Overview
- NASA unveiled the X-70 Fractal at the UP.Summit at Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday as a new crewed X‑plane for flight research.
- The agency published a concept image and performance targets that list a 10,000-pound takeoff weight, cruise near Mach 0.75, a 45,000-foot ceiling, and about 1,500 nautical miles of range.
- The Fractal is designed to accept up to 2,000 pounds of internal and external experimental payloads so teams can swap sensors and systems quickly between flights.
- NASA says the aircraft will test advanced, rapidly reconfigurable flight‑control systems and novel maneuverability regimes and expects its first flight under the NASA banner in roughly two years.
- Coverage notes the public materials do not name a manufacturer, which has prompted reporting that the airframe may be newly procured or transferred from a classified program and that more details are likely at upcoming NASA events.