AFRC2020-0012-18
NASA is making progress on the road to first flight for the agency’s first all-electric X-plane, and first piloted X-plane in two decades, the X-57 Maxwell.
Above, NASA engineer Jacob Terry, left, and Operations Manager Matthew Shemenski of Empirical Systems Aerospace (ESAero), right, prepare an X-57 cruise motor controller for vibration testing – part of a series of structural ground tests in support of the X-plane – at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
Currently in its first configuration as an all-electric aircraft, called Mod II, X-57 underwent a series of structural ground tests, giving engineers a look at the vehicle’s predicted characteristics during flight. In addition to testing the X-57’s cruise motor controllers, which are critical for providing power to the aircraft’s electric motors, similar ground vibration testing took place on the wing and fuselage. These tests are helping NASA examine the integrity of the component for flight conditions.
With growing interest in electric aircraft, a goal of X-57 is to help the Federal Aviation Administration set certification standards for these emerging electric aircraft markets. NASA will share X-57’s electric-propulsion-focused design and airworthiness process with regulators, as well as the industry, to help advance certification approaches.
Click here to visit the X-57 photo gallery.
Matt Kamlet
NASA’S Armstrong Flight Research Center