KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman confirmed Friday that a new X-plane will be announced at the Max Power exhibition this weekend at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the latest step in his effort to revitalize the agency's experimental aircraft portfolio.
Isaacman's announcement during the NASASpaceflight's The Flame Trench podcast came amid continued public interest in SR-71 Blackbird tail number 844, which the administrator described as "just cleaning, man" when asked about the possibility of the iconic aircraft returning to flight. The SR-71, retired from NASA service in 1999, had been on display at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
"Since I didn’t answer your question that you asked before, I will give you some insight that we will announce a new X-plane at it [Max Power], and it is not the one you’re thinking about," Isaacman said on the podcast, referring to questions about the SR-71.
The Max Power exhibition, running November 7-8, will showcase NASA's X-59 QueSST quiet supersonic jet, which has completed 41 test flights since its first flight in October 2025. The X-59 reached a top speed of Mach 1.53 and altitude of 56,000 feet during testing, with the central goal of proving technologies that could eventually enable commercial supersonic flight over land with reduced sonic boom.
"From here forward, we might be trying to make a run at putting some real infrastructure on that next to that runway [at the Kennedy Space Center], and trying to create our own kind of Paris/Farnborough type, Dubai type, event here," Isaacman said, describing Max Power as potentially becoming a recurring exposition alongside major international air shows.
The event will include air show components featuring NASA aircraft, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, and aerial demonstrations by multiple branches of the U.S. military. Through multiple park experiences, NASA and external collaborators will showcase autonomous vehicles, Moon rovers, spacecraft, and other technologies defining the future of air and space. Kennedy Space Center's historic Shuttle Landing Facility will open to the public at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Isaacman, who took office in December 2025, has repeatedly pledged to expand NASA's X-plane program, noting during a staff town hall on his second day that the agency wants to see "more X-planes flying in the years ahead, developing the technologies that will allow us to fly higher, farther, and faster than we have in decades." The Max Power exhibition also marks a culmination of NASA's recent Inspiration Tour, which included numerous flyovers to highlight the agency's fleet of aircraft.
NASA will host a Moon Base news conference at 5 p.m. on Nov. 7, featuring Isaacman and program managers discussing humanity's first outpost for long-term lunar exploration near the lunar South Pole. Live coverage will stream on NASA platforms.
For media and the public, Max Power represents an opportunity to see the next generation of American aerospace innovation, from quiet supersonic flight to autonomous systems and lunar exploration technologies, all at America's gateway to the stars.
