NASA has unveiled the X-70 Fractal, a crewed experimental aircraft designed as a rapidly reconfigurable research platform for testing new aviation technologies. The aircraft was presented at the UP.Summit at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the program and Laurie Grindle, who leads the agency's Aeronautics Division, outlined its role.
The X-70 is built around reconfigurable flight-control technology that allows engineers to test unusual maneuverability concepts. It can carry up to 2,000 pounds of payloads, both inside the aircraft and on external mounts, giving researchers flexibility in how they configure each test campaign. With a takeoff weight of 10,000 pounds, the aircraft is designed to cruise at Mach 0.75, reach a ceiling of about 45,000 feet and fly roughly 1,500 nautical miles.
The aircraft continues a long line of experimental X-planes that stretches back to the Bell X-1, the X-15 and, more recently, the X-59. NASA expects the X-70's first flight within two years. The agency has not yet detailed the specific research missions the aircraft will carry out, nor named its builder or disclosed the program's cost. The image released with the announcement is a generated rendering rather than a photograph of the finished aircraft.