(AGENPARL) – lun 12 giugno 2023 June 12, 2023 
RELEASE 23-068
*Next Generation Experimental Aircraft Becomes NASA’s Newest X-Plane*
sustainable-aviation-v2-16x9_2.jpg
The X-66A is the X-plane specifically aimed at helping the United States
achieve the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To build the
X-66A, Boeing will work with NASA to modify an MD-90 aircraft, shortening the
fuselage and replacing its wings and engines. The resulting demonstrator
aircraft will have long, thin wings with engines mounted underneath and a set
of aerodynamic trusses for support. The design, which Boeing submitted for
NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, is known as a Transonic
Truss-Braced Wing.
*/Credits: NASA/*
NASA and Boeing said Monday the aircraft produced through the agency’s
Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project has been designated by the U.S. Air
Force as the X-66A.
The new X-plane seeks to inform a potential new generation of more
sustainable single-aisle aircraft – the workhorse of passenger airlines
around the world. Working with NASA, Boeing will build, test, and fly a
full-scale demonstrator aircraft with extra-long, thin wings stabilized by
diagonal struts, known as a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing concept.
“At NASA, our eyes are not just focused on stars but also fixated on the
sky. The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator builds on NASA’s world-leading
efforts in aeronautics as well climate,” said NASA Administrator Bill
Nelson. “The X-66A will help shape the future of aviation, a new era where
aircraft are greener, cleaner, and quieter, and create new possibilities for
the flying public and American industry alike.”
The X-66A is the first X-plane specifically focused on helping the United
States achieve the goal of net-zero aviation greenhouse gas emissions, which
was articulated in the White House’s U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan [1].
“To reach our goal of net zero aviation emissions by 2050, we need
transformative aircraft concepts like the ones we’re flying on the
X-66A,” said Bob Pearce, associate administrator for NASA’s Aeronautics
Research Mission Directorate, who announced the designation at the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aviation Forum in San Diego.
“With this experimental aircraft, we’re aiming high to demonstrate the
kinds of energy-saving, emissions-reducing technologies the aviation industry
needs.”
NASA and Boeing sought the X-plane designation shortly after the agency
announced [2] the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project award earlier this
year. The Air Force confers X-plane status for development programs that set
out to create revolutionary experimental aircraft configurations. The
designation is for research aircraft. With few exceptions, X-planes are
intended to test designs and technologies that can be adopted into other
aircraft designs, not serve as prototypes for full production.
“We’re incredibly proud of this designation, because it means that the
X-66A will be the next in a long line of experimental aircraft used to
validate breakthrough designs that have transformed aviation,” said Todd
Citron, Boeing chief technology officer. “With the learnings gained from
design, construction, and flight-testing, we’ll have an opportunity to
shape the future of flight and contribute to the decarbonization of
aerospace.”
For the X-66A, the Air Force provided the designation for an aircraft that
validates technologies for a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing configuration that,
when combined with other advancements in propulsion systems, materials, and
systems architecture, could result in up to 30% less fuel consumption and
reduced emissions when compared with today’s best-in-class aircraft.
Due to their heavy usage, single-aisle aircraft today account for nearly half
of worldwide aviation emissions. Creating designs and technologies for a more
sustainable version of this type of aircraft has the potential for profound
impact on emissions.
NASA’s history with the X-plane designation dates to the 1940s, when its
predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)
jointly created an experimental aircraft program with the Air Force and the
U.S. Navy. The X-66A is the latest in a long line [3] of NASA X-planes.
Additionally, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards,
California, has provided technical expertise and support for several
additional X-planes.
For the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator, NASA has a Funded Space Act
Agreement with Boeing through which the agency will invest $425 million over
seven years, while the company and its partners will contribute the remainder
of the funding, estimated at about $725 million. NASA also will contribute
technical expertise and facilities.
The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project is an activity under NASA’s
Integrated Aviation Systems Program [4] and a key element of the agency’s
Sustainable Flight National Partnership [5], which focuses on developing new
sustainable aviation technologies.
Learn more about the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator at:
*https://go.nasa.gov/3X4t9MD* [6]
-end-
*Press Contacts*
Rob Margetta
Headquarters, Washington
202-763-5012
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[2] https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-issues-award-for-greener-more-fuel-efficient-airliner-of-future
[3] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/aircraft/x-planes/index.html
[4] https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/programs/iasp/sfd/description/
[5] https://www.nasa.gov/sfnp/
[6] https://go.nasa.gov/3X4t9MD