Page 8 - Aerotech News and Review, January 8, 2021.

NASA Armstrong marks milestones in 2020

Despite challenges with the global pandemic, NASA’s Arm- Fiber Optic Sensing System
strong Flight Research Center in California continued agency A system originally developed to collect strain and other
work in a mostly remote environment. measurements on aircraft has been advanced and its durability
With innovative thinking and using electronic meeting tools, enhanced for potential use in space.
a number of tasks were enabled. Engineers also came together NASA Armstrong researchers hope to validate the new ver-
to design devices to help local hospitals with the pandemic. sion of their Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) through envi-
The highlights for 2020 are: ronmental testing. If successful, the system offers the ability to
take thousands of measurements along a fiber optic wire about
the thickness of a human hair. Armstrong is also collaborating
with companies to mature fiber optic technology.

Resilient Autonomy
In collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration
and the Department of Defense, the Resilient Autonomy proj-
ect is developing the Expandable Variable Autonomy Archi-
NASA photograph by Carla Thomas tecture (EVAA) mostly from their homes.
SOFIA lifts off from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., at The testing of this new autonomous technology will help in-
sunset. form FAA certification guidelines to enable future autonomy,

the future to supersonic flight over land.
Empirical Systems Aerospace photograph
Engineers at Empirical Systems Aerospace, or ESAero, perform Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astrono-
fit checks on the future wing to be used on the final configurations my (SOFIA)
of NASA’s all-electric X-57 Maxwell, at their facility in San Luis SOFIA, a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft with an onboard
Obispo, Calif. Using a “fit check” fuselage, seen here, the team telescope, helped scientists discover water on the sunlit sur-
is able to determine the safest and most efficient method of face of the moon for the first time.
integrating the wing to be used in Mods III and IV of X-57, while
the primary fuselage prepares for ground, taxi and flight tests at This discovery indicates that water may be distributed
NASA Armstrong. across the lunar surface and not limited to cold, shadowed
places. SOFIA allows astronomers to study the solar system
and beyond in ways that are not possible with ground-based
X-57 telescopes.
NASA’s first all-electric X-plane, the X-57 Maxwell, made Bell Textron photograph
significant progress with assembly and qualification testing on C-20 and G-III Gulfstream The Bell Textron Inc. APT 70 Unmanned Aircraft System flew for
the vehicle’s cruise motors, as well as the wing that will fly as After science missions were delayed, the agency’s airborne 10 minutes from Bell’s facility on Floyd Carlson Field, near Fort
Worth, Texas, on Sept. 28, 2020.
part of X-57’s final configuration, called Mod IV. science aircraft such as the C-20 and G-III Gulfstream had a
Meanwhile, successful telemetry testing at Armstrong dem- new goal — get the Mars Perseverance 2020 team from Cali-
onstrated the X-57’s ability to transmit its signal as intended, fornia to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida
which will allow teams to track mission-critical data during to prepare the rover for launch. NASA’s Mars 2020 mission such as link-less operations in an unpiloted aircraft, while pro-
flight. launched June 30, which avoided the need to wait more than viding enhanced automatic safety to modern piloted aircraft.
The public also got its first look at one of the more innova- two years for the planets to align again. The project will use the Hybrid Quadrotor 90C (HQ-90) to test
tive Mod IV features, as recent wind tunnel testing of the high As California experienced an extreme wildfire season, NA- the EVAA software, which arrived to Armstrong in October.
lift motors and propellers proved the ability of the propeller SA’s C-20A aircraft took off from Armstrong’s Building 703
blades to deploy and stow as designed, depending on flight in Palmdale, Calif., carrying the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the Na-
profile conditions. Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument developed and operated tional Airspace System (UAS in the NAS)
by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The flights were used NASA’s UAS-NAS project concluded in September after
to identify structures damaged in the fires while also mapping nearly a decade of research to help make it possible for UAS
burn areas that may be at future risk of landslides and debris to have routine access to the NAS.
flows. They’re part of the ongoing effort by NASA’s Applied This year the Systems Integration and Operationalization
Sciences Disaster Program in the Earth Sciences Division, (SIO) demonstration activity completed two demonstrations
which utilizes NASA airborne and satellite instruments to under the UAS-NAS project and the third will happen un-
generate maps and other data products. der leadership of the Advanced Air Mobility project. Gen-
eral Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) flew the
SkyGuardian UAS during their SIO demonstration in April
and Bell Textron Inc. flew the APT 70 UAS during their SIO
demonstration in September. The final SIO partner, American
Aerospace Technologies Inc. (AATI), is set to fly the AiRang-
er for the final SIO demonstration early in 2021. The project
is currently working on reports and lessons learned from the
work conducted with the FAA.

Lockheed Martin photograph Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign
The wing and cockpit sections of NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic The agency’s campaign to advance airspace mobility con-
Technology (QueSST) are coming together at Lockheed Martin’s tinues to progress with research, partnership agreements and
Skunk Works ® factory in Palmdale, Calif. flight testing.
In early 2020, the project signed Space Act Agreements for
the National Campaign (formerly the Grand Challenge) to
X-59 NASA photograph by Ken Ulbrich bring together industry intending to develop and/or operate
Assembly of the agency’s next supersonic X-plane, the X-59 NASA research engineer Jonathan Lopez works on preparing air mobility vehicles or airspace management services within
Quiet SuperSonic Technology demonstrator, proceeded closer a Compact Fiber Optic Sensing System unit, also known as a the urban air mobility ecosystem. Industry partners were estab-
toward completion. FOSS rocket box, which was developed at NASA’s Armstrong lished including Joby Aviation, Wisk and Alaka’i and others
While progress led to the anticipated closeout of the air- Flight Research Center in California. The unit is a new variant of will be added early this year.
craft’s wing, delivery of several major aircraft segments took aircraft technology that researchers have advanced to withstand The project also completed the the NC Integrated Dry Run
place, presenting glimpses of the vehicle starting to come to- the harsh environments of a rocket launch and space travel. Test in early December, using a helicopter as a surrogate UAM
gether. These included delivery of the F414-GE-100 turbofan to develop a data baseline for future industry partnership flight
engine, the aircraft’s vertical tail, and the one-of-a-kind, ex- testing.
tended-length nose. Meanwhile, as the team met and overcame In a related effort, NASA Armstrong pilot Scott Howe flew
challenges presented by production, as well as the global pan- fire missions for the California National Guard to image the Pilot Breathing Assessment
demic, NASA announced the target dates for major milestones, fires and provide information to commanders to maximize re- The second and final phase of NASA’s Pilot Breathing As-
including first flight in X-59’s mission and its potential to open sources. See NASA, Page 9

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