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NASA X-57 Maxwell Distributed Electric Propulsion Research Aircraft

NASA's X-57 Maxwell was an all-electric experimental-aircraft project based on a Tecnam P2006T airframe. The programme integrated batteries, electric cruise motors, power electronics, and planned high-lift distributed propulsion to develop practical design, test, and airworthiness knowledge for electric aviation. The aircraft did not fly before operations ended, but extensive ground testing and openly published lessons informed regulators and later electric-aircraft programmes.

NASA X-57 Maxwell Distributed Electric Propulsion Research Aircraft
NASA/Lauren Hughes, AFRC2021-0047-27 (official NASA Large rendition, 1920 x 1281) · NASA content is generally not subject to U.S. copyright and may be used factually for educational or informational purposes with NASA acknowledged; no NASA endorsement is implied. This uses NASA's official Large rendition of AFRC2021-0047-27. Usage guidelines: https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/ · Source
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Identity

Aliases
X-57X-57 MaxwellSCEPTOR X-planeNASA electric X-plane
Family Name
NASA X-57 Maxwell
Full Name
NASA X-57 Maxwell Distributed Electric Propulsion Research Aircraft
Roles
researchexperimentaltechnology_demonstrator
Status
retired
Type
aircraft

Details

Aircraft Specs
Configuration
fixed_wing
Operating Modes
land
Takeoff Landing Capabilities
conventional
Description
NASA's X-57 Maxwell was an all-electric experimental-aircraft project based on a Tecnam P2006T airframe. The programme integrated batteries, electric cruise motors, power electronics, and planned high-lift distributed propulsion to develop practical design, test, and airworthiness knowledge for electric aviation. The aircraft did not fly before operations ended, but extensive ground testing and openly published lessons informed regulators and later electric-aircraft programmes.
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      airframe
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Stage
      airframe
      Variant Notes
      Integrated Mod IV distributed-electric architecture: twelve high-lift motor-propellers and two wingtip cruise motor-propellers; one whole-system installation.
    Name
    NASA X-57 Maxwell intended Mod IV distributed-electric-propulsion configuration
    Notes
    NASA documents fourteen electric motor-propellers in the intended final architecture: twelve high-lift units along the wing leading edge for takeoff and landing, plus two wingtip cruise units for cruise. The X-57 project closed before first flight, so this is recorded as the documented research configuration rather than flight-proven Mod IV heritage.

Links

Official Url
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/x-57-maxwell/

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
July 29, 2026 at 13:15:50 UTC
Updated Time
September 7, 2026 at 21:45:22 UTC
Image
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