Page 4 - Aerotech News and Review, Feb. 21, 2019

NASA advances aeronautics, science, space exploration

by Peter W. Merlin sions, and quieter flight characteristics that will reduce impact
special to Aerotech News on communities below the airplane’s flight path.
In another X-plane milestone, the Lockheed Martin Skunk
In 2019 engineers and scientists at the NASA Armstrong Works began building the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology
Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., con- demonstrator. NASA scientists will use the QueSST configu-
tinued to advance the agency’s overall missions of aeronautics ration to explore methods for reducing aircraft noise as well
research, Earth science and space exploration. as controlling and lessening the effects of supersonic shock
Highlights included progress on two new experimental re- waves to the point where federal regulators may one day allow
search craft, one designed to validate clean and quiet electric commercial and civil supersonic flight over land in the United
propulsion and the other to advance commercial supersonic States. Such flying is currently restricted to military training
flight technology without the typical loud sonic boom. operations within tightly controlled supersonic corridors in the
In keeping with national goals for returning humans to the National Airspace.
moon in this decade, researchers at Armstrong contributed to In advance of supersonic testing of the X-59, researchers at
the agency’s Artemis mission by testing a prototype navigation Armstrong conducted a series of acoustic measurements using
system being developed for use on the next lunar lander module. ground instrumentation and two T-38 jet trainers provided by
The center also supported space science achievements including Photograph by Peter Merlin the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards. The Carpet Deter-
the discovery of helium hydride, the first type of molecule that Technicans prepare the X-57 all-electric research aircraft for mination in Entirety Measurements, or CapetDIEM, flight series
ever formed in the universe. Closer to home, NASA airborne ground tests. featured an array of high-fidelity microphones that could be
science missions provided data on fire and smoke impact on arranged in several configurations. The arrays gave researchers
regional and global environments. transferred to NASA Armstrong for research involving light- the ability to obtain accurate sound data and assess the loudness
weight structures and advanced control technologies for future of sonic booms created by the T-38, just as they will measure
Aeronautics efficient, environmentally friendly transport aircraft. the much quieter sonic thumps from the X-59. In addition to
NASA Armstrong has long been known for advancing aero- In 2019, Armstrong accepted delivery of the X-57 Mod II, an the acoustic measurements, scientists created a visual represen-
nautics technology through the use of a wide variety of dedi- experimental all-electric aircraft that will be used to collect data tation of shock effects using a background-oriented schlieren
cated experimental research aircraft known collectively as X- in support of enabling regulators to set certification standards photography technique to capture the first air-to-air images of
planes. Several of these met important milestones in 2019. for the emerging electric aircraft market. The aircraft is being the interaction of shockwaves from the two supersonic aircraft.
The X-56A Multi-Utility Technology Testbed concluded a prepared for ground testing that will pave the way for flight In 2019, NASA Armstrong completed flight-testing asso-
multiyear test series that explored the benefits of long, thin, tests later this year. ciated with the Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the National
high-aspect-ratio wings for use on future long-range aircraft The primary purpose of the X-57 is to validate and demon- Airspace System project. Beginning in 2012, NASA worked
including fuel-efficient airliners and cargo transports. One of strate the benefits of distributed electric propulsion for future closely with the Federal Aviation Administration and industry
the major goals of the project was to investigate technologies for aviation applications. NASA aeronautics researchers are hop- partners to develop technologies that support safe integration of
active flutter suppression and gust-load alleviation to improve ing to demonstrate how electric propulsion can make airplanes unmanned aircraft systems into the National Airspace System.
ride quality, aerodynamic efficiency, safety, and to improve the quieter, more energy efficient, and environmentally friendly. Previous tests successfully demonstrated two detect-and-avoid
long-term health of flexible aircraft structures. Plans call for the X-57 to undergo several major configura- algorithms developed by NASA, General Atomics Aeronautical
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and the Air Force Research tion changes, or mods, the final one featuring 14 electric motors Systems Inc., and Honeywell that generated precise alerts nec-
Laboratory performed initial testing of the X-56A in late 2013 and propellers. Researchers predict the X-57 will demonstrate a essary for a pilot controlling a UAS from the ground to remain
and early 2014 to collect flight data on highly flexible structures 500-percent increase in high-speed cruise efficiency over con-
and flutter suppression control techniques. The MUTT was later ventional gas-powered propulsion, zero in-flight carbon emis- See NASA, Page 5

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