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\u201cAt NASA, our eyes are not just focused on stars but also fixated on the sky. The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator builds on NASA\u2019s world-leading efforts in aeronautics as well as climate,\u201d said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo reach our goal of net zero aviation emissions by 2050, we need transformative aircraft concepts like the ones we\u2019re flying on the X-66A,\u201d said Bob Pearce, associate administrator for NASA\u2019s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, who announced the designation at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aviation Forum in San Diego. \u201cWith this experimental aircraft, we\u2019re aiming high to demonstrate the kinds of energy-saving, emissions-reducing technologies the aviation industry needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n NASA and Boeing sought the X-plane designation shortly after the agency\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0the 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re 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,\u201d said Todd Citron, Boeing chief technology officer. \u201cWith the learnings gained from design, construction, and flight-testing, we\u2019ll have an opportunity to shape the future of flight and contribute to the decarbonization of aerospace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s best-in-class aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 a profound impact on emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NASA\u2019s 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<\/a> of NASA X-planes. Additionally, NASA\u2019s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, has provided technical expertise and support for several additional X-planes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project is an activity under NASA\u2019s Integrated Aviation Systems Program<\/a> and a key element of the agency\u2019s Sustainable Flight National Partnership<\/a>, which focuses on developing new sustainable aviation technologies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NASA and Boeing said Monday the aircraft produced through the agency\u2019s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project has been designated by the U.S. Air Force as the X-66A.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-innovation","category-space-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane.png",790,523,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane-200x200.png",200,200,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane-604x400.png",604,400,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane-768x508.png",750,496,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane-675x447.png",675,447,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane.png",790,523,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane.png",790,523,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane.png",790,523,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane.png",790,523,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane-600x523.png",600,523,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane-600x523.png",600,523,true],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane-760x490.png",760,490,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane-550x360.png",550,360,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane-95x65.png",95,65,true],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane.png",640,424,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane.png",96,64,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/x-plane.png",150,99,false]},"author_info":{"info":["RevoScience"]},"category_info":"Innovation<\/a> Space\/ AstroPhysics<\/a>","tag_info":"Space\/ AstroPhysics","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}