As NASA’s one-of-a-kind X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft approaches first flight, its team is mapping every step from taxi and takeoff to cruising and landing — and their decision-making is guided by safety. During subsequent test flights, the X-59 will go higher and faster, eventually exceeding the speed of sound. To help ensure that first flight — and every flight after that — will begin and end safely, engineers have layered protection into the aircraft. “I try to always walk up and shake the crew chief’s hand,” said Nils Larson, NASA X-59 lead test pilot. Due to the design, build, and test rigor put into the X-59, the ejection seat is a safety measure.