NASA Announces X-70 “Fractal” Experimental Aircraft

Published Nov 4, 2026 9:37 PM EST

NASA just unveiled its latest X-plane, the X-70 Fractal, which Administrator Jared Isaacman had teased last week, at the UP.Summit at Kennedy Space Center today.

The aircraft is described as crewed and features rapidly reconfigurable flight control capabilities. According to NASA’s release it will “explore aircraft maneuverability in ways never before demonstrated in crewed flight. The aircraft can also accommodate up to 2,000 pounds of experimental payloads in internal and external locations, enabling a wide range of research and flight-testing opportunities.”

“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. This is why people come to NASA: to build, to learn, and most importantly, to fly.”

Additional details about Fractal were provided as having a takeoff weight of 10,000lbs, a ceiling of 45,000 feet and a cruise speed of Mach 0t.75. Its range will be around 1,500 nautical miles. This will allow it to fly across a wide spectrum of conditions and over longer distances and durations.

The image provided is intriguing. It shows an aircraft with splayed tails, bubble canopy, and fighter-like wings. The concept image is just that, an impression of what it will look like, with much of it cloaked in clouds. It draws superficial similarities to other experimental testbed aircraft as of late, especially those from Scaled Composites, in particular the Beacon testbed aircraft . That aircraft is also a flexible “open architecture”-oriented platform, but it has more to do with testing autonomy packages and drone-related technologies. This new jet has a focus on flight controls and sounds like it will be able to host exotic capabilities in this regard. Lift fan and thrust vectoring capabilities could also be part of its modular potential.

Isaacman, who flies a private MiG-29 and owned a contractor aggressor squadron, has made pushing aeronautics forward via new X-planes a top priority of the agency’s.

The release also states it will fly “under the NASA banner” in two years. This likely means once the agency takes delivery from the manufacturer or it’s possible this asset is being pulled from the classified realm and ported over to NASA. It is unclear who is building or built Fractal at this time, but we are sure to find out more at NASA’s Max Power air show taking place at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy this weekend.

This is a developing story, we will update this post in the coming hours as we find out more.

Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com

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发布于2026年11月4日晚上9:37（美国东部时间）

美国宇航局今天在肯尼迪航天中心举行的 UP.Summit 峰会上，正式发布了其最新的 X 系列飞机 X-70 Fractal，该飞机是局长贾里德·艾萨克曼上周预告过的。

该飞机为载人飞机，具备快速重构的飞行控制能力。根据NASA发布的消息，它将“以载人飞行中前所未有的方式探索飞机的机动性。该飞机还可在内部和外部搭载高达2000磅的实验有效载荷，从而实现广泛的研究和飞行测试。”

“X-70 Fractal 为 NASA 提供了一个载人高性能平台，用于在实际飞行中测试先进的飞行控制、机动性以及其他尖端技术，”NASA 局长贾里德·艾萨克曼 (Jared Isaacman) 表示。“其模块化设计以及快速更换内部和外部有效载荷的能力，将使我们的团队能够持续飞行、学习，并快速地从一个实验过渡到下一个实验。我们预计它将在未来两年内完成 NASA 的首次飞行，而 X-70 只是航空领域新篇章的一部分。这就是人们加入 NASA 的原因：为了创造、为了学习，而最重要的是，为了飞行。”

关于Fractal无人机的更多细节信息显示，其起飞重量为10,000磅，升限为45,000英尺，巡航速度为0至0.75马赫，航程约为1,500海里。这将使其能够在各种条件下飞行，并能飞行更远的距离和更长的飞行时间。

提供的图片引人入胜。图中展示了一架尾翼外展、采用气泡式座舱盖和类似战斗机机翼的飞机。这张概念图仅仅是对飞机外观的一种印象，大部分机身都被云层遮蔽。它与近期其他实验性测试平台飞机，特别是Scaled Composites公司的Beacon测试平台飞机，有着表面上的相似之处。Beacon飞机也是一个灵活的“开放式架构”平台，但它更多地用于测试自主系统和无人机相关技术。这架新型喷气式飞机则专注于飞行控制，并且似乎能够在这方面实现一些独特的功能。升力风扇和推力矢量控制功能也可能是其模块化潜力的一部分。

驾驶私人米格-29战斗机并拥有一支承包商假想敌飞行队的艾萨克曼，将通过新型X飞机推动航空技术发展作为该机构的首要任务。

新闻稿还指出，两年后它将“在NASA的旗帜下”投入使用。这可能意味着NASA从制造商处接收飞机后，或者也可能是这架飞机从保密领域解除并移交给NASA。目前尚不清楚是谁在建造或制造了Fractal飞机，但我们相信在本周末于肯尼迪航天中心航天飞机着陆设施举行的NASA Max Power航展上会了解更多信息。

这是一则正在更新的新闻，我们将在接下来的几个小时内随着更多信息的披露更新此帖。

联系作者：Tyler@twz.com

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