NASA unveils X-70 Fractal experimental aircraft for aviation research
The crewed aircraft features a modular design to test advanced flight-control systems and emerging aerospace technologies.
NASA unveiled the X-70 Fractal experimental aircraft on November 4 during the UP.Summit at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to Business Today. The crewed aircraft is intended to test next-generation flight technologies and advanced flight-control systems.
The aircraft is designed as a flexible research tool that can be quickly adjusted to support various experiments. It features a modular design that allows research teams to swap internal and external payloads and equipment with relative speed.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the ability to rapidly switch payloads would enable research teams to move quickly between different experiments. The agency expects the X-70 to make its first flight within the next two years.
The X-70 is designed to operate across many flight conditions to investigate manoeuvrability and flight characteristics. It has a cruising speed of Mach 0.75 and is not being presented as a hypersonic aircraft.
The aircraft aims to bridge the gap between computer simulations and real-world flight testing. NASA intends to use the platform to accelerate the evaluation of technologies that may influence future American aviation.