NASA Program Explores Hybrid-Electric ‘Double Bubble’ Airliner Concept

Design combines turbofan engines, electric tail fans, and a lifting fuselage.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, June 09, 2026 at 02:00 PM ET

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Edited By:

Zach Vasile

Electra’s concept for a 100-passenger commercial airliner combines turbofan engines, electric tail fans, and a “double bubble” fuselage. [Credit: Electra]

Key Takeaways:

NASA's AACES 2050 program is funding Electra to develop a hybrid-electric commercial airliner concept featuring turbofan engines, electric tail fans, and a unique "double bubble" fuselage designed to increase lift.
This innovative design, which builds on previous NASA-funded research, aims to deliver a 17 percent improvement in efficiency by 2050 and offers a near-term pathway for electrification in commercial aviation.
The project is part of NASA's broader effort to accelerate the development of advanced propulsion technologies, fuels, and airframes to reshape commercial aviation and enhance environmental sustainability in the 2040s, 2050s, and beyond.

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A little-known NASA project is funding the study of a next-generation commercial airliner concept that combines turbofan engines, electric tail fans, and a unique “double bubble” fuselage designed to add lift.

Hybrid-electric regional aircraft developer Electra on Monday unveiled the concept, which per the company’s analysis could deliver a 17 percent improvement on current projections for efficiency gains through 2050. The concept was borne out of NASA’s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 project, which is funding studies into new aircraft technologies—including advanced propulsion, fuels, and airframes—which could reshape commercial aviation in the 2040s, 2050s, and beyond.