Traveling by air this holiday season, or any time of year? If so then you'll be in the company of millions who are directly benefiting from the ongoing research performed by NASA's aeronautical innovators now, and in the future.
During 2012, NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate continued a wide range of research projects aimed at advancing the science of flight. Among the goals: enhancing safety, designing more fuel efficient jet engines, enabling quieter airplanes and improving air traffic management while also seeking to educate and inspire future generations of aviation experts.
NASA's "aeronauts" even had a hand in helping scientists learn about the Martian atmosphere during Curiosity's nail-biting descent toward the Red Planet in August.
Here are some highlights from 2012.
Developing Technology NASA worked closely with Boeing in 2012 to fly the X-48C Blended Wing Body research aircraft, a sub-scale, remotely piloted vehicle intended to test new aircraft designs that forgo the conventional tube-and-wing airplane look in favor of one that blends the vehicle's wing and body into a smoothly contoured shape. Researchers believe this design could someday reduce fuel consumption by nearly 60 percent, noise by 70 percent, and emissions by 80 percent. Read More
Meanwhile, working with the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., NASA researchers tested a 2,500-pound aluminum and steel model of an airplane that looked like its wings were put on upside down, with its jet engines installed on top of the wings. The unusual-looking model was designed to test ways for an aircraft to make short take offs and landings, fly fuel efficiently at cruise altitude, and do so more quietly than today's modern airliners.
The project was named for famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart and called AMELIA, short for Advanced Model for Extreme Lift and Improved Aeroacoustics. Like the X-48C, information gleaned from AMELIA will lead to future aircraft designs that dramatically reduce fuel use, noise and emissions. Read More
Quieter Supersonic Flight NASA is continuing to learn more about how sound waves created by supersonic aircraft move through the atmosphere, all with an eye towards designing aircraft that generate sonic booms you can barely hear - or can't hear at all - on the ground below. This work could open a whole new segment of the economy for commercial aviation by making supersonic flight over land acceptable.
Following a series of research flights last year, NASA engineers in 2012 poured over information they gathered from residents near Edwards Air Force Base in California to see how well they did in generating sonic booms with NASA's F/A-18 jet that could barely be heard on the ground. The Waveforms and Sonic boom Perception and Response, or WSPR, project gathered data from a select group of more than 100 volunteers. A final report on the study is due soon.
Another phase of this research began in 2012 with the Farfield Investigation of No Boom Threshold, or FaINT. Using NASA's F/A-18 supersonic jet, project researchers will try to better understand what's happening at the very edge of the sonic boom, or just beyond. Read More
More:
- 2D Laser Profiling Scanner for Detecting Targets [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Energy Concept Could Harness the Power of Ocean Waves [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Data Acquisition Modules [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Dr. Scott Barthelmy, Research Scientist, Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Laser Tracker Ensures Accurate Alignment of Ares I Components [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Dual Cryogenic Capacitive Density Sensor [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Advanced Technologies Will Help Hubble Yield More Remarkable Discoveries [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Dr. Gerard Holzmann, Senior Research Scientist at the Laboratory for Reliable Software, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Research Will Help Aircraft Avoid Ocean Storms and Turbulence [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Awards 2008 Software of the Year [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Here Come The Tricorders - Update [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- China's View on Space [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Milsat Coordination and Tracking Issues [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Trash Talking and End Runs at NASA HQ [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Ares 1-Y is Toast [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Beyond Augustine [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Analyzing LCROSS' Plume [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Live Event: NASA-Sponsored Power Beaming Challenge [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- JSC Wants To Build a Replicator [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- USA: Looking For Ways To Hang On [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Lunar Lander Challenge Prizes Awarded [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Senate Votes To Restore NASA Budget Cuts [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- New FAA Regs for Commercial Reentry [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- TEDxNASA: An Invitation-Only NASA Meeting - Unless You Are Lucky [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Close Call For Courtney Stadd [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Space: A Waste? [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Making NASA Cool [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Engaging JSC’s Next Gen: A Leadership Analysis [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Dumpster Diving for Rockets [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- TEDx NASA [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Reflections On a Business Trip in Huntsville [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Staying the Course [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Economics of Space [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Ideas at Work [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Blah Blah Blah - Why We Should Care About Social Media [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Will White House Speak Soon About NASA? [Last Updated On: December 12th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 12th, 2009]
- Software Aids Design of Ares V Composite Shroud Structure [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- ASDX Series of silicon pressure sensors [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Industry Update: Analysis & Simulation Software [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Battery Will Provide Backup Power for Space Shuttles [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- NASA Employee Claims To Have Witnessed Hijacking Planning [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Big Party in The Mojave Tonight [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Looking at Boulders on the Moon [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- SpaceBook Featured by White House [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- New Ways to Use Constellation Stuff [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- LaRC internal Poll Update [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Coalition for Space Exploration Does a (Much Needed) Reboot [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Lunar Orbiter: Comparing Old and New Images [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Boulder Trails On The Moon [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Vote for John Grunsfeld - National Geographic Adventurer of the YeAR [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Charlie Bolden at WIA/AIAA [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Live Webcast From The Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Big Aerospace Warns of Job Cut Impact [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- The Boulders of Copernicus [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- shame on us [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- 2009 Space Elevator Games [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Random Hacks of Kindness [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- TEDx NASA Tickets Available to the Public [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- It’s better in person [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Leading Amidst the Disruptive Innovation Storm [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Space: What’s NOT to Hope for? [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Government in the Digital Age [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- SpaceUp – A Space Unconference [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Starfleet Academy? [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Crowdsourcing NASA [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Bringing Home The Bacon [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Anti-Space Mom with Pro-Space Kids [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- How Quickly We Forget [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- WISE Launch A Success [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Dynetics Buys Orion Propulsion [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- New NASA Governance Structure Under Development [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Bolden Meets With Obama on Wednesday [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- MSFC Procurement Doesn't Understand what "Open Source" Means [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Bolden Meets With Obama [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- Parker Griffith AT MSFC Today [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]
- Why Your NASA Computer May Not Work Properly [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]
- Lakes and Fog on Titan [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]
- Waterworld Found [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]
- Pandora Could Exist [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]
- Laurie Leshin Is The New ESMD Deputy AA [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]