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NASA, from 16
more than 40 minutes during a test flight near motely piloted aircraft for potential use in rapid
Hawaii. Another success was General Atomics’ medical transport.
technology development that led to future air- Armstrong also has developed the Automatic
craft NASA used, such as the Ikhana (Predator Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto
B) that was based at NASA Armstrong for sci- GCAS) that has saved 10 pilots to date. The
ence missions, and the SkyGuardian unmanned technology behind the Auto GCAS allows the
aircraft that demonstrated potential commercial software system to take over the controls of an
applications. The legacy of ERAST also in- aircraft upon determining ground collision is
cludes early efforts at identifying and develop- imminent. The system warns the pilot, and if
ing technology for integration of UAS into the no action is taken, it locks the controls and per-
National Airspace System. forms an automatic recovery maneuver, return-
ing full control back to the pilot once the aircraft
What’s New has cleared the near terrain. The Auto GCAS
New innovations are part of what the center team was awarded the 2018 Robert J. Collier
is known for and another recent X-plane, the Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association.
X-57 Maxwell, is an example of new aeronau- Leveraging lessons learned from the devel-
tics concepts. The distributed electric powered opment of the Auto GCAS, the Resilient Au-
aircraft fits into an overarching NASA plan for tonomy project is at the forefront of technology
researching regional air transportation of people development for autonomous aircraft systems. NASA photograph
and cargo. The propulsion system will set stan- These advanced software systems are preventing The wingless, lifting body aircraft were lined up on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA’s Armstrong
dards for a new market of regional transporta- air-to-ground collisions in piloted aircraft, and Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. From left to right are the X-24A, M2-F3 and the HL-10.
tion and demonstrate the technology’s potential the project is now focusing on software devel- The lifting body aircraft studied the feasibility of maneuvering and landing an aerodynamic craft
to be much more efficient by operating an elec- opments to prevent aircraft from colliding with designed for reentry from space. These lifting bodies were air launched by a B-52 mother ship,
tric motor, compared to traditional methods. other aircraft in the air. then flew powered by their own rocket engines before making an unpowered approach and landing.
Work with Unmanned Aircraft Systems In- The project is a joint collaboration with the They helped validate the concept that a space shuttle could make accurate landings without power.
tegration in the National Airspace System, or Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the
UAS in the NAS, is also intended to help open Office of the Secretary of Defense, with numer-
new industries for U.S. companies to operate ous Department of Defense services and com- Aerodynamic Design to Land on Mars, or red Astronomy (SOFIA) is the world’s largest
these aircraft. Some of the uses could include mands, to create new autonomous technology Prandtl-M aircraft, is successful, it could collect airborne astronomical observatory, comple-
deliveries, powerlines, pipelines, bridges and in- and inform FAA certification guidelines. and transmit valuable information back to Earth. menting NASA’s space telescopes as well as
frastructure inspections, crop management and The remotely piloted X-56A Multi-Utility major Earth-based telescopes. SOFIA features
help with disaster relief and recovery efforts. Technology Testbed suppressed potentially de- Airborne Science a German-built, far-infrared telescope with an
Armstrong, NASA centers, industry and aca- structive vibration called flutter, which permit- NASA Armstrong operates a fleet of special- effective diameter of 100-inches. The telescope
demia are working together to resolve technical ted research of the aircraft’s lightweight, flexible ized aircraft of varied capabilities to support weighs 19 tons (38,000 pounds) and is mounted
and regulatory impediments and coordinating wings. The results of the research, which also environmental and Earth science research mis- in the rear fuselage of a highly modified Boeing
with the Federal Aviation Administration for this included the Air Force Research Laboratories in sions, under the Airborne Science program of
integration to happen. Ohio, could enable future airliners to use simi- the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. 747SP aircraft.
One example was the June 12, 2018, first lar wing designs to conserve fuel. The X-56A As part of the directorate’s Earth Science Di- Flying at altitudes of between 39,000 to
flight of the Ikhana into the NAS without an team also facilitated the development of tools vision, NASA’s Airborne Science Program uses 45,000 feet and above 99 percent of the water
escort aircraft, which was the culmination of on- and technologies and acquired data to validate these unique aircraft and sensors to conduct ob- vapor in the atmosphere, SOFIA facilitates ob-
going NASA work with the FAA on regulations modeling techniques. servations and collect atmospheric data, as well servations that are unobtainable from telescopes
and standards that will eventually lead to routine NASA Armstrong engineers are working as calibrate and validate satellite data. on the ground. Because SOFIA can fly virtually
access to the national air space for all classes of on an increasingly complex aircraft called the A number of the science aircraft are based anywhere in the world, change instruments be-
UAS in the NAS. Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to at NASA Armstrong Building 703 in Palmdale, tween flights, and implement new capabilities,
Another example is the first Systems Integra- Lower Drag, or Prandtl-D. The aircraft features California. They include a Douglas DC-8 jet- it provides greater adaptability than any space-
tion and Operationalization demonstration April a new method for determining the shape of the liner converted into a flying science laboratory, based telescope.
3, 2020. The remotely piloted flight of General wing with a twist, that could lead to an 11-per- two high-altitude Lockheed ER-2s (civilian ver-
Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. Sky Guard- cent reduction in drag. The concept may also sions on the U-2Rs) and a Gulfstream C-20A NASA Armstrong’s stellar past has built the
ian was used to test the company’s Detect and lead to significantly enhanced controllability (G-III). A Beechcraft B-200 Super King Air is foundation for a busy future, as the next chapter
Avoid System, to provide situational awareness that could eliminate the need for a vertical tail, based at Armstrong’s main facility at Edwards of the center’s history unfolds.
of air traffic near the aircraft. The second dem- and potentially to new aircraft designs. Air Force Base.
onstration in the series is tentatively set for fall Work on the Prandtl-D led to a concept for Editor’s note: Jessica Arreola, Christian Gel-
2020, when Bell Textron Inc. is set to test a re- a Mars airplane. If the Preliminary Research SOFIA zer, Matt Kamlet, Frank Seitzen, Teresa Whiting
NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infra- and Leslie Williams contributed to this report.

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works image NASA photograph by Jim Ross
This artist concept of the X-59 QueSST aircraft shows the experimental vehicle in flight overland. The X-56A flies over the desert near NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.
The X-59 is NASA’s first piloted X-plane in decades and is shaped to reduce the loudness of a NASA researchers used the remotely piloted X-56A to explore the behavior of lightweight, flexible
sonic boom to that of a gentle thump. aircraft structures.

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