Julian Dossett is a freelance writer living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He primarily covers the rocket industry and space exploration and, in addition to science writing, contributes travel stories to New Mexico Magazine. In 2022 and 2024, his travel writing earned IRMA Awards. Previously, he worked as a staff writer at CNET.
Launches & SpacecraftNASA hopes to launch Artemis 2 astronauts to the moon next month, but it's going to be tight: 'This is not a rush'Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin will build a 'super heavy' version of its powerful New Glenn rocket Oregon Air National Guard ground crew guides one of NASA’s newest F-15 aircraft onto the ramp at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Monday, Dec.
22, 2025. NASA just got a boost in its quest to unlock 'quiet' supersonic flight with a pair of retired F-15 jets from the U.S. Air Force., an aircraft designed to fly at supersonic speeds without producing the thunderous sonic booms typically associated with breaking the sound barrier. If such an aircraft can be built and commercialized, it could dramatically decrease flight times across the continental U.S. and revolutionize several industries that depend on rapid response times. The F-15 jets will be used to support the testing campaign X-59 and the overall mission."These two aircraft will enable successful data collection and chase plane capabilities for the X-59 through the life of the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator project," Troy Asher, director for flight operations at NASA Armstrong, said in. One of the jets will fly again as a NASA aircraft, now used for research. The other F-15 will be used for parts to help sustain the fleet. Both were delivered to NASA in December 2025.Blue Origin lands huge New Glenn rocket booster for 1st time after acing Mars ESCAPADE launch for NASAthat measure air pressure differences caused by the shock waves produced by the X-59 as it breaks the sound barrier, and to fly researchers carrying Schlieren photography systems. These specialized cameras can detect changes in air pressure and allow scientists to visualize air flowing away from the X-59 as it flies.NASA's plan is to modify one of the F-15 jets with new equipment and software, so that it can be specialized for research. Most commercial aircraft fly around 30,000 to 40,000 feet above sea level, but the F-15 can maintain a much higher altitude. Right now, the X-59 cruises at 55,000 feet for its test flights, NASA says, and a specially outfitted F-15 jet can follow behind the X-59 at up to 60,000 feet in order to collect important data for the mission. These aircraft will continue a long tradition of using F-15s for research."NASA has been flying F-15s since some of the earliest models came out in the early 1970s," Asher said."Dozens of scientific experiments have been flown over the decades on NASA's F-15s and have made a significant contribution to aeronautics and high-speed flight research."Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors A NASA F-15 aircraft sits 20 feet off the left side of the X-59 aircraft, with a white hangar and hills in the background, during electromagnetic interference testing.Julian Dossett is a freelance writer living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He primarily covers the rocket industry and space exploration and, in addition to science writing, contributes travel stories to New Mexico Magazine. In 2022 and 2024, his travel writing earned IRMA Awards. Previously, he worked as a staff writer at CNET. He graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos in 2011 with a B.A. in philosophy. He owns a large collection of sci-fi pulp magazines from the 1960s.The coolest character in all of Star Wars returns with his own Disney+ show in April — check out the gorgeous 1st trailer The coolest character in all of Star Wars returns with his own Disney+ show in April — check out the gorgeous 1st trailer
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