NASA added a new X-59 test pilot to support the agency's Quesst mission: Mike Lippert '05, a research test pilot based at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “This fulfills a lifelong dream of conducting airborne research and experimental flight test for NASA in the high desert — contributing to humankind's understanding of the science of flight and the nature of the world around us,” Lippert said.

Lippert will fly the X-59, along with the F-15 and F-18 support aircraft to monitor the quiet supersonic X-plane when it's in the air. He joins Nils Larson and Jim “Clue” Less, who have been flying the X-59 since its first flight in October 2025.

A South Carolina native, Lippert served 20 years with the U.S. Marine Corps before retiring last year as a lieutenant colonel. Like his fellow test pilots, he boasts an impressive flight resume, including logging more than 2,600 hours of flight time in 60 different types of aircraft. Lippert spent the majority of his career flying the AV-8B Harrier operationally and serving as a test pilot in the F-35 program. He is also an aerospace engineer, earning a bachelor's degree from the United States Naval Academy. (Link)

BZ '05!

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Meet NASA's new X-59 test pilot (Lippert '05)