{"id":12446,"date":"2024-11-12T18:05:34","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T22:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-funds-new-studies-looking-at-future-of-sustainable-aircraft\/"},"modified":"2024-11-12T18:05:34","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T22:05:34","slug":"nasa-funds-new-studies-looking-at-future-of-sustainable-aircraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-funds-new-studies-looking-at-future-of-sustainable-aircraft\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Funds New Studies Looking at Future of Sustainable Aircraft"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA Funds New Studies Looking at Future of Sustainable Aircraft<\/h2>\n

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5 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Artist\u2019s concept of a future airliner based on the NASA Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 submission from awardee Electra. The team\u2019s project focuses on electric propulsion, integrated aircraft technologies, and vehicle design.<\/div>\n
Electra<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Picture yourself at an airport a few decades from now. What does your airliner look like? It\u2019s more efficient, with lower emissions than today\u2019s aircraft \u2013 what kinds of designs or technology make that possible? NASA is working to answer those questions by commissioning five new design studies looking to push the boundaries of possibility for sustainable aircraft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Through NASA\u2019s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 initiative, the agency asked industry and academia to come up with studies looking at aircraft concepts, key technologies, and designs that could offer the transformative solutions needed to secure commercial aviation\u2019s sustainable future by 2050. NASA issued five awards, worth a total of $11.5 million, to four companies and one university. These new NASA-funded studies will help the agency identify and select promising aircraft concepts and technologies for further investigations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Artist\u2019s concept of a future airliner based on the NASA Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 submission from awardee Georgia Institute of Technology. The team\u2019s project focuses on exploring scenarios and technologies based on an aircraft concept the institute has developed, known as ATH2<\/sub>ENA.<\/div>\n
Georgia Institute of Technology<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThrough initiatives like AACES, NASA is positioned to harness a broad set of perspectives about how to further increase aircraft efficiency, reduce aviation\u2019s environmental impact and enhance U.S. technological competitiveness in the 2040s, 2050s, and beyond,\u201d said Bob Pearce, NASA associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. \u201cAs a leader in U.S. sustainable aviation research and development, these awards are one example of how we bring together the best ideas and most innovative concepts from the private sector, academia, research agencies, and other stakeholders to pioneer the future of aviation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For decades, NASA has connected government agencies, industry, and academia to develop sustainable aviation technologies. In 2021, NASA launched its Sustainable Flight National Partnership, focused on technologies that could be incorporated into aircraft by the 2030s. The partnership\u2019s research and development led to current NASA work including the experimental X-66 Sustainable Flight Demonstrator<\/a> aircraft, its Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration<\/a> project, and the development of more efficient engine cores<\/a> and processes for the rapid manufacturing of lightweight composite materials<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Artist\u2019s concept of a Pratt & Whitney advanced propulsion concept for the NASA Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 initiative. The Pratt & Whitney project focuses on commercial aviation propulsion technologies targeting thermal and propulsive efficiency improvements to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.<\/div>\n
Pratt & Whitney<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The new AACES awards are initiating a similar process, but on a longer timeline, focusing on technologies to help transform aviation beyond SFNP with aircraft that could enter service by 2050. The kinds of partnerships NASA develops through SFNP and AACES are critical for the agency to support the U.S. goal of net-zero aviation emissions by 2050 and to help put aviation on a path toward energy-resilience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe AACES 2050 solicitation drew significant interest from the aviation community and as a result the award process was highly competitive,\u201d said Nateri Madavan, director for NASA\u2019s Advanced Air Vehicles Program. \u201cThe proposals selected come from a diverse set of organizations that will provide exciting and wide-ranging explorations of the scenarios, technologies, and aircraft concepts that will advance aviation towards its transformative sustainability goals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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An artist\u2019s concept of JetZero\u2019s blended wing body, which the company\u2019s team will use to evaluate technologies for the NASA Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 initiative. JetZero\u2019s project will explore technologies that enable cryogenic, liquid hydrogen to be used as a fuel for commercial aviation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<\/div>\n
JetZero<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The AACES 2050 awards went to organizations that will form networks of university and corporate partners to advance their studies. NASA expects the awardees to complete their studies by mid-2026. The new awardee institutions are:\u00a0<\/p>\n