NASA Eyes Testing Needs For Cryogenic Aircraft Propulsion
Located at the agency’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, NASA’s Electric Aircraft Testbed (NEAT) is available to industry and academia to ground test multi-megawatt electric propulsion systems, up to single-aisle airliner size, at simulated altitude.
Building on the success of NASA’s Electric Aircraft Testbed, the agency’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio has issued a request for information (RFI) to assess industry’s needs for a test facility to advance the development of cryogenic hydrogen technology for aircraft.
“A multi-center NASA team is exploring the needs and requirements that might play into the development of a Cryogenic Hydrogen Test Facility as a national capability supporting the implementation of new materials, components, and technologies for aeronautical applications,” the RFI says.
“Such a test capability could allow the development of operational procedures for airport operations and also support ... other hydrogen transportation applications,” the document says. “These needs may include testing at a range of scales, from material development and component characterization to full-sized aircraft.”
Located at the agency’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, NASA’s Electric Aircraft Testbed (NEAT) is available to industry and academia to ground test multi-megawatt electric propulsion systems, up to single-aisle airliner size, at simulated altitude.
The NEAT has been used by GE Aerospace, MagniX and others to test electric propulsion units, including those under development to power testbed aircraft being developed under NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project to flight-test megawatt-scale hybrid-electric systems.