NASA Unveils Its First Electric Plane X-57, Ready to Fly by 2020

In addition to its most innovative inventions for space science, NASA has recently unveiled one of its prominent inventions into space, showcasing an early version of its first all-electric experimental aircraft, to be known as the X-57 ‘Maxwell’.

NASA confirmed its first electric plane from its lesser-known aeronautics lab in the California desert. The electric plane is an adaptation of an Italian-made Tecnam P2006T twin-engine propeller plane. The X-57 has been under development since 2015 and is just a year away from its first test flight in the skies over the Edward Air Force Base.

Meanwhile attaching two largest electric motors out of 14 electric motors that will help in propelling the plane, NASA declared the Maxwell ready for its first public preview. The plane will be powered by specially designed lithium-ion batteries.

NASA also showcased a newly built simulator that will allow the engineers and the pilots, to get the feel of what it will be like to maneuver of the finished version of the X-57 in flight, as the plane is still under development now.

The electric plane is the latest edition of the proud line of experimental aircrafts, which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has developed in over many decades for many purposes, which also include the bullet-shaped Bell X-1 that first broke the sound barrier and the X-15 rocket plane that has been flown by Neil Armstrong before he joined the Apollo moon mission team.

The Maxwell will be the NASA’s first crewed X-plane, to be developed in the past two decades.

Brent Cob Leigh, a project manager for NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, which is located around 100 miles (160 km) north of Los Angeles, said, “We are focusing on things that can help the whole industry, not just one company. Our target right now is to fly this airplane in late 2020”.

At a time when most of the private companies are engaged in developing electric planes and hover-craft, NASA’s X-57 venture is aimed at designing and proving technology according to the standards that commercial manufacturers can adapt to the government certification.

The inventions will also include standards for airworthiness and safety, as well as for noise and energy efficiency. 

The final modification which is also called Mod IV of the aircraft will feature narrow, lighter weight wings fitted with 14 electric engines, 6 smaller lift props along the edge of each wing. The lift propellers will be activated only for the take-off and landings of the plane but retract during the flight’s cruise phase.

The electric motor systems of the plane are more compact, with only the fewer moving parts in comparison to internal-combustion engines, and therefore they are easier to maintain and weigh less, thereby allowing the plane to fly with less energy. They also are quieter than the conventional engines. The only challenge is improving the battery technology of the plane to store more energy to the plane’s range, with a faster re-charging facility.