One of the leading agencies in the world, NASA is known to most people, as a company engaged in space exploration. But in fact NASA is developing in the field of aviation. For example, just the other day in one of the hangars of the company was delivered the first fully electric plane. And engineers of the aerospace Agency has already started the first tests of the aircraft.
The first electroanalyt from NASA. Sounds intriguing!
The first electroanalyt NASA
By order of the American space Agency company, Empirical Systems Aerospace (ESAero) the aircraft developed X-57 Maxwell, which is already delivered to the flight research center in Edwards, California. The device that received the coded Mod II, will undergo ground testing of electric propulsion. The motor itself weighs 3000 pounds (which is slightly more than 1300 pounds), and almost a third of this weight is Li-ion rechargeable battery.
Delivery of the aircraft X-57 Mod II at NASA is a significant event marking the beginning of a new stage in the creation of elektrozapalom, — said the head of the project X-57 Tom Rigney. Having the plane at our disposal, a team of X-57 in the near future will conduct extensive ground tests of the integrated electric propulsion system to ensure airworthiness of the aircraft. We plan to conduct this phase as soon as possible in order to switch to full-scale flight tests.
Experimental X-57 built on the basis of this quadruple light aircraft of Italian manufacture Tecnam P2006T, but with 18 separate motors and propellers instead of piston engines.
Meet The X-57. Electroanalyt from NASA
Why would NASA need electroanalyt
As strange as it may sound, but project-X-57 is intended primarily not for flying, and for the development of certification standards for the fast-growing market elektrozapalom and flying cars. This primarily applies to urban cars. Because this market is of great interest from both private companies such as Uber and Hyundai and the governments of some countries like the United Arab Emirates and Japan. And in order not to let the market drift, we need certain standards and certification. By the way, how do you feel about the idea of spreading the flying car? Write about it in our chat in Telegram.
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X-57 Mod II is essentially an engineering solution designed to simulate operation of the engine. After the Mod II, NASA plans to start work on the Mod III, which will focus on energy efficiency. And then and on Mod IV. This model will focus on agility in the air. The final version of the plane that is supposed to be the project X-57 would, according to engineers, 500% more maneuverable, environmentally friendly and much quieter than its “ancestor” Tecnam P2006T, and the most modern aircraft. It is reported that the aircraft can achieve a cruising speed of 172 mph (280 kilometers per hour) at 8,000 feet (2.5 kilometers). The project is in development in 2016 and is predicted by NASA to be completed in the next 5-10 years.