NASA’s X-57 Maxwell all-electric aircraft project will end operations at the end of September, with documentation and shutdowns pending for several months after that. The X-57 research has provided aviation researchers hundreds of lessons as well as revolutionary advances in areas ranging from battery technology to cruise control design.

“NASA’s purpose is to foster innovation through groundbreaking research and technology development. The X-57 project team has done just that by providing key industry insights based on lessons learned, and we’re seeing benefits validated by America’s commercial aviation companies trying to transform the way we fly. ” said. . NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, where the X-57 was developed. “I am incredibly proud of their groundbreaking persistence and creativity in the advancement of the electric drivetrain. The future of the electric car is possible thanks to their contributions.”

Completion of the aircraft by September 2023 will not include the first flight of the X-57 aircraft. The project faced several challenges for safe flight, including mechanical problems late in its lifecycle and the lack of critical components needed to develop experimental equipment. Given the approaching planned useful life of the aircraft, the program will not allow the crew to achieve acceptable flight conditions.

While most of the development of the X-57 will be completed by September 2023, the team will officially complete its work in a few months with additional technical releases.

The primary purpose of the X-57 project was to provide information on electric propulsion-oriented aircraft design and the airworthiness process with regulators. This knowledge has already influenced, and will continue to influence, the development of advanced approaches to the certification of electric propulsion systems in emerging electric aircraft markets. The aim was not to develop a prototype, but to develop a testing platform for technologies and design methods. And the team did just that, documenting and publishing the technology gaps and solutions discovered so that industry stakeholders could benefit from these lessons as soon as possible.

“They were doing things that had never been done before, and it was never easy,” Flick said. “As we prepare to complete this project later this year, I see a long list of achievements to celebrate and an industry that is doing better today because of their work.”

The X-57 is part of NASA’s commitment to support the US climate goal of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation industry by 2050. The project shares lessons learned about battery technology, electromagnetic interference, motor controller design and more since 2016. NASA will continue research on electric aircraft, along with other projects, including the demonstration of powered flight.

The aircraft was built by modifying the Italian Tecnam P2006T to work with electric propulsion. Using an existing aircraft design allowed the team to compare their data with data from a base model powered by conventional combustion engines.

Achievements of the X-57

Early on in the project, X-57 team members discovered that they would need significant advances in battery technology. Li-ion batteries installed in an aircraft heat up as they discharge, and overheating can cause them to overheat. The project worked with Electric Power Systems in North Logan, Utah, to address this issue. Engineers demonstrated that the new battery system design would remain within acceptable safety limits when powering the aircraft.

The design of the cruise motor controllers is another achievement of the X-57 project. These controllers convert the energy stored in the aircraft’s lithium-ion batteries to power the engines that drive the propellers. The controllers use silicon carbide transistors for 98% efficiency, are designed for high power draw and cruise, meaning they don’t generate excessive heat and can be cooled by air flowing through the engine. The team designed the inverters to meet the high mass and heat requirements and shares these designs in technical publications so the industry can use them as launch pads for new aerospace products. The cruise motor controllers have recently been successfully thermally tested.

The design of the cruise motor controllers is another achievement of the X-57 project. These controllers convert the energy stored in the aircraft’s lithium-ion batteries to power the engines that drive the propellers. The controllers use silicon carbide transistors for 98% efficiency, are designed for high power draw and cruise, meaning they don’t generate excessive heat and can be cooled by air flowing through the engine. The team designed the inverters to meet the high mass and heat requirements and shares these designs in technical publications so the industry can use them as launch pads for new aerospace products. The cruise motor controllers have recently been successfully thermally tested.

During the integration phase, the team encountered electromagnetic interference affecting the operation of onboard systems and required a solution. After extensive research, the team designed, designed and installed filters that solved the problem. This approach will be incorporated into the technical documentation and made available to industry and the electric motor community.

The value of the research work done on the X-57 project is well known and recognized by the industry and the results of additional research will continue to be published and shared with the technical community. A list of contributions to the X-57 to date can be found on the whitepaper site. Source