NASA Photo One of the two experimental X-56A unmanned air vehicle operated by NASA has crashed on Nov. 19 at approximately 9:30 Pa...
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| NASA Photo |
One of the two experimental X-56A unmanned air vehicle operated by NASA has crashed on Nov. 19 at approximately 9:30 Pacific Daylight Time on Rogers Dry Lakebed test range at Edwards AFB, California.
The mishap occurred shortly after takeoff and the vehicle has been severely damaged.
The X-56A multi-utility technology test-bed (MUTT) is designed to demonstrate active flutter suppression and gust load alleviation in flight to advance aeroservoelastic technology.
The remotely piloted aircraft was developed by Lockheed Martin Skunk Works for U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
The subscale aircraft is 7.5 feet long, has a 28-foot wingspan, weighs about 480 pounds, and is powered by two small 90-pound thrust JetCat P400 turbojet engines.
The knowledge gained about flutter and gust suppression will be used in designing the proposed supersonic X-54, an aircraft that will demonstrate sonic boom-quieting technologies that could someday alleviate the noise concerns currently preventing supersonic commercial flight over land in the United States.
