Sean C. Clarke

Sean C. Clarke is the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) chief engineer at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

From 2013 to 2023, Clarke was a principal investigator for the X-57 Maxwell, the agency’s first all-electric experimental aircraft. He managed project research objectives and the development of electrified aircraft systems. Aircraft operational activities for the X-57 concluded in September 2023.

As the X-57 project’s lead research systems development engineer, Clarke designed the power and command systems for the X-57, and led the development teams for new batteries, high efficiency inverters, air-cooled electric motors, and the distributed electric power distribution system. He led the Power and Command Integrated Product Team, which developed interfaces and established requirements for the vehicle’s avionics systems, critical software items, instrumentation system interfaces, and flight hardware acceptance and qualification testing. Clarke represents NASA on multiple ASTM International committees and working groups to integrate NASA lessons and technology into future aircraft safety standards.

Previously, Clarke established NASA’s Hybrid Electric Integrated Systems Testbed, a mobile lab used to test and validate electrified aircraft propulsion technologies.

Experience

Clarke joined NASA in 2007 as an Armstrong flight systems engineer supporting project systems engineering, avionics systems, and other electric power systems integration and testing. He was the flight system lead for NASA’s Platform Precision Autopilot payload support system – a flight controller capable of precisely controlling an aircraft through the autopilot. This system enabled science programs such as UAVSAR (Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar), GLISTIN-A (Glacier and Ice Surface Topography Interferometer), and AirMOSS (Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface) on multiple NASA aircraft, as well as the LVAC (Launch Vehicle Adaptive Guidance) activity. Additionally, he was NASA’s avionics systems integration lead for the Orion Abort Flight Test project and lead vehicle operator for the Pad Abort 1 flight test.

Before joining NASA, Clarke was a senior operations engineer at several U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation hydroelectric power plants, including Hoover and Folsom dams.

Technical Papers

Clarke co-authored several technical papers, including “X-57 Cockpit Display System Development and Features” in 2023, “NASA Electrified Aircraft Propulsion Efforts” in 2019, “Development of a Multi-Phase Mission Planning Tool for NASA X-57 Maxwell” in 2018, “X-57 Power and Command System Design” in 2017, and “Design of an Electric Propulsion System for SCEPTOR’s Outboard Nacelle” in 2016.

Honors and Education

In 2021, he received a NASA Exceptional Service Medal for his work to advance electrically powered aircraft technology. Clarke earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering in 2002 at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He is a member of ASTM International and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.