航天局公布X-70新型实验飞机：有人驾驶平台专测先进飞控，预计两年内首飞
美国国家航空航天局（NASA）11月4日在佛罗里达州肯尼迪航天中心举行的 UP.Summit 上公布了最新实验飞机 X-70「Fractal」。这是一款有人驾驶的高性能研究平台，设计目的是加速先进航空技术的开发与测试。
X-70 配备可快速重构的先进飞控技术，航天局称它将使研究人员得以探索此前从未在有人驾驶飞行中演示过的飞机机动方式。飞机内外部可容纳最多 2,000 磅实验载荷，便于在不同试验任务之间快速更换设备。
按航天局公布的参数，X-70 起飞重量为 10,000 磅，设计巡航速度为 0.75 马赫，飞行高度可达 45,000 英尺，作战航程超过约 1,726 英里（1,500 海里），可在广泛的飞行条件下执行高强度飞行研究。
航天局局长 Jared Isaacman 表示：「X-70 Fractal 为航天局提供了一个有人驾驶的高性能平台，可以在真实飞行中测试先进飞控、机动性及其他前沿技术。它的模块化设计以及快速更换内外部载荷的能力，将让我们的团队保持飞行、保持学习，并迅速从一个实验推进到下一个实验。我们预计它将在未来两年内在航天局名义下首飞，而 X-70 只是航空学新开端的组成部分之一。」
航天局研究与技术任务理事会航空学部主任 Laurie Grindle 表示，数十年来航天局航空部门一直用 X 系列实验飞机开发推动航空进步的技术，再添一款 X 飞机以加速和驱动航空学研究，令人振奋。
X-70 就此加入航天局实验飞机的谱系：从 1947 年首次突破音障的 Bell X-1，到高超音速研究机 X-15，再到今天的 X-59 静音超音速验证机，航天局数十年来持续推进飞行边界。航天局称，X-70 将扩大其实验飞行研究能力，加快新兴技术的测试，并推动下一代美国航空的发展。
（来源：美国航天局）
NASA Unveils X-70 Fractal Experimental Aircraft: Crewed Flight-Test Platform to Fly Within Two Years
NASA unveiled its newest experimental aircraft, the X-70 Fractal, on November 4 during the UP.Summit at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crewed, high-performance research platform is designed to accelerate the development and testing of advanced aviation technologies.
The X-70 features advanced, rapidly reconfigurable flight-control technology that NASA says will allow it to explore aircraft maneuverability in ways never before demonstrated in crewed flight. The aircraft can accommodate up to 2,000 pounds of experimental payloads in internal and external locations, enabling a wide range of research and flight-testing opportunities.
According to NASA, the X-70 Fractal has a takeoff weight of 10,000 pounds and is designed to cruise at Mach 0.75, reach altitudes of up to 45,000 feet, and provide an operational range exceeding about 1,726 miles (1,500 nautical miles), enabling demanding flight research across a broad range of operating conditions.
"The X-70 Fractal gives NASA a crewed, high-performance platform to test advanced flight-control, maneuverability, and other cutting-edge technologies in real flight," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. "Its modular design and ability to rapidly swap internal and external payloads will keep our teams flying, learning, and moving quickly from one experiment to the next. We expect her first flight under the NASA banner within the next two years, and X-70 is just one part of this new beginning for aeronautics."
"For decades, NASA Aeronautics has used X-planes to develop technologies that advance aviation," said Laurie Grindle, director of the Aeronautics Division within NASA's Research and Technology Mission Directorate. "It's exciting to bring on another X-plane to accelerate and drive aeronautics research."
The X-70 joins a storied legacy of experimental aircraft that have helped establish America's leadership in aviation, from the Bell X-1, which first broke the sound barrier in 1947, to the X-15 hypersonic research aircraft and today's X-59 quiet supersonic demonstrator. NASA said the X-70 will expand its capacity to conduct experimental flight research, accelerate the testing of emerging technologies, and advance the next generation of American aviation.
(Source: NASA)
来源：美国航天局
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：美国国家航空航天局（NASA）总部 Mary W. Jackson 大楼（Washington，联邦固定图库）。ajay_suresh 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Mary W. Jackson Building, NASA Headquarters in Washington (federal fixed asset library). Photo by ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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