While NASA is working on how to transition vehicles to aircraft as part of a move towards urban air mobility, there is also a need to electrify the fleet of traditional planes.
The X-57 Maxwell is one of the cornerstones of NASA’s pursuit to speed the development of certification standards for the electric aircraft market.
NASA will soon begin high-voltage functional ground testing of the all-electric X-plane. According to the agency, the test flights will also help develop the efficient, reliable, and quiet technology these vehicles will require for everyday use.
The high-voltage ground testing is an important milestone for the project as it transitions out of the design and prototype phase towards taxi tests and first flight. The testing will take place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
The X-57, currently in its first configuration as an electric aircraft, called Mod 2, is built off of a modified, twin-engine Tecnam P2006T plane from Empirical Systems Aerospace.
For the tests, the X-57 will draw power from a large, high-voltage power supply as engineers work on the battery control system.
Testing will start with low power to check the startup and shutdown sequences and ensure that the new motor control software boots up and controls the motors as expected. NASA recently redesigned the software and other major components based on the previous testing at Empirical Systems.
As part of the tests, the first two electric cruise motors will be powered up and activated, allowing engineers to make sure the propellers spin as designed.
While Mod 2 is testing the larger cruise motors, one interesting feature discussed for Mod 4, the X-57’s final configuration is high-lift pop-up propellers. The idea is to add 12 electric propellers that provide lift during takeoff but then close during the flight to eliminate drag and redeploy before landing. The propellers are currently being tested in NASA’s Low-Speed Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel.
