Bloomberg Government reported that the US Air Force “has completed its first flight with an uncrewed combat aircraft using artificial intelligence, according to the Department of Defense.” The XQ-58A Valkyrie combat aircraft by Kratos Defense and Security Solutions “led a three-hour simulated combat mission at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio on July 25.” The AI-led flight “was a product of an Air Force Research Laboratory effort, the Skyborg Vanguard program, which uses an autonomous aircraft teaming architecture and integrates multiple technology components.” Skyborg is “building a system that is portable and modular – fitting into multiple aircraft platforms.”
Full Story (Bloomberg Government)
Tag: aeronautical engineering
Lockheed Martin Contracted by NASA to Design, Test New Nuclear-Powered Propulsion System
The New York Times reports NASA and DARPA have announced that Lockheed Martin has been selected “to design, build and test a propulsion system that could one day speed astronauts on a trip to Mars.” The nearly $500 million program “is named DRACO, short for the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations.” The DRACO development “is to culminate with a flight test of the nuclear-thermal engine.” Kirk Shireman, a vice president at Lockheed Martin, “said the launch was currently scheduled for late 2025 or early 2026.”
Full Story (The New York Times)
FAA Proposes Regulation Changes Clearing Runway for Electric Aviation
Aviation Week reports that the FAA “is proposing changes to the regulations for light-sport aircraft (LSA) that would allow electric propulsion systems and simplified flight controls, in a move intended to increase their suitability for flight training and personal flying.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
How Airports Can Prepare for Future Electric Aircraft Operations
Aviation Today reports that engineering firm WSP “has taken the lead in assisting airports in the preparations for electric aircraft. With electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles on the horizon, WSP is working closely with clients to integrate these groundbreaking advancements into their master plans.” A significant project currently underway “is WSP’s collaboration with Philadelphia International Airport, where they are incorporating provisions for a state-of-the-art vertiport facility into the airport’s master plan update.” This approach “demonstrates the airport’s commitment to embracing advanced air mobility and ensuring seamless integration of eVTOLs into their operations.” WSP is also “spearheading the master plan for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, which encompasses the redevelopment of an existing vertiport to accommodate electric aircraft.”
Full Story (Aviation Today)
Volocopter to Partner with Safran on Next-Gen Electric Powertrain
Aviation Today reports that Volocopter “signed an agreement with Safran Electrical & Power last week that includes plans for developing a next-generation electric powertrain.” The powertrain will be “designed specifically for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft like those under development by Volocopter.” An announcement of the agreement stated, “The agreement covers the exploration of commercial and engineering partnerships, specifically around the entire electric powertrain ranging from the electrical propulsion system (EPS), battery units, and power distribution system to wider engineering services.”
Full Story (Aviation Today)
Electra. Aero Debuts ‘Ultra’-Short Takeoff and Landing Demonstrator
Aerospace America reports that Electra.aero debuted its Goldfinch two-seat hybrid-electric demonstrator which the company hopes will put “it on the path toward completing a nine-passenger commercial version in time to enter service in 2028.” Electra Founder and CEO John Langford said the commercial version of the aircraft will be able to “get in and out of the Wall Street heliport and have a range of 500 miles with its full payload.” Langford said that Electra will only need 150 feet of runway to take off or land in most circumstances, and never more than 300 feet. MIT Aeronautics Professor John Hansman will pilot the Goldfinch on its first flight from Manassas Regional Airport in a few weeks, where Electra is based. Electra has “planned hundreds of test flights from Manassas and other locations.”
Full Story (Aerospace America)
The State of Electric Aviation in 2023
An article discussing the advancements made in electric aviation in 2023 in Aviation Today reports that the aviation industry is under sharp scrutiny for its environmental impact. As the industry is highly fossil fuel-reliant, it has invested heavily in new electric and hybrid-electric technologies that will make flying more sustainable. Some milestones for this year include Heart Aerospace developing an electric regional airline named the ES-30, which received an order for up to 40 of the aircraft from aircraft lessor Rockton in May. Another new advancement is Eviation’s development of zero-emissions aircraft Alice; aircraft lessor MONTE signed a letter of intent to purchase up to 30 of the aircraft. Both of these aircraft orders “highlight the increasing pressure the industry and its stakeholders feel to roll out cleaner technology.”
Full Story (Aviation Today)
Megawatt Electrical Motor Could Electrify Aviation
CleanTechnica reported that a team of MIT engineers “is now creating a 1-megawatt motor that could be a key stepping-stone toward electrifying larger aircraft.” The team has “designed and tested the major components of the motor, and shown through detailed computations that the coupled components can work as a whole to generate one megawatt of power, at a weight and size competitive with current small aero-engines.” T. Wilson Professor in Aeronautics and the Director of the Gas Turbine Laboratory (GTL) at MIT Zoltan Spakovszky, who leads the project, said, “No matter what we use as an energy carrier – batteries, hydrogen, ammonia, or sustainable aviation fuel – independent of all that, megawatt-class motors will be a key enabler for greening aviation.” Spakovszky and members of his team, along with industry collaborators, “will present their work at a special session of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – Electric Aircraft Technologies Symposium (EATS) at [AIAA AVIATION Forum this week].”
More Info (Clean Technica)
Sierra Space Powers Up Dream Chaser in its Assembly Facility for First Time
Space News reports Sierra Space announced May 31 that it has powered up its Dream Chaser spaceplane “in its assembly facility for the first time [in a key test], feeding electrical power into the vehicle that, in space, would be generated by its solar panels and turning on flight computers and other components.” Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice said in a statement that “this is a milestone that points to the future and is a key moment in a long journey for Dream Chaser.” According to Space News, the “test comes as the company prepares to ship the first Dream Chaser, called Tenacity, to NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio, the former Plum Brook Station. There, the spacecraft will go through thermal vacuum tests before shipping to Cape Canaveral for final launch preparations.”
Full Story (Space News)
NASA, Boeing Still Working Towards July Starliner Launch
Space News reported that NASA and The Boeing Company say they are “still working towards a July launch of the CST-100 Starliner on a crewed test flight despite ‘emerging issues’ and concerns raised by a safety panel.” The two organizations say they have completed a “checkpoint review” for preparations for the Crew Flight Test missions, which is scheduled for no earlier than July 21. Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, “will fly on CFT to the International Space Station on the short test flight, the first crewed flight of the spacecraft.”
Full Story (Space News)