WORLDTECHNASA shows X-70 Fractal, a modular test plane for adaptable flight
Full credit
File:Meet NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke, Crew-11 Pilot (jsc2025m000138).webm / NASA Johnson Space Center / This image or video was catalogued by Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: jsc2025m000138_Crew11FinckeProfile_4K . / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meet_NASA_Astronaut_Mike_Fincke,_Crew-11_Pilot_(jsc2025m000138).webmSource pageNASA has revealed the X-70 Fractal, the newest member of its X-plane family, and plans to fly it on its maiden flight within the next two years, as one outlet reports.
Showcase at the Kennedy Space Center
The space agency presented the experimental aircraft on Wednesday during the UP.Summit at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The plane is described as a crewed, modular flying laboratory, built so that experiments can be swapped out quickly.
Design centred on adaptable speed
Unlike static flight-test rigs or single-purpose demonstrators, the X-70 is organised around one ambitious aim: adaptable speed.
The aircraft is intended to take manoeuvrability beyond anything NASA has previously flown.
The plane is presented as a bridge between decades of flight history and the future of aviation.
Schedule for the first flight
If the plan holds, NASA intends to launch the aircraft on its maiden flight within the next two years.
Open questions
- Will the maiden flight take place within the stated two-year window?