Session Category: AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum 2021

The AIAA propulsion and energy community has been gathering for 60 years to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and advances in aerospace technologies. Our distinguished panelists will reflect on this storied history, recounting their experiences. They’ll also look toward the future, sharing what excites them and how these communities will continue to propel the aerospace community forward.

Commercial aviation is seeing a sharpening focus on environmental sustainability with real bottom-line financial implications. Traditionally, environmental sustainability for military engine systems has been of lesser importance – but will this be the wave of the future? Will military systems need to respond to this sharpening focus on environmental impact?

The most costly and energetically difficult part of space exploration is defeating gravity through launch and recovery operations. On Earth, we have embraced the reuse and recycle “circular economy.” Launch companies are increasingly embracing these philosophies for space travel and are making headway reducing launch prices and environmental impacts by developing reusable launch systems, using green fuels, and adopting advanced manufacturing techniques.

In recent years, we have become increasingly and acutely aware of the limitations of our resources and the impacts we have on our home planet. Much of our response to date has been reactionary. While space is infinite, there are the similar limitations and impacts to the human experience. This panel will explore how we can take our experiences on Earth and proactively create a sustainable human space program, examining lessons from the energy industry, propulsion, and the human ecosystem.

What does sustainability mean for emerging aviation-related markets? Hear the perspectives of leaders in advanced aerial mobility, commercial supersonics and hypersonics, and unmanned aerial vehicles as they discuss designing and preparing for sustainability from day one.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is transforming energy through research, development, commercialization, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. From breakthroughs in fundamental science to new clean technologies to integrated energy systems that power our lives, NREL researchers are transforming the way the nation and the world use energy.