II heat-shield data collection, and an F/A-18 that tested the autopilot for the Space Launch System rocket.
Science flights and past missions
NASA said the center flies aircraft such as the ER-2, C-20A and Gulfstream G-III/IV/V to collect data on wildfires, glacier melt, pollution, minerals and more.
Over its 80-year history, the center has supported missions ranging from space shuttle landings to SR-71 flights, NASA said, and has contributed to commercial and military aviation from early supersonic flight research to digital fly-by-wire. The agency said it continues working with other government agencies, industry and academia to make flying safer, more autonomous and more efficient.
Key facts and where they come from
- Five NACA engineers arrived at Muroc Army Airfield on Sept. 30, 1946 to pursue supersonic flight.
On Sept. 30, 1946, five National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics (NACA) engineers arrived at Muroc Army Airfield in California’s high desert to achieve supersonic flight for the first time.
- NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman named Armstrong the agency's Center of Excellence for Flight Test and Aircraft Operations.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recently named Armstrong as the agency’s Center of Excellence for Flight Test and Aircraft Operations
- The X-59 is in testing and flights at Armstrong ahead of quiet supersonic demonstrations over U.S. communities.
the X-59, is undergoing rigorous testing and a series of flights at Armstrong to prepare for upcoming quiet supersonic demonstrations over U.S. communities
- Armstrong aircraft support Artemis, including a 737 for suit testing and a G-III for Artemis II heat-shield data.
Armstrong uses research aircraft such as a 737 for astronaut suit testing, the G-III for Artemis II heat-shield data collection
- The center flies the ER-2, C-20A and Gulfstream G-III/IV/V for Earth science data collection.
flying aircraft like the ER-2, C-20A, and Gulfstream G-III/IV/V to collect critical data on wildfires, glacier melt, pollution, minerals, and more