NASA is seeking proposals from companies to conduct ground and flight demonstrations for an integrated megawatt-class powertrain system that could be used for future electric airliners. The federal U.S. agency issued a request for proposals this week, and the deadline for submissions is April 20.
The planned demonstrations are part of NASA's efforts to stimulate development of technologies to support the goal of seeing electrically powered airliners in commercial service by 2035. Given the power limitations of battery-based all-electric powertrains, it is envisaged that the propulsion systems would be hybrid-electric designs, using combinations of turbines and electric motors that could support aircraft for regional airline services.
The work is being conducted as part of its Electrified Aircraft Propulsion program, through which NASA intends to accelerate integrated megawatt-class powertrain systems that provide at least one megawatt of power. The program is also seeking to identify and address gaps in regulations and standards for this technology.
Meanwhile, in other work aimed at advancing electric aviation, NASA is preparing to start high-volage functional ground testing on its X-57 Maxwell all-electric aircraft. The technology demonstrator is being used to support efforts to develop certification standards for electric aircraft.
Testing will start in the next few weeks at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, beginning at low power to check startup and shutdown sequences for the X-57’s motors and verifying the new motor control software. The aircraft, configured as a version called Mod 2, will use a battery support system for this phase of testing, drawing power from a large, high-voltage power supply as development work on its battery control system nears completion. The software and components being tested have been redesigned to take account of earlier tests conducted by the program’s main contractor Empirical Systems Aerospace (ESAero).
Further tests will include higher-power operation of the aircraft in a ground testbed. The first pair of electric cruise motors supplied by ESAero will be powered up and run to allow an assessment of the performance of the aircraft’s three-bladed propellers. The tests will prepare the way for subsequent taxi trials.
The X-57 team is also preparing for ground vibration testing, which is intended to examine and validate how the aircraft will perform in flight.
