NASA has unveiled the crewed X-70 Fractal, a configurable research aircraft designed to test advanced flight controls and explore manoeuvres not previously demonstrated in crewed flight. Presented at the UP.Summit at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the aircraft can carry up to 2,000 lb (907 kg) of experimental equipment internally or externally. NASA expects it to make its first flight under the agency’s banner within two years.
The X-70 is designed to cruise at Mach 0.75, reach 45,000 ft (13,700 m) and fly more than 1,726 miles (2,778 km). Its take-off weight is 10,000 lb (about 4.5 tonnes). NASA describes its flight controls as rapidly reconfigurable, while the modular payload arrangement is intended to let research teams move between experiments without relying on a dedicated aircraft for each test.
NASA has not identified the first experiments planned for the aircraft or specified its manufacturer. The image accompanying the unveiling was generated, rather than a photograph of a completed X-70. The programme joins the agency’s experimental-aircraft work, which includes the Bell X-1, X-15 and the ongoing X-59 programme.