NASA X-Plane Battery Passes Tests

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NASA says its engineers reached a major milestone this week, successfully testing the battery system that will power the all-electric X-plane expected to take flight next year. “This was an extremely critical milestone for the overall project,” said Tom Rigney, project manager for the X-57 Maxwell. “Without a safe battery system, we wouldn’t be able to execute our objectives. This test truly ensures a safe environment for the pilot and the test program.” The testing validated that the battery system can safely power the X-57 for an entire flight profile. The team is working toward a flight duration of at least 45 minutes to an hour, NASA spokesman Matt Kamlet told AVweb.

“We exposed the battery to the conditions of an X-57 flight, based on current expected flight profiles, to make sure the capacity and thermal conditions stayed within safe limits,” said NASA Glenn’s Dionne Hernandez-Lugo, battery development lead for the project. “We were able to see how the battery behaves throughout the flight, as well as the overall capacity. The battery passed.” The test also confirmed the battery design’s ability to isolate potential overheating issues to single battery cells, preventing unsafe conditions from spreading to the rest of the battery system. The X-57 project aims to demonstrate a significant increase in efficiency at high-speed cruise compared to aircraft propelled by traditional systems, NASA says. The technology would result in lower operating costs, as well as lower carbon emissions.

NASA’s X-plane battery

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