NASA project to develop an electric aircraft failed - the X-57 Maxwell never took off

Takeoff of NASA's first electric aircraft X-57Maxwell was scheduled for the end of this year. It was designed as a test platform to help aircraft manufacturers build carbon-neutral aircraft. However, now it has become known that the first flight this year will not take place, moreover, in September the project will be completely closed. According to official information, the engineers faced a number of problems, including those related to flight safety. But, despite the fact that the X-57 Maxwell, which has been under development since 2016, has not been able to fly into the air, NASA does not believe that the project ended unsuccessfully. During the work, a lot of useful information was obtained that can be used in the future.

NASA ends development of X-57 Maxwell electric aircraft

Why NASA built an electric plane

The X-57 project has been developed since 2016 as part ofNASA commitments to support the US climate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation sector by 2050. According to NASA itself, the agency's goals are to promote innovation through groundbreaking research and technology development. That is, the main task was not to create an aircraft, but to develop a test platform for technologies and design methods. And with this task, in their opinion, they coped.

The team has documented and published technology gaps and their solutions as they are discovered. As a result, according to them, it was possible to obtain fundamental information based on the lessons learned.

X-57 Maxwell will never take off

Reportedly, the X-57 Maxwell aircraft projectwill be completed by September, although work on the documentation will continue for several more months. At the same time, aviation companies will have access to developments in areas ranging from battery technology to cruise control systems.

NASA believes they have already made a big contributioninto the future of electric aircraft. The information they received has influenced and will continue to influence the development of electric aircraft. Although the X-57 Maxwell itself, as we said above, will never take off again.

Why NASA failed to create an electric plane

The aircraft was built on the basis of the Italian Tecnam P2006T. This allowed the researchers to compare their results with data from a base model powered by conventional internal combustion engines.

Italian twin-engine aircraft Tecnam P2006T

According to the idea, the aircraft was supposed to have 14electric propeller motors. Of these, two main engines, which provide movement at cruising speed, and 12 auxiliary ones, which were supposed to be turned on during acceleration, takeoff and landing.

Late in the project, the engineers facedthe absence of critical components that are required for experimental equipment, as well as some “mechanical problems”. Considering that the planned dates are coming to an end, we can already say with certainty that the flight will not take place.

What NASA has done to develop electric aircraft

At the very beginning of work on the project, engineerssolved the problem of heating lithium-ion batteries. As you know, when discharging quickly, they start to get very hot, which can lead to overheating. The new design of the battery system made it possible to reduce heating to safe limits.

NASA solved the problem of engine heating

Another major success was the developmentpropulsion engine controllers. These controllers convert the energy stored in the aircraft's lithium-ion batteries to power its engines. The controllers use silicon carbide transistors for 98% efficiency. They generate little heat and are cooled by airflow. These controllers have recently successfully passed thermal tests.

At one stage, the team also encounteredelectromagnetic interference that affected the operation of on-board systems. After lengthy research, the team designed and installed filters that solved the problem. In addition, there are many other developments, less global, which are listed on the technical documentation website. But in general, the project can hardly be called really successful.

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Finally, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with another, even more ambitious project related to hypersonic aircraft. So far, however, it exists only in theory, but the idea is very interesting.