The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will test its new X-57 electric aeroplane ("Maxwell") that will be powered solely by batteries.
"With the return of piloted X-planes to NASA’s research capabilities – which is a key part of our 10-year-long New Aviation Horizons initiative – the general aviation-sized X-57 will take the first step in opening a new era of aviation," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said, as quoted in the agency’s Friday statement.
Five larger transport-scale X-planes are also planned as part of the project, presented on Friday in Washington at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) annual Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition (Aviation 2016), according to NASA.
"Maxwell" will use 14 electric motors to power its wing propellers and will run only on batteries.
The plane was nicknamed after James Clerk Maxwell, a 19th century Scottish physicist who formulated the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation that combines electricity, magnetism and light.