NASA Targets a Fivefold Gain in High-speed Energy Efficiency with X-57 Program
The electric-powered X-57 Maxwell prototype is NASA’s first manned X-plane experimental aircraft in more than two decades.
NASA demonstrated its intent to show leadership in advancing electric aviation with the unveiling in late March 2020 of its X-57 Maxwell experimental test aircraft. The aircraft is a product of the agency’s first crewed X-plane program in two decades, and three different models are due to take to the skies by early 2022.
The X-57 is based on the Italian Tecnam P2006T twin piston light aircraft but is fitted with 14 electric motors. To enable this change, the NASA team, led by principal investigator Sean Clarke, has redesigned the aircraft’s wing. The agency says that by using an existing aircraft design, it will have baseline specifications that will be useful for assessing the performance of the electric powerplant.
