NASA unveiled its newest experimental aircraft, the X-70 Fractal, on Wednesday at the UP.Summit at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The crewed aircraft is a high-performance research platform built to test advanced aviation technology in real flight. NASA said its rapidly reconfigurable flight-control system will let researchers explore aircraft manoeuvrability in ways never before demonstrated in crewed flight.
The X-70 can carry up to 2,000 pounds of experimental payloads in internal and external locations, according to NASA. It has a takeoff weight of 10,000 pounds, cruises at Mach 0.75, reaches altitudes of up to 45,000 feet, and has a range of more than 1,500 nautical miles.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the aircraft gives the agency a crewed, high-performance platform to test advanced flight-control and manoeuvrability technology in real flight. NASA expects its first flight under the agency’s banner within the next two years.
The X-70 is part of NASA’s effort to rebuild its X-plane portfolio and bring more flight testing in house, with the X-59 quiet supersonic demonstrator also in flight testing.
Source: NASA
