NASA Langley / David C. Bowman NASA Langley / David C. Bowman / David C. Bowman

NASA RESEARCHERS HAVE released photos of a new project exploring unmanned aircraft.

This one, which can hover like a helicopter and fly like a plane, has a 10-foot wingspan and has flown successfully while tethered in testing.

The research team at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia are planning to have a free-flight test of the GL-10 Greased Lightning aircraft in the coming weeks.

“This research has helped lead to NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate efforts to better understand the potential of electric propulsion across all types, sizes and missions for aviation,” the agency said.

To give you a better sense of the test plane’s scale, here’s a photo of it being set up for a tethered test flight:

Left to right: Zack Johns, William Fredericks and David North prepare the GL10 for a second tethered flight at NASA's Langley Research Center. NASA Langley / David C. Bowman/Twitter NASA Langley / David C. Bowman/Twitter / David C. Bowman/Twitter

NASA Langley / David C. Bowman/Twitter NASA Langley / David C. Bowman/Twitter / David C. Bowman/Twitter

Read: A NASA telescope has captured this picture of a black hole >

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