Page 1 - Aerotech News and Review 2-5-16

Knight wants NASA funding to go supersonic

CZ%FOOJT"OEFSTPO personic, and you can bet that in a couple of
special to Aerotech News \HDUVWKH\ZLOOEHÀ\LQJVXSHUVRQLFDFURVV&KL-
QDDQGWKH\ZRQ¶WFDUHDERXWWKHVRQLFERRPV´

Flying supersonic would be the way that Rep. he told the group of about 25 veterans of service

Steve Knight, R-Antelope Valley, would like from each of the military branches. “They don’t

to travel from his home 25th District back to KDYHWKH)$$WRZRUU\DERXW´

Washington, D.C., and he thinks a lot of other One veteran asked him, then, what about

people would like to arrive at their destinations sonic booms?

twice as fast. NASA research, Knight said, is the key to

7KH¿UVWHUDRIVXSHUVRQLFFRPPHUFLDOWUDYHO GLPLQLVKLQJWKH³ERRP´LQVRQLFERRPV+H

ended in 2003 when the Concorde SST built by cited a project carried out in recent years at

Aerospatiale and the British Aircraft Corpora- the Neil Armstrong Flight Research Center at

WLRQPDGHLWV¿QDOÀLJKW(QYLURQPHQWDOFRQVLG- (GZDUGV$LU)RUFH%DVH,WLQYROYHGDQ)

erations from sonic booms ended the 34-year (DJOH¿JKWHUMHWGHGLFDWHGWR1$6$UHVHDUFK

period of trans-Atlantic service that carried pay- À\LQJZLWKDORQJWDLOERRPVRWKDWWKHMHW¶V

ing passengers from London and Paris to Dulles shock wave was diminished when it broke the

International Airport in the Washington, D.C., sound barrier.

suburbs and JFK International in New York. “You’ll still feel it on the ground, but the

Knight, who specializes in aerospace on shock wave is dispersed. If we can work (and

Capitol Hill, believes a new era of supersonic fund) those projects that disperse the shock

commercial flight can be ushered in with a ZDYHZHZLOOEHIO\LQJVXSHUVRQLF´.QLJKW

research and development push from NASA, said, and that would assist his personal quest

emphasizing the work done by the aeronautics WRÀ\EDFNWR&DSLWRO+LOOLQWKUHHKRXUV

component of the National Air and Space Ad- .QLJKWKHDGLQJLQWRKLVVHFRQG\HDULQRI¿FH

ministration. D I W H U H O H F W L R Q L Q 1 R Y H P E H U V L W V R Q W K H

“I think flying supersonic would be great, House Committee on Science, Space and Tech-

EHFDXVH,FRXOGÀ\DFURVVWKHFRXQWU\LQWKUHH nology. Part of his duty to the 25th District, Photograph by Dennis Anderson

KRXUVLQVWHDGRI¿YHRUVL[KRXUV´.QLJKWWROG which includes the Antelope Valley and the Rep. Steve Knight, R-Antelope Valley, spoke with veterans across the Antelope Valley recently,
at a veterans’ breakfast coffee gathering in Lan- Santa Clarita and Simi valleys, is to ensure fed- here at Coffee 4 Vets at Crazy Otto’s Restaurant.

caster. eral funding that will underwrite research and NASA, Knight said he would like to persuade WKHUH´.QLJKWVDLG
The United States owes it to itself and its jobs comes in his area of Southern California. NASA’s administrator, Charles Bolden, and He added that he would make it his business
In that, he said, he is aided by his professional Congress, to bump the percentage of aeronau-
competitive position out in the global economy DQGSHUVRQDOUHODWLRQVKLSZLWK+RXVH0DMRULW\ tics funding research from 3 percent to about 5 in congressional committees to get as much
WRUHVXPHDSXVKWRZDUG¿HOGLQJWKHDLUFUDIW /HDGHU.HYLQ0F&DUWK\LQWKHDGMRLQLQJWK percent of the agency’s total budget. of that funding as possible routed to the Arm-
WKDWFRXOGÀ\VXSHUVRQLFZLWKRXWUDLVLQJHQYL- 'LVWULFWZKLFKLQFOXGHV(GZDUGV$)% VWURQJ)OLJKW&HQWHUDW(GZDUGV
ronmental alarms, he said. The vintage Con-

FRUGHFRXOGÀ\0DFK :LWKPLOOLRQLQWKHILVFDO\HDU “If we can change it from 3 to 5 percent, See KNIGHT, Page 3

³5LJKWQRZ&KLQDLVZRUNLQJRQÀ\LQJVX- budget request for aeronautics research at we’re going to see a lot more programs out

.&$VXFFHVVIXOO\GHPRQVWUDWHVIXHOWUDQVIHULQÀLJKW

CZ3FCFDDB"NCFS RQHRIWKHVL[WRWDODLUFUDIWUHTXLUHGWR
UHFHLYHIXHOLQÀLJKWLQVXSSRUWRIWKH
Edwards AFB, Calif. .&SURJUDP¶VXSFRPLQJ0LOHVWRQH
06&/RZ5DWH,QLWLDO3URGXFWLRQ
7KH.&7DQNHU3URJUDPUHDFKHG decision.
a major milestone Jan. 24 when it suc-
cessfully demonstrated its first-ever The test was a joint effort between
aerial refueling contact and fuel trans- %RHLQJDQG(GZDUGVSHUVRQQHOZLWKD
IHUZLWKDQ)&IURP(GZDUGV$LU WK7:SLORWLQWKHFRFNSLWRIWKH
Force Base. LQVWUXPHQWHG)&,QVLGHWKH.&
$DORQJZLWKWKH%RHLQJ7HVWDQG
7KHÀLJKWZDVWKH¿UVWLQDEORFNRI (YDOXDWLRQ WHDP ZHUH WK )OLJKW
testing out of Boeing Field in Seattle, Test Squadron pilots, boom opera-
Wash., using the boom system. WRUVDQGÀLJKWWHVWHQJLQHHUVDVZHOO
DVGLVFLSOLQHHQJLQHHUVIURPWKHWK
7KH3HJDVXVSDVVHGSRXQGV )/76$QDGGLWLRQDO(GZDUGV$)%)
RIIXHOWRDQ)SLORWHGE\/W&RO 'VHUYHGDVDFKDVHSODQHIRUVDIHW\
'DQLHO$OL[VW)OLJKW7HVW6TXDG- and test support.
ron, who characterized the mission as
a complete success. 7KLV WHVWLQJ IROORZV H[WHQVLYH
ground testing at Boeing’s production
7KH.&$LVFXUUHQWO\VFKHGXOHG IDFLOLW\LQ(YHUHWW:DVKODVW'HFHP-
WRDUULYHDW(GZDUGV$)%LQHDUO\ ber, and legacy tanker ground tests at
WRFRQWLQXHDHULDOUHIXHOLQJFHUWL¿FD- (GZDUGVODVW6HSWHPEHU%RWKWKH.&
tions and simulator data collection. In DQG.&ZHUHXVHGWREDVHOLQH
WKHPHDQWLPHWK7HVW:LQJSHUVRQ- WKH.&$DHULDOUHIXHOLQJV\VWHP¶V
nel and assets have been hard at work
LQ:DVKLQJWRQ$QLQVWUXPHQWHG& See TANKER, Page ?
*OREHPDVWHU,,,IURP(GZDUGVLVDOVR

'FCSVBSZ
r7PMVNF
*TTVF Serving the aerospace industry since 1986 Use your smartphone to connect to
www.facebook.com/aerotechnews our Website.
www.aerotechnews.com