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December 2010

A P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E O F A E R O N A U T I C S A N D A S T R O N A U T I C S

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

2010

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Aerospace America (ISSN 0740-722X) is published monthly, except August, by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. at 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, Va. 20191-4344[703/264-7500]. Subscription rate is 50% of dues for AIAA members (and is not deductible therefrom). Nonmember subscription price: U.S. and Canada, $163, foreign, $200. Single copies$20 each. Postmaster: Send address changes and subscription orders to address above, attention AIAA Customer Service, 703.264.7500. Periodical postage paid at Herndon, Va. andat additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2010 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., all rights reserved. The name Aerospace America is registered by the AIAA inthe U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 40,000 copies of this issue printed. This is Volume 48, No. 11.

December 2010

Adaptive structures 5Aeroacoustics 19Aerodynamic decelerators 30Aerodynamic measurementtechnology 17

Aerospace power systems 54Aerospace traffic management 73Air-breathing propulsion systemsintegration 56

Aircraft design 32Aircraft operations 33Applied aerodynamics 21Astrodynamics 18Atmospheric and spaceenvironments 23

Atmospheric flight mechanics 22Balloon systems 28Communication systems 43Computer-aided enterprisesolutions 35

Computer systems 42Design engineering 4Digital avionics 44Directed energy systems 74Economics 37Electric propulsion 49Energetic components 53Flight testing 27Fluid dynamics 15Gas turbine engines 46General aviation 29Green engineering 68Ground testing 20Guidance, navigation, and control 16High-speed air-breathingpropulsion 57

Hybrid rockets 51Hypersonic technologiesand aerospace plane 72

Intelligent systems 41Life sciences 58Lighter-than-air systems 26Liquid propulsion 55Management 38Materials 8Meshing, visualization andcomputational environments 6

Missile systems 61Modeling and simulation 24Multidisciplinary designoptimization 12

Nondeterministic approaches 10Nuclear and future flightpropulsion 52

Plasmadynamics and lasers 14Propellants and combustion 50Sensor systems 45Society and aerospace technology 36Software systems 40Solid rockets 47Space colonization 64Space exploration 71Space logistics 63Space operations and support 67Space resources 62Space stations 69Space systems 60Space tethers 59Space transportation 65Structural dynamics 11Structures 9Survivability 7Systems engineering 34Terrestrial energy 48V/STOL 31Value-driven design 70Weapon system effectiveness 66

Cover: The space shuttle is approaching the end of a storied career as 2010 draws to a close.NASA photo.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

EDITORIAL 3

OUTOFTHE PAST 76

2010 SUBJECT ANDAUTHOR INDEX 78

CAREEROPPORTUNITIES 84

BULLETINAIAA Meeting Schedule B2AIAA Courses and Training Program B4AIAA News B5Meeting Program B15Calls for Papers B19

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Invest In The Future

AIAANEW HORIZONS CHALLENGE

How Far Can You See?

To help spur the breakthrough that changes everything, AIAA has organized the New Horizons Challenge, a contest to design a demonstration competition of a groundbreaking innovation.

Winners will be announced at the 2011 Aerospace Sciences Meeting and

New Horizon Forum.

Entry deadline is 13 December. For entry information and

complete contest rules, please visit www.aiaa.org/newhorizonschallenge

Stop by the On Air Studio at this year’s Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Share Your Vision with us.

We see aerospace soaring into new realms of discovery. The next bold step is waiting over the horizon.

NewHorizonsChallenge.indd 1 11/20/10 1:33 PM

The end of the first decade of the 21st century also marks the dénouementof one of the most significant eras in the history of human spaceflight. Thismonth’s scheduled launch of the space shuttle Discovery will be its last, andonly one or possibly two launches remain for the entire program.

Just a few years after the world held its collective breath as Neil Armstrongset foot on the Moon, Apollo launches became old hat, and the national interestwaned. As that program ended, the search for a reusable system to replaceApollo led to various designs and configurations. When trade studies first beganin 1969 between NASA and industry, chief among the requirements were afully reusable crew vehicle and launcher and a 14-day maximum turnaroundtime. A ceiling of $5.1 billion was set for development of the entire system.

As with all government programs, reality, practicality, and compromisesoon set in. But if the space shuttle that was approved as a national programby Congress and President Nixon was not the system NASA imagined or theDefense Department wanted, it was still a magnificent notion.

Less than 10 years after the presidential nod, on April 12, 1981, the firstoperational shuttle orbiter, Columbia, was launched into space. STS-1 wascommanded by John Young, a Gemini and Apollo veteran, and piloted byRobert Crippen, a rookie astronaut.

The history of the space shuttle since that first flight has been one of greataccomplishment and devastating tragedy. The loss of Gregory Jarvis, ChristaMcAuliffe, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Dick Scobee, andMichael J. Smith aboard the Challenger on January 28, 1986, dealt a bodyblow to both the space program and the national psyche. A second shuttleloss, the Columbia explosion on February 1, 2003, cost the lives of Michael P.Anderson, David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, Rick D. Husband,William C. McCool, and Ilan Ramon and once again cast the fate of the programin doubt.

But the shuttle and the indomitable astronauts who participated in thisgreat adventure will also be remembered for remarkable feats of skill andcourage. It is the shuttle and its crews that we have to thank for assembling theinternational space station, now complete and set to act as a national laboratoryuntil at least 2020, and for the breathtaking glimpses of the universe providedby the Hubble Space Telescope, its optics corrected and its instruments updatedby spacewalking engineers. The list of accomplishments goes on, but the shuttlewill not.

No less significant than the end of the shuttle program is the end, at leastfor the moment, of independent U.S. access to space. Once the unrivaledleader in human space transportation, this country, for at least the next fewyears, will become just another paying customer, buying seats on someoneelse’s ride.

In the growing field of spacefaring nations, the U.S. may no longerdominate, but there is no doubt that we still have the capability to be theleader. Nevertheless, unless we firmly support current development efforts,we may indeed become irrelevant.

Elaine CamhiEditor-in-Chief

is a publication of the American Instituteof Aeronautics and Astronautics

Elaine J. CamhiEditor-in-ChiefPatricia JeffersonAssociate EditorGreg WilsonProduction EditorJerry Grey, Editor-at-LargeChristine Williams, Editor AIAA Bulletin

CorrespondentsRobert F. Dorr,WashingtonPhilip Butterworth-Hayes, EuropeMichael Westlake, Hong Kong

Contributing WritersRichard Aboulafia, James W. Canan,Marco Cáceres, Craig Covault, LeonardDavid, Philip Finnegan, Tom Jones, DavidRockwell, Frank Sietzen, J.R. Wilson

Fitzgerald Art & DesignArt Direction and Design

Craig Byl, Manufacturing and DistributionMark Lewis, PresidentRobert S. Dickman, Publisher

STEERING COMMITTEEMichael B. Bragg, University of Illinois;Philip Hattis, Draper Laboratory;Mark S.Maurice, AFOSR; Laura McGill, Raytheon;Merri Sanchez, National Aeronautics andSpace Administration;Mary Snitch, Lock-heed Martin; David W. Thompson, Orbital

EDITORIAL BOARD

Ned Allen, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics;Jean-Michel Contant, EADS; EugeneCovert, Massachusetts Institute of Technol-ogy; L.S. “Skip” Fletcher, Texas A&M Uni-versity;Michael Francis, United Technologies;Christian Mari, Teuchos; Cam Martin,NASA Dryden; Don Richardson, DonrichResearch; Douglas Yazell, Honeywell

ADVERTISING

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Send materials to Craig Byl, AIAA, 1801Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 500, Reston, VA20191-4344. Changes of address should besent to Customer Service at the same address,by e-mail at [email protected], or by fax at703.264.7606.Send Letters to the Editor to Elaine Camhiat the same address or [email protected].

December 2010, Vol. 48, No.11

®

Flying into history

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4 AEROSPACE AMERICA/DECEMBER 2010

The X-51A was a significant step forwardin proving the viability of hypersonic RBCCengines. A completely reusable launch systemcould someday dramatically reduce the cost ofaccess to space.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter avionics takesignificant advantage of COTS componentsand subsystems. The design engineers of theavionics systems have implemented designprocesses that not only satisfy requirementswith today’s components but also allow forfaster integration and qualification of futurecomponents because COTS hardware is used.

Taking an MBD approach and usinghigher order software languages can enablethe performance of components and their in-terfaces to be well defined and implemented.The performance of these parts and subsys-tems can be verified easily in simulation, andnew components can be evaluated beforethey are procured. Along with using standardinterfaces, this approach can reduce the timeit takes to certify new components from threeor four years to as little as six months. Thisnot only lowers the cost of integrating newcomponents but also allows rapid insertion ofnew hardware to address the major problemof obsolescence when using COTS hardware.

Rapid prototyping has been a staple of en-gineering development for more than twodecades now. Advances in materials, speed,and parts accuracy have transitioned this pro-cess from just prototyping to low-quantity orearly production parts. Newly developed ma-terials and processes will be replacing conven-tional manufacturing for some componentsand materials using additive processes. Analy-sis by companies such as Northrop Grummanhas shown a 35-45% reduction in the totalcost of a part.

Parts made with materials such as tita-nium, nickel, and aluminum high-perfor-mance alloys are now being manufacturedwith a variety of additive processes. These in-clude direct metal laser sintering, selectivelaser sintering, selective laser melting, andothers. These parts retain the properties oftheir conventionally manufactured counter-parts and can be heat treated and finished us-ing the same processes. They require little orno additional machining processes and, insome cases, can be manufactured with thinnerwalls than traditional forgings and castings, re-ducing component weight. As materials andadditive manufacturing processes continue toimprove, more and more opportunities forlowering cost and increasing component per-formance will arise.

Design engineering

Technology advances in design engineeringemerged in many products and design con-cepts this year. Model-based design (MBD)and advances in multidisciplinary optimizationhave had more influence on the design pro-cess, while rapid manufacturing processescontinue to evolve to lower costs and increaseperformance of components and systems.

The AFRL/DARPA/Boeing/Pratt& Whit-ney Rocketdyne X-51A WaveRider, designedusing a multidisciplinary design optimization

(MDO) approach, successfully flew at a speedof nearly Mach 5 for almost 3 min, poweredby a hydrocarbon-fueled dual-mode scramjet.Vehicle angle of attack, tail deflection angles,drag, and thrust measured in flight were allvery close to predictions, validating the MDOdesign approach used by Boeing.

Looking to the future, an innovative air-breathing vehicle concept was designed byAstrox, ASC/XR, AFRL, and Boeing to bethe reusable second stage of a two-stage-to-orbit launch system boosted by a reusablerocket first stage. The second stage is pow-ered by rocket-based combined-cycle (RBCC)engines fueled by methane and LOX/hydro-gen. The vehicle has innovative design fea-tures such as twin 3D inward-turning inletflow paths and engines mounted on the vehi-cle upper surface to shield them from dense,high-temperature air during atmospheric en-try. These features enable the vehicle to avoidthe engine thermal protection and/or man-agement challenges normally present duringunpowered flight.by E. Russ Althof

AEROSPACE DESIGN AND STRUCTURES

The avionics in the F-35 cockpittake significant advantage ofCOTS components and subsystems.

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AEROSPACE AMERICA/DECEMBER 2010 5

reduction, decreased vibrations, and reduceddrag in forward flight. Even the maximumtakeoff weight could be increased by using theadditional twist statically. The German Aero-space Center has designed, manufactured,and tested several such active twist blades inrecent years, using MFC (macro-fiber com-posite) actuators integrated into the blade skinand GFRP (glass fiber-reinforced polymer) asa structure.

The University of Maryland, along withdifferent branches of the Army, is also work-ing on blade control of helicopter blades. Theteam is developing and testing applications ofpneumatic artificial muscle actuators. Thesehigh-performing, lightweight, robust actuators

are proving their effectiveness and scalabilityin both high-frequency, on-blade control oftrailing-edge flaps for helicopter rotor bladesand low-frequency, heavy-lifting applicationsfor robotics. DARPA has funded NextGenAeronautics to develop an underwater dem-onstrator vehicle focusing on undulating side-fin propulsion that mimics a cuttlefish.

The Adaptive Structures Team in the AirVehicles Directorate is continuing to investi-gate perching micro air vehicle concepts, hav-ing completed vehicle simulations using full3D vortex particle aerodynamics with separa-tion. Optimal trajectories and trajectory-fol-lowing control schemes are being studied. Ini-tial wing mechanisms have been designed andbuilt, and indoor flight testing on basic non-morphing vehicles has begun.

Adaptive structures

NextGen Aeronautics, University of Illinois,Texas A&M, and NES Technologies are usinga new technique called targeted energy trans-fer to mitigate the limit cycle oscillation oftransport wings at transonic flight speeds. En-ergy from a wing bending vibration mode istransferred to a nonlinear energy sink to re-duce the oscillation. NASA and Penn Stateaerospace engineering researchers are ad-dressing high-cycle fatigue in turbomachineryusing semipassive, tunable piezoelectricdamping with energy harvesting, which ac-counts for the effects of high-g environments.

Structural health monitoring technologiesare progressing in many areas. Arizona StateUniversity, funded by AFOSR (Air Force Of-fice of Scientific Research) along with AFRLand NASA Glenn, developed and tested aprognostics health management frameworkby integrating online/offline information withprognostic tools based on system identifica-tion and Bayesian for structural health moni-toring. This framework can identify the nucle-ation of damage at the grain level and track itsgrowth until structural failure has been estab-lished. The University of Michigan, sponsoredby NASA, has been characterizing guidedwaves for structural health monitoring of com-posite sandwich structures. Researchers haveused radar transducers for efficiently interro-gating a complete structural surface from acentral location.

Adaptive structures are being used for flowcontrol and propulsion in the air and at sea.The University of Michigan has demonstratedthat cellular structural smart material actuatorarchitectures created by continuous, inter-locked loops of stranded active material pro-duce distributed actuation that can activelymanipulate the local surface of the aircraftwing to improve flow characteristics. The Uni-versity of Quebec in Montreal, in collabora-tion with Bombardier Aerospace, ThalesCanada, the Institute of Aerospace Research-National Research Council, and Ecole Poly-technique, developed a morphing wing thathas smart material actuators and changes itsshape to reduce the drag and to improve thelaminar flow region on the wing. This morph-ing wing was successfully controlled in openand closed loop, using kulite sensors for flowtransition and pressures measurement.

Active twist rotor blades for helicoptermain rotors are needed for individual bladecontrol. The benefits of such control are noise by David Voracek

Funded by DARPA, NextGenAeronautics conducted ademonstration of an undulatingside-fin propulsion system thatmimics a cuttlefish.

Active damping is used on thewind tunnel sting to help increasedata quality.




strated the use of overset grids in a multidisci-plinary environment for analysis of film-cooledturbine airfoil sections. The cooling plenumsinternal to the airfoil and the thermal barriercoating layer were automatically constructed,and computational grids for the main flowpath, cooling plenums, turbine walls, thermalbarrier coating, and cooling tubes were gener-ated. Embedded overset grids were used forthe cooling tubes, allowing for arbitrary place-ment without requiring regridding of the mainflow path, turbine walls, or cooling plenums.

Adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) is be-coming an important tool for improving solu-tion accuracy. A feature-driven CartesianAMR approach for overset grids has been de-veloped for the Helios flow solver that detectsflow features and introduces high-resolutionCartesian grids in the identified regions. AnAMR approach using cell refinement for tetra-hedral grids has been used with SUGGAR++to improve the interpolation stencils withinoverset regions by reducing the number offringe cells with poor quality interpolation. Anunstructured grid AMR method has also beendeveloped that resolves turbulent flows byfreezing the viscous layers near the no-slipwall and adapting away from the boundaries.Using both solution- and adjoint-based adap-tation, far-field flow features were resolvedwith no a priori knowledge for both a super-sonic nozzle plume and a turbulent flat plate.

In applying anisotropic AMR in 3D, prob-lems often arise, such as the loss of anisotropyand the necessity to limit the minimum meshsize when discontinuities are present. A con-tinuous mesh framework based on theoreticaldevelopments demonstrating that a field ofmetric tensors completely models a discretemesh, and that the notion of interpolation er-ror can be well defined, was proposed anddemonstrated.

Terabytes of data can be generated asmesh size and solution complexity increase,thereby posing a challenge to the CFD practi-tioner to identify important flow physics. Amethod for extracting flow features concur-rent to CFD code execution has been devel-oped using intelligent software agents. Thisapproach was shown to correctly identify vor-tex cores throughout solution convergence.Postprocessing time-dependent data can beeven more daunting. RCAAPS, recently de-veloped and demonstrated as a component ofFieldview, enables a user to interactively adjustthe inputs to the acoustic code PSU-WOP-WOP and easily create time history and spec-tral plots of aeroacoustic data.

Meshingvisualizationandcomputationalenvironments

The impetus for developing overset grid meth-ods, which were introduced 25 years ago, wasthe need to reduce the grid-generation chal-lenges for structured meshes around complexgeometries. Unstructured grid technology hasmitigated the need for this capability some-what. However, the overset grid method’sability to generate and assemble grids for bod-ies in relative motion has proven to be advan-tageous for unstructured grids as well.

Recently there has been significantprogress in incorporating unstructured overset

grid capabilities in legacy flow solvers. Usingthe DiRTlib overset communication library,several unstructured grid flow solvers, includ-ing USM3D, AVUS, and FUN3D, have beensuccessfully converted to overset grid solvers.The PUNDIT package provides a similar ca-pability that handles the grid assembly in addi-tion to the interpolation and communicationof the overset fringe data.

Recent development of the SUGGAR++,Overture, and PUNDIT grid assembly pro-grams enables users to construct overset un-structured meshes, extending the applicabilityof overset technology beyond that of Pegasus5 and other popular programs that apply tostructured grids only. To provide an interactivegrid assembly capability similar to that of theChimera grid tool, an effort was initiated todevelop a prototype graphical interface and aprocess that combines grid generation and as-sembly into one package, adding an initial ca-pability to the Gridgen software.

A conjugate Navier-Stokes/heat-conduc-tion design and analysis procedure demon-

by Greg D.Power,James S.Masters,and Vincent C. Betro

Vorticity isosurface from asphere at a Reynolds number of800 was solved using the Heliosdual-mesh overset approach.



fired surface-to-air missiles impacting the CF6high-bypass turbofan engine, common onwidebody aircraft. Organizations supportingprogram execution include NASA Langley,the Air Force, the Navy, and General ElectricEngine Company.The Orion crew exploration vehicle is a

modular manned vehicle conceived and de-signed for the Moon-based Con-stellation program and envi-sioned for use in otherspace programs aswell. Orion must pro-tect its crew duringorbiting, reentryinto Earth‘s atmo-sphere, and land-ing. This springNASA completedthe Phase-1 safetyreview for the Orioncrew capsule. This re-view covered survivabil-ity/ safety features such asthe heat shield‘s location behinda solid structure, and the use of a very toughcoating for protection against high-speed im-pact by micron-sized solid particles of spacedebris and meteoroid dust. In addition to thenumerous thermal tests, arcjet testing wasused for over 100 hypervelocity impact testsperformed to characterize the resulting coat-ing damage.Other safety design features of Orion in-

clude use of two separate propulsion systemsin parallel, to withstand leaks or malfunctions,and duplicate umbilical lines (power and fluids)bundled separately and with sufficient separa-tion distance.

Survivability

In February the Missile Defense Agency per-formed two tests using high-energy lasers thatsucceeded in destroying two missiles in twoseparate trials. Later, there were some unsuc-cessful tests. The laser, a directed-energyweapon of multimegawatt strength, is firedfrom an airborne modified Boeing 747 air-craft. The laser beam acquires the target andkeeps contact with it for several minutes, longenough to heat up the missile’s solid or liquidfuel, resulting in an explosion. Efforts are nowunder way to use a solid laser instead of thecurrent chemical oxygen iodine liquid laser, toreduce the size and weight of the apparatusused on the 747.In addition, this spring the Navy tested a

smaller fiber-optic directed-energy laser ofabout 32-kW power, fired from on board aship to destroy enemy unmanned surveillancedrones by frying the drone wires, cables, andcontrol mechanisms, resulting in the drone‘seventual loss of control or destruction. At leastfour drones were destroyed in these tests.Clearly, countermeasures for this new lethalweapon must be developed quickly to reducethe vulnerabilities of U.S. strategic missilesand bomber aircraft to unfriendly forces. Thislaser weaponry no longer belongs to sciencefiction; it is now a real threat that will verylikely be faced in the not too distant future.The Joint Cargo Aircraft, an Air Force/

Army/Navy joint program, completed its livefire test and evaluation (LFT&E) phase. Thisincluded testing for the hydrodynamic ram ef-fect on the wing structure, and the effective-ness of the engine nacelle fire detection andsuppression systems. These tests paved theway to authorizing low-rate production.The Joint Strike Fighter program investi-

gated fire initiation and sustainment within theaircraft undercarriage dry bays. The results ofthe investigation were used to ascertain mini-mum vulnerability to missile fragments. Theresults have also been used to identify and rec-tify deficiencies in the fire simulation predic-tion model.The reliability enhancement and reengin-

ing program of the C-5 Galaxy strategic airliftplane also completed its LFT&E phase. Theresults cleared various issues identified in thetest and evaluation master plan.This year the Dept. of Homeland Security

and the Joint Live Fire Program Office spon-sored and initiated a comprehensive programto evaluate the damage caused by shoulder-

by Ameer G. Mikhail, AlexG. Kurtz, Jaime J. Bestard,and Meghan S. Buchanan

The C-5 Galaxy completed its LFT&E phase.

A program to evaluate thedamage caused by shoulder-firedsurface-to-air missiles impactingthe CF6 engine, common onwidebody aircraft, was initiated.



conducting extensive research on HexMC, ahigh-performance discontinuous (chopped)carbon fiber/epoxy system for primary struc-tures. Although the raw material cost of thesechopped-fiber systems is about the same asthat of the unidirectional prepreg from whichthey are derived, their adoption can be justi-fied by their suitability for molding into com-plex configurations, lower manufacturingcosts, and higher production rates. The Boe-ing 787 utilizes HexMC for several structuralapplications, including the window framesand intercostals. The research at UW focuseson creating a certification methodology basedon the development of material allowablesand analysis methods that can capture themechanics of complex structures made ofHexMC.

Among products made of new metallicmaterials, nickel-titanium shape memory alloy(SMA) actuators are being considered fornoise reduction applications on commercialaircraft. NASA Glenn, under work funded bythe agency’s subsonic fixed-wing project, isdeveloping both low-temperature and high-temperature SMAs for long-term use in air-craft engines. As part of this activity, long-term constant load creep test data have beengenerated on binary stoichiometric nickel-tita-nium at temperatures between room temper-ature and 200 C, with test times in the rangeof several months to over a year. Variablestress and temperature tests, designed tomimic service conditions, have also takenplace. The results are expected to provide de-signers and analysts with the valuable long-term data they need for understanding andpredicting the stability of SMA actuators inmany commercial applications.

In addition, NASA Marshall has recentlyfabricated several friction stir welded (FSW)structural assemblies in support of the Con-stellation program, including four 18-ft-diambulkhead domes and two 27.6-ft-diam barrelsections. The spun-formed domes were fric-tion stir welded to forged “y” rings using anew self-reacting process completed with afriction pull plug weld closeout. The FSWbulkhead domes make up the face-sheets of acomposite structural assembly that forms thebulkhead between the liquid hydrogen and liq-uid oxygen tanks on the Ares I upper stage.Testing of the assemblies will include charac-terization of the barrel sections for their shellbuckling response at NASA Marshall as partof an overall NASA Langley-led effort aimedat characterizing the response of large-scalelaunch vehicle components.

Materials

Recent advances in the manufacture and char-acterization of materials by NASA, DOD, theFAA, academia, and industry will lead tolighter and more durable aerospace structures.

In the area of advanced composites,nonautoclave manufacturing of these materialscontinues to be of interest because of signifi-cant cost advantages compared with auto-clave-based manufacturing. However, compo-nents made using nonautoclave processinghave lower fiber volume fractions and inferiorproperties compared with those of autoclave-cured parts. The Non-Autoclave Manufactur-ing Technology program is a Boeing/DARPA/AFRL effort aimed at overcomingthe deficiencies of nonautoclave processing.The goal is to develop large, complex aero-space-quality components with structural lives

greater than 5,000 hourswhile greatly reducingmanufacturing costs.

The initial work fo-cuses on maturing thematerials, processes, toolfamily, and fabricator ex-perience so that the resin(Cycom 5320), vacuum-bag-only prepreg, and afamily of accompanyingmaterials are ready foruse in service applica-tions. A manufacturingdemonstration article withfeature-based subcompo-nents was completed suc-cessfully in March 2009with nondestructive anddestructive testing reveal-ing autoclave-equivalentphysical and mechanicalproperties.

Phase-1 additional ef-fort and Phase-2 plansare envisioned to maturethe nonautoclave manu-facturing technology to aTRL 6 (technology readi-ness level 6), ready fortransition to prototype,flight test, and/or produc-tion use.

In addition, the Automobili LamborghiniAdvanced Composite Structures Laboratoryat the University of Washington (UW), to-gether with Boeing, the FAA, and Hexcel, isby Edward H. Glaessgen


NASA Marshall uses frictionstir welding to fabricate astructural assembly for theConstellation program.



structural model of an insect wing. Whencompleted, this groundbreaking model couldserve as a baseline for future design studiesand ultimately shed new light on the nature ofinsect flight.

Advances in synthesis, manufacturing,and modeling techniques are continuing todrive nanocomposite research closer to use inaerospace structural applications. Researchon carbon nanotube-, silica nanoparticle-,and nanoclay-reinforced polymer nanocom-posites has brought insight into the cluster-ing, damping, interfacial, thermal transport,electrical transport, and mechanical propertycharacteristics of these materials. Work atMIT continues to focus on facile processes forcreating large-scale bulk structured materialswith nanoscale order, to take advantage(where possible) of nanoscale physics. Multi-scale methods in modeling crack-tip condi-tions have continued to improve understand-ing of the atomic-level behavior of metallicnanocomposites for use in aerospace struc-tures. Exploratory research has begun devel-oping pillared-graphitic structures for im-proved thermal transport in aerospacematerials. Excellent thermal conductivity andmechanical integrity are provided in threedimensions.

AFRL, Trinity University, and the Univer-sity of Kentucky are studying the FURL (flexi-ble unfurlable and refurlable lightweight) solarsail payload to learn its capability for dozensof deployment-retraction cycles on-orbit. Athin membrane sheet is unfurled and refurledusing a single rotational actuator coupled witha set of four self-deployable triangular retract-able and collapsible booms attached to a pe-rimeter spar structure, each constructed froma carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer. The full-scale 10-m2 flight-like prototype has under-gone environmental deployment testing,shape surveys, deployment kinematic meas-urements, and structural analyses in an effortto demonstrate that this payload is ready toserve as a propellant-free thrust source forEarth-orbiting spacecraft.

Structures

NASA Glenn is doing research in upgradednanofiber matrices and their subsequent use incomposites reinforced with conventionalfibers, which has produced enhanced com-posite responses with up to two times thebuckling load and comparable decreases in thefirst natural frequency. These are computedresults only; however, some recent data indi-cate that the results are reasonable. The im-plication is that knowledge and judicious com-putation methods reduce or eliminate exper-imental data completely.

In a carefully planned extreme test insideBoeing’s Everett, Washington, plant, engi-neers bent the wings of a 787 Dreamlinerground-test airplane until the load was morethan one-and-a-half times anything the jet willexperience in service, the company says. Bythe end of the test, the wing had deflected up-ward from the horizontal by about 25 ft. This“ultimate load” wing stress test is a dramaticmilestone in the process of obtaining FAAcertification so the airplane can be used forpassenger flights.

In a similar test in January 1995, Boeingbent the wings of the 777 beyond ultimateload until they broke in an explosive burst at154% of the anticipated in-service maximumload, destroying the test plane. Unlike the tra-ditional 777 aluminum wings, the Dream-liner’s wings are made of more flexible car-bon-fiber-reinforced plastic and would beexpected to keep bending far beyond the cer-tification mark without breakage.

Could studying the structural properties ofmoth wings give the U.S. military a strategicedge on the battlefield of the future? Re-searchers at the Air Force Institute of Tech-nology (AFIT) think so and hope that theirstudies will help to realize the Air Force’s vi-sion of operating insect-sized micro air vehi-cles (MAVs) by 2030. These vehicles, essen-tially miniaturized flying robots, will be anorder of magnitude smaller than current oper-ational MAVs. Moreover, unlike their fixed-wing and propeller-driven predecessors, theywill achieve flight by flapping their wings. Infact, if the vision is fully realized, they will soclosely mimic the behavior of their biologicalinspirations that they will be able to carry outoperations in plain sight. Having these insect-like characteristics will make them ideallysuited for covert operations in urban, indoor,and tight corridor spaces. The AFIT/MAVteam has set out to develop a high-fidelity by Harry H. Hilton

Boeing engineers bent the wingsof a 787 ground-test airplaneuntil the load was more thanone-and-a-half times anythingthe jet will experience in service.



There is growing use of CFD simulationmodels to quantify the uncertainty due to in-herently random variables using nondetermin-istic approaches. Such approaches have beenapplied to both incompressible and compress-ible flows, and to internal and external flows.The desire to extract useful statistical informa-tion about the flow from simulations hasdriven the development of probabilistic meth-ods to efficiently identify the impact of uncer-tainties on model results. One such exampleof uncertainty quantification is SESC (simplexelements stochastic collocation), based on asimplex elements discretization of the proba-bility space and an adaptive grid refinementstrategy. This methodology has been demon-strated in compressible flow and gas turbineengine applications.

Establishing the credibility of models bycomparing them to experimental data that

also contain uncertainty and variabilityrequires the use of nondeterministic ap-proaches. With critical decisions oftenmade solely on the basis of simulationresults, using engineering judgmentalone to validate a simulation with ex-perimental data will not be sufficient. Aquantitative comparison of the results ispossible only with nondeterministictechniques. In the end, the goal of thesesimulations is to determine the proba-bility that the aircraft, or other system,will perform as desired.

Recognizing the increasing applica-tion of nondeterministic analysis inmodeling and simulation, the SouthwestResearch Institute has developed a newsoftware tool named CENTAUR (collec-tion of engineering tools for analyzinguncertainty and reliability). This soft-ware is also the probabilistic engine inthe NESSUS (numerical evaluation ofstochastic structures under stress) gen-eral-purpose probabilistic analysis code.CENTAUR can be called from manyprogramming languages and software

programs, making the tools easily accessibleto any simulation.

In addition, Southwest Research Institute,in collaboration with four major gas turbineengine manufacturers, released an update toits DARWIN (design assessment of reliabilitywith inspection) program for nickel materialsand for surface damage. DARWIN, which issponsored by the FAA, is a probabilistic dam-age tolerance design code for turbine enginerotor disks that contain undetected materialanomalies.

Nondeterministicapproaches

As modeling and simulation become more im-portant and are more widely used for devel-opment, design, and certification of aero-space vehicles, there is widespread andgrowing recognition that the use of nondeter-ministic approaches is essential.

There is always variability in the inputs ofany simulation. This variability must be cap-tured as uncertainty in the simulation resultsso that the potential for undesirable outcomescan be quantified and managed. In comparingthe results of a model to a physical experi-ment, the uncertainty in both the model pre-dictions and the experimental results must beconsidered quantitatively to determine the ac-curacy of the model.

Nondeterministic approaches are widelyused in the growing area of multiscale model-ing of materials. Multiscale material modelsseek to develop material engineering proper-ties from the random arrangement of the mi-crostructure and distributions of the con-stituent properties. While multiscale modelingis already being successfully developed usingcommon materials where variabilities are wellcharacterized, its real power will be for emerg-ing engineered materials such as FGMs (func-tionally graded materials).

by Eric Tuegeland Shyama Kumari


Colors show the standard deviation of thetransonic pressure field around an airfoilwith uncertain flow velocity.



vehicles. The ExFIT (experimental fin tip) pro-gram, created for this purpose, has generateda scale model of a wing tip with a vertical sta-bilizer. These fins were flown successfully inApril as the payload on the cadet-built AirForce Academy FLVIII sounding rocket. Thefins were exposed to a Mach 3+ environmentfor 10 sec. The data returned from the fin-mounted sensors will be used for evaluatingnumerical models. Future flights will exposethe fins to higher speeds and altitudes.

X-HALE, an 8-m-span UAV developed atthe University of Michigan in collaborationwith AFIT, is an aeroelasticallyscaled very flexible aircraft. Theobjective is to collect data on thecraft’s nonlinear aeroelastic re-sponse in the presence of the sixrigid-body degrees of freedom.The data will be used for valida-tion of the coupled aeroelasticand flight dynamic analyses ofvery flexible aircraft. Several flighttests are expected in 2011.

AFIT is investigating the hawkmoth (Manduca sexta) as an idealbiological species to study for mi-cro air vehicle (MAV) design prop-erties. Modeling and frequencyexperimentation reveal that thespecies has a system identifiablecharacteristic—the study of a spec-imen is representative of thespecies. The flapping of the hawkmoth’s wing is being studied.

The University of Florida isdeveloping tools for modeling and controllingaeroservoelastic systems. This involves pa-rametrization of the control effectors and op-timizing their time-varying values to maximizeperformance. Flapping-wing MAVs and mor-phing aircraft are being investigated usingboth CFD and wind tunnel data.

Structural dynamics

NASA’s 327-ft 1.8-million-lb Ares I-X flighttest vehicle was successfully launched fromKennedy Space Center on October 28,2009. This was the first flight test for an AresI crew launch vehicle. Important data were ob-tained on ascent loads, vehicle control, sepa-ration, and first-stage reentry dynamics.

Boeing partnered with NASA Langley, un-der an Air Force contract, to verify the flexibleaircraft structural design process and resultingjoined-wing SensorCraft airframe design. Anactively controlled, dynamically scaled 12-ft-span model of the aircraft was tested in Lang-ley’s Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. The tests,concluded this year, addressed the issues ofaeroservoelastic stability in the presence oflow frequency modes, gust load alleviation forbuckling stability, and airframe weight. Thesupport system allowed the model to be flownin the test section with free pitch and plungemotions.

This year Gulfstream conducted ground vi-bration tests on its latest flagship offering, theG650 business jet. It is the world’s fastest civilaircraft and has the longest range of any tradi-tional business jet. The plane was suspendedon bungee cords in place of the landing gear.Excitation was through six electromagneticshakers attached to each wing tip, horizontaltail tip, and engine nacelle. For the flight flut-ter testing of the aircraft, shaker vanes wereattached to each wing tip and horizontal tailtip. For the entire flight envelope, up to themaximum dive of 0.99 Mach and maximumoperating altitude of 51,000 ft, no aeroelasticinstabilities were detected. FAA certification isexpected in 2011.

Sandia National Laboratories developednew techniques for experimental dynamic sub-structuring and investigated sensor integrationin wind turbine blades. The modal testinggroup developed methods to couple experi-mental modal models with finite-element (FE)models. Components difficult to model can betested to produce experimental models thatare coupled to validated FE models. Sandia’sWind and Water Power Dept. embeddedaerodynamic and strain sensors and ac-celerometers in Sandia-designed blades andflew them in the field. The field results are sup-porting aerodynamic and structural modelingfor active blade control and health monitoring.

The Air Force Institute of Technology(AFIT) is investigating the possibility of incor-porating vertical stabilizers in reusable launch by Suresh Shrivastava

The first flight test of NASA’sAres I-X test vehicle providedimportant data on ascent loads,vehicle control, separation, andfirst-stage reentry dynamics.

AFIT is studying wing flappingof the hawk moth as part ofMAV design efforts.




The University of Leeds in the U.K., incollaboration with Rolls-Royce, has developednew multidisciplinary optimization capabilitiesfor solving large-scale problems arising in tur-bomachinery design. They were successfullyapplied to engine design projects with over100 design variables, extremely large compu-tational costs per simulation, numerical noise,and occasional simulation failures.The Optimal Design Laboratory at the

University of Michigan proposed a novel par-adigm for design validation during the opti-mization process. In addition,the team devel-oped methodologies for allocating consistencyconstraints in augmented Lagrangian coordi-nation, managing reduced representations offunctional responses, and designing hybridelectric fuel cell vehicles under uncertain en-terprise considerations.MIT has developed new Bayesian-based

methods for multifidelity MDO. An approachfor managing the fidelity of disciplinary mod-els in MDO uses global sensitivity analysis to-gether with Bayesian estimation theory, whilea provably convergent multifidelity optimiza-tion method is achieved through Bayesianmodel calibration and a trust region modelmanagement.Researchers at Iowa State University’s Vir-

tual Reality Applications Center are develop-ing a visual design space exploration tool us-ing contextual self-organizing maps to rapidlygain an understanding of the design space andits properties.Penn State University and the Applied Re-

search Laboratory are collaborating on theuse of multidimensional data visualizationtechniques and trade space exploration tosupport product platform design and productfamily optimization.Phimeca Engineering and the French Insti-

tute of Advanced Mechanics in Clermont-Fer-rand, France, are investigating the use of Krig-ing surrogate models for the optimal design ofsubmarine imperfect pressure shells under re-liability constraints. The challenge is to mini-mize the computational cost by reducing thetotal number of nonlinear finite element analy-ses while gauging the effect of simplifying as-sumptions on the final design.Finally, researchers at the University of

Bath, U.K., have developed a robust topologyoptimization technique offering optimum de-signs that are less sensitive to variations inloading conditions. This is implemented usingthe level-set approach, which creates andmerges openings to find the optimum topo-logical solutions.

Multidisciplinary designoptimization

Multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO)can be defined as a framework of methodsand tools for the optimization of complex sys-tems involving coupled, often competing, dis-ciplines. This year, as in previous years, re-searchers have focused on core issues such as

the reduction of computational costs,the development of designspace visualization tools, anduncertainty propagation. Itis also noteworthy thatseveral collaborations be-tween academia, industry,

and research centers havebeen formed.The Air Force Research

Laboratory (AFRL) Collabora-tive Center for Multidisciplinary

Sciences (CCMS), comprising Virginia Tech,Wright State University, and the University ofMaryland, completed its first full year in devel-oping MDO techniques to enable the quanti-tative technology assessment of three vehicleconcepts: sensorcraft, micro air vehicles, andsupersonic long-range strike vehicles. Techni-cal and strategic advisory committees, consist-ing of members from industry, government,and academia, reviewed and approved the re-search plans for the joint effort between theCCMS and AFRL Multidisciplinary Scienceand Technology Center.In the Netherlands, Delft University of

Technology has developed a new knowledge-based engineering (KBE) modeling system,called DARWING, to support the MDO ofcomplex wing systems. DARWING links aparametric geometry modeling core with a setof external aerodynamic, structural, and flightmechanics analysis codes. In collaborationwith the University of Pisa, this frameworkhas been used to optimize the propulsion andflight control systems of boxed-wing aircraft.DARWING was developed using the GDLKBE system of Genworks International.Researchers at Queensland University of

Technology, the Australian Research Centrefor Aerospace Automation, and the Interna-tional Center for Numerical Methods in Engi-neering are collaborating on advanced evolu-tionary methods for uncertainty-based MDO.Their methods use advanced Pareto-HybridNash games, asynchronous evaluation, multi-fidelity models, and parallel computing tospeed up the capture of global solutions.by Samy Missoum

Aircraft design usedknowledge-based engineeringfor MDO. TU Delft.


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from an unusually deep solar minimum andtransition into an expected maximum of solaractivity in 2011-2012.

There was significant movement in thearea of laser technology development, wherethe continuous trend for the past decade hasbeen toward electrically powered laser tech-nology, be it solid-state or gas media. Com-mensurate with this trend is the AFRL Di-rected Energy Directorate’s recent demon-stration of a flowing diode-pumped alkali laser(DPAL) system, which combines the electri-cally powered, diode-pumped attributes ofsolid-state lasers with the heat transport andbeam-quality attributes of gas lasers. Buildingon previous static-cell DPAL demonstrationsby Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,General Atomics, the Air Force Academy,and the University of California San Diego,the AFRL experiment demonstrates the abil-ity to flow heat in the gain media away fromthe laser resonator region, a critical milestonefor development of this technology.

The field of aerooptics is seeing consider-able activity in the areas of in-flight testing,wind tunnel experiments, and CFD simula-tion. The DEBI-XFR (directed energy beamimprovement by expanding the field of regard)program has teamed AFRL’s Air Vehicles Di-rectorate with Boeing and the University ofNotre Dame. The team is progressing withexperiments and CFD simulations of a quar-ter-scale turret (a hemisphere on a cylindricalbase type) with a conformal window, explor-ing active and passive flow control devices.Suction is being used as a “best that can bedone” flow control baseline for comparisonwith other flow control approaches (devel-oped by AFRL, Boeing, Georgia Tech, andNotre Dame) that may offer some integrationadvantages.

In recent years some attention has beendirected toward the aerooptic effects of at-tached turbulent boundary layers, as these willaffect airborne free-space communication sys-tems. The efforts at Princeton and at NotreDame provide examples of the new knowl-edge developing in this area. Also, new instru-mentation for measuring aerooptical aberra-tions as long time-resolved, time series ofwavefronts at very high bandwidth has contin-ued to develop. Princeton’s pioneering ap-proaches of combining lenslet arrays withhigh-speed CCD cameras have now becomecommon tools in the laboratory. While thesedevices offer new avenues for studying bothaerooptics and fluid mechanics, the real-timecapabilities are still somewhat limited.

Plasmadynamics and lasers

Space plasma heliophysics progressed mark-edly this year, with growing improvements inquantitative solar observations and theoreticalunderstanding of Sun-Earth interconnections.With so many of society’s activities dependenton space-based infrastructure for everythingfrom communications to navigation to finan-cial transactions, these advances are vitally im-portant to developing forecasting capabilitiesthat minimize our vulnerability to solar storms,eruptions, and their disruptive effects.

Most notable was the February launch ofthe Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) forNASA’s Living With a Star program, as acomplement to its Solar and Heliospheric Ob-servatory (SOHO) and Solar Terrestrial Rela-tions Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft. Thefirst spectacular images returned by SDO re-vealed an astounding degree of detail and in-sight into the inner plasmadynamic processesof the Sun. Early results show that the mag-netic field is more dynamic and dominant thanpreviously thought. Continued observationsare likely to revolutionize our scientific views,particularly our understanding of how themagnetic field is generated and converted intosolar flares and energetic mass ejections.Other observational spacecraft now in theworks include China’s Kuafu space buoy,which will be stationed at the L1 Lagrangepoint to sample the solar wind.

Naturally, these solar observations are pro-viding an impetus to the development of reli-able predictive capabilities. Modeling and sim-ulation of solar activity have long been difficultbecause of the thorny physics of solar plasmaand magnetism, factors complicated even fur-ther by an intricate magnetohydrodynamiccoupling with the Earth’s magnetic field. How-ever, the growing base of observational datahas led to much progress, and we may antici-pate improved forecasting tools as we emerge

by Ron J. Litchfordand Timothy J. Madden

AEROSPACE SCIENCES

A synthetic emission image fromthe SOHO extreme ultravioletimaging telescope (EIT Image 304of Carrington Rotation 2009) iscompared with a data-drivenglobal 3D resistive MHD simulation(courtesy University of Alabama,Huntsville, Center for SpacePlasma & Aeronomic Research).The bright areas in the middleand left of the image correspondto active regions 10486 and10488, which are associated withseveral large flares and coronalmass ejections.

AS.1210.final.qxd:AA-December 11/9/10 3:45 PM Page 2


Australian Defence Science and TechnologyOrganisation. The flight, involving a cone/cyl-inder/flare payload, gathered data on bound-ary-layer transition and shock/boundary-layerinteraction for Mach numbers up to 6.5, dem-onstrating a low-cost approach to obtainingunique validation data for critical aerodynamicphenomena that cannot be obtained in exist-ing ground facilities.

NASA and academic researchers havemade exciting progress in the area of rough-ness-induced tripping of high-speed boundarylayers, a phenomenon of great importance tohypersonic flight. A combination of quiet tun-nel experiments, numerical simulations, andtheory has yielded valuable clues into thephysical mechanisms underlying tripping.

In-flight measurements involving a con-trolled roughnesselement on theshuttle orbiter wingare providing com-plementary valida-tion data related toroughness effectson transition andturbulence. Labo-ratory experimentsat Texas A&M andPrinceton Univer-sity are clarifyingthe combined ef-fects of distributedsurface roughnessand compressibility on turbulence in high-speed boundary layers. Detailed measure-ments and visualizations revealed the complexwave field generated by the roughness and itsdamping influence on Reynolds stress in thenear-wall region, even leading to a collapse ofthese Reynolds stress levels at a Mach numberof 7.2.

Researchers at the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign have shown that low-or-der models of roughness representative of thein-service damage to real turbine blades yieldflow conditions almost identical to the fullyrough case. This could prove critical to devel-oping predictive models for a wide range ofsurface damage effects.

Los Alamos National Laboratories per-formed several large-scale numerical simula-tions of wind turbine farms. These unique sim-ulations include effects of surface terrains,atmospheric boundary layers, and rotatingblades, enabling high-fidelity predictions forpurposes of wind farm siting and performanceoptimization.

Fluid dynamics

This year saw many exciting developments influid dynamics over a range of flow regimesand scales. Of particular interest were accom-plishments in flow control, supersonic and hy-personic flow, roughness effects, low Rey-nolds-number flows, and wind turbines.

Flow control research is becoming moreintegrated with flight control and applicationsinvolving unsteady flow and flexible wings. In-vestigators at the Air Force Academy are ex-ploring ways to use closed-loop active flowcontrol to modify the spanwise lift distributionon 3D flexible wings. Gust suppression andenergy harvesting techniques for micro air ve-hicle (MAV) based modern closed-loop controlalgorithms are under joint development at theIllinois Institute of Technology and Caltech.These efforts have highlighted the importanceof low-dimensional models for separated flowdynamics and unsteady aerodynamics. Uni-versity of Florida researchers have highlightedthe importance of 3D effects in flow controlfor applications related to cavity flows. Theteam has been able to reduce both broadbandand tonal surface pressure components usingopen-loop strategies in supersonic flows, aswell as closed-loop strategies in subsonic free-stream conditions.

The Computational Aerophysics Branchat AFRL has used ILES (implicit large-eddysimulations) to investigate the unsteady flow-field structure and forced generation of a rap-idly pitching plate at low Reynolds numbers tomodel a prototypical perching maneuver forMAV applications, as well as deep dynamicstall phenomena induced by the large-ampli-tude plunging oscillations of an airfoil. Investi-gators at UCLA have used a vortex particlemethod to simulate the flow field and forcegenerated by a rapidly pitching plate at lowReynolds numbers. They have also developeda reduced-order model for this flow. LES con-ducted at AFRL investigated a novel serpen-tine plasma-based actuation for control of alow-Reynolds-number airfoil representative ofMAV applications. When used as a trippingmechanism, plasma actuation created prema-ture transition to a more fully turbulent state,thus eliminating time-mean separation and in-creasing the lift-to-drag ratio by 20%.

The first research flight under the Hyper-sonic International Flight Research Experi-mentation (HIFiRE) project was launchedfrom Woomera, Australia, in March. HIFiREis a collaborative R&D effort by AFRL and the by Michael W. Plesniak

Researchers at Auburn Universityused a recently developed flowvisualization system to capture3D images of a turbulent jet(Reynolds number 10,200).Visible are the Kelvin-Helmholtzinstability waves responsiblefor the initial formation ofaxisymmetric ring vortices nearthe nozzle exit, the emergenceof counterrotating streamwisevortex pairs, and the complex,nonlinear interaction betweenthese vortices that leads to fullydeveloped turbulence in thefar field.



Auto-GCAS features a pilot-activated recoverysystem to enable recovery of aircraft in theevent of pilot disorientation, and a time-vary-ing trajectory prediction algorithm (TPA) toanticipate a false fly-up and synthesize an opti-mal recovery climb profile. TPA is designed tooperate to minimum clearance requirementsgiven aerodynamic parameters for the aircraftand its onboard stores, and the aerodynamicflight variables.

A typical air combat maneuver (ACM) testinvolved an aircraft in nearly inverted flightwherein bank angle was effectively indetermi-nate; Auto-GCAS autonomously commandeda pull-up to recover the aircraft. In low-alti-tude, high-speed ACM dive tests, the auto-pilot roll-through logic successfully demon-strated fast recovery of the aircraft to preventaircraft inversion and the required (approxi-mately 5 g) fly-up without false fly-ups. Auto-GCAS also safely and successfully performedseveral high-speed, low-altitude (100-150-ft)strafing runs. The software is being tuned toextend the safe flight corridor to supersonic,low-altitude terrain-masking flight regimesthrough rugged and highly variable terrain.

NASA Langley performed autopilot flighttests on its GTM (generic transport model) air-craft, a fully controllable, 5.5% dynamicallyscaled remotely piloted, jet-powered aircraft.Recent flight tests evaluated an L1 all-adaptiveflight controller with a single nominal designpoint at an aerodynamic trim condition in theheart of the normal flight envelope. A test fo-cusing on the poststall regime demonstratedthat this adaptive autopilot could enable theresearch pilot to more accurately obtain andhold a desired angle of attack.

AFRL recently awarded a program to de-velop sense and avoid (SAA) technologies forunmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in forma-tion flight. The flight tests will demonstratesensing of noncooperative intruders and safeavoidance maneuvers of the UAS formations.

The Missile Defense Agency and the Pa-cific Fleet successfully executed tests of thenext-generation Aegis ballistic missile defenseweapons system, designed to engage longerrange, more complex target ballistic missiles.These tests, designed to evaluate detection,tracking, fire control, discrimination, kill-as-sessment, and reengagement decision func-tions, involved tracking and simulated engage-ments with several short-range, separating,ballistic missile targets. The tests also assessedsensor and telemetry data from the recentlylaunched Space Tracking Surveillance Systemsatellites.

Guidance,navigation,and control

LISA Pathfinder, precursor to the ESA/NASALaser Interferometer Space Antenna missionaimed at the first in-flight test of gravitationalwave detection metrology, successfully com-pleted test and validation of its space-baseddrag-free control system.

SpaceX successfully drop tested Dragon,its free-flying reusable spacecraft. A seconddemonstration will test the launch and separa-tion from a Falcon 9 launch platform, theDragon’s guidance and navigation systems,and the heat shield.

An innovative drag-free attitude controlsystem has enabled the GOCE (gravity fieldand steady-state ocean circulation explorer)satellite to map the Earth’s gravity field geoidswith unprecedented accuracy. GOCE achievesdrag-free flight by using a rear-mounted elec-tric ion propulsion system that generates lowthrust in the satellite flight direction. The sys-tem automatically produces continuous thrustto compensate for buffeting effects from theresidual air encountered by the satellite in its250-km-altitude orbit. GOCE also is the firstspacecraft to fly drag free in LEO using elec-tric propulsion.

Thales Alenia Space-France presented itsbaseline attitude and orbit control system de-sign approach for critical operational modesrequiring fine precision pointing with fully de-ployed flexible appendages. The method usesH-infinity and μ-analysis techniques for thedesign and analysis of flexible satellite controllaws. This technique is applied to Thales

telecommunicationsatellites that pres-ent large structuralbending modes be-cause of flexible ar-rays and fuel slosh.The technique hasbeen successfullydeployed and eval-uated on 15 Space-Bus4000 telecomplatforms launchedsince 2003.

The AutomaticGround CollisionAvoidance System

(Auto-GCAS) successfully demonstrated thecapability to prevent accidents caused by nui-sance fly-ups in a full range of tactical flyingscenarios on the AFRL/NASA F-16 testbed.

by Luisella Giulicchi,Daniel Clancy,and Leena Singh

AEROSPACE SCIENCES

GOCE’s innovative drag-freeattitude control system hasenabled it to map Earth’sgravity field geoids withunprecedented accuracy.



Aerodynamicmeasurement technology

Researchers at the Laboratory for TurbulenceResearch in Aerospace and Combustion(LTRAC) at Monash University in Melbourne,Australia, led by Julio Soria, have been collab-orating with researchers from the EngineMeasurement Techniques group, led by ChrisWillert at the German Aerospace Center’s(DLR) Institute of Propulsion Technology, onultra-high-speed Schlieren imaging of super-sonic jet flows at up to 1 MHz. The workmakes use of recent advances in light emittingdiode (LED) technology that has resulted inhigh-power, single-chip devices that provideluminous radiant fluxes exceeding severalwatts. Developments at DLR by Willert and byBoleslaw Stasicki have increased the instanta-neous light emission of these LEDs, operatedin pulsed current mode to levels comparableto those of photographic (xenon) flash units,making them a suitable light source for ultra-high-speed instantaneous Schlieren imaging.

Unlike commonly used xenon flash units,an LED can be triggered within tens of nano-seconds at rise times on the order of 100nsec, thereby enabling stroboscopic illumina-tion at megahertz rates. The LED driving elec-tronics were synchronized to the ultra-high-speed 1-MHz Schlieren imaging systemdeveloped at LTRAC by Daniel Mitchell,Adam Risborg, and Soria to provide time-re-solved Schlieren visualizations of an under-expanded supersonic jet impinging on a flatplate. Compared to images obtained with axenon white light flash, the nearly monochro-matic green light of the LED results in muchcrisper flow features with superior repeatabil-ity in intensity, without any speckle artifactscommonly found with laser illumination.

Ronald K. Hanson’s research group atStanford University is providing tunable diodelaser absorption sensor technology for thenew NASA/AFOSR (Air Force Office of Sci-entific Research) Center for Hypersonic Com-bined Cycle Propulsion at the University ofVirginia, led by James McDaniel and Christo-pher Goyne. In the first year, Stanford per-formed time-resolved gas temperature andcombustion product water vapor measure-ments with a 250-kHz measurement band-width in the model scramjet at the Universityof Virginia. Stanford also developed a velocitysensor for precision velocity measurementsand tested it in the Direct Connect Hyper-sonic Combustor Test Facility at NASA Lang-

by Thomas P. Jenkinsand the AIAA AerodynamicMeasurement TechniquesTechnical Committee

ley. Time-resolved measurements in theMach-2 flow quantified the startup time of thisblowdown facility, and spatially translatedmeasurements have been used to validateNASA’s CFD simulations.

Researchers at Auburn University haveused planar laser induced fluorescence of ace-tone vapor to measure the 2D density field ofthe separated flow behind a hemisphere. Inthese experiments, liquid acetone was injectedinto the supply stream of a blowdown tran-sonic wind tunnel. The acetone evaporated,forming an acetone vapor/air mixture that ex-panded through the nozzle and into the 4x4-in. cross section. A UVlaser sheet using thefourth harmonic outputof an Nd:YAG pulsedlaser was used to inducefluorescence of the ace-tone molecules, with theresulting signal being di-rectly proportional tothe flow density.

JAXA (the JapaneseAerospace ExplorationAgency) has developeda magnetic suspensionand balance system(MSBS) that eliminatesthe need for a physicalmodel support. TheMSBS avoids interfer-ence due to supports inwind tunnel tests, re-vealing the true aerody-namic characteristics ofthe model, especially athigh angles of attack(AOA) and for large-scale separated flows.

JAXA succeeded indemonstrating the world’s first 6-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) force measurement of anaircraft model at a 15-deg AOA in a 20-m/sec airflow while levitating the wing-body-type AGARD-B model in a 60x60-cm low-speed wind tunnel, practically doubling theprevious 6-DOF measurement record of 8deg AOA. This was accomplished by increas-ing the power of the drag coil, enabling theaircraft model to be suspended at up to 35deg AOA, theoretically. JAXA began researchon the MSBS in 1986, independently devel-oping the present system, which succeeded inthe world’s first full 6-DOF simultaneous con-trol and force measurement. It has been inpractical use since 2000.

A model scramjetat the Universityof Virginia usesStanford tunablediode laser sensorsfor monitoringthe temperatureand degree ofcombustioncompleteness inthe combustorexhaust.



extended-extended mission (XXM), called theCassini Solstice Mission, enables study of theseasonal and other long-term weather varia-tions. The 155 orbits of the XXM tour are de-signed to maximize the number of satellite fly-bys, especially encounters with moons Titanand Enceladus. The final phase of the tour isin many ways similar to the Juno mission atJupiter, which would provide unique opportu-nities to investigate the Saturnian magneto-sphere and gravity field in depth. In June, theCassini spacecraft performed the lowest Titanflyby of the entire mission at an altitude ofonly 880 km.On April 15, President Obama delivered a

major space exploration speech at KennedySpace Center. A new element of his plan is tolaunch a human mission to an asteroid by2025; this would serve as a stepping-stone toa crewed orbital mission to Mars in the mid-2030s, with a landing as a follow-up. Becauseof this new vision, the astrodynamics aspectsof sending and returning crewed missions tonear Earth objects are being studied closely bymany space organizations.JAXA launched two missions, Akatsuki

and IKAROS (interplanetary kite-craft acceler-ated by radiation of the Sun), aboard an H-IIA202 rocket on May 20. The Akatsuki space-craft, also known as Planet-C, will arrive atVenus this month and will study its atmo-sphere and surface. IKAROS is a solar sailtechnology demonstration mission using a200-m2, 0.3-mm-thick polyimide experimen-tal sail. The sail was successfully deployed onJune 10, making IKAROS the first fully oper-ating interplanetary solar sail mission. Thespacecraft, solely powered by sunlight, is cur-rently on a six-month cruise to Venus.On June 13, Japan’s Hayabusa spacecraft

made its glorious return to Earth after a seven-year journey to the asteroid Itokawa. TheHayabusa mission is the first Earth return of alow-thrust spacecraft. On its return trajectorythe craft surmounted a number of challengingobstacles and managed to land in the SouthAustralian Outback while the bus broke intopieces and created a spectacular fireball.Also in the area of small-body exploration,

ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft successfully flew byasteroid 21-Lutetia, the largest asteroid visitedby a spacecraft, at a distance of 3,162 km onJuly 10. The EPOXI (extrasolar planet obser-vation and deep impact extended investiga-tion) mission encountered its final destination,comet Hartley 2, on November 4. The flybyoccurred at a radius of 700 km and comet rel-ative velocity of 12.3 km/sec.by Ryan S. Park

AEROSPACE SCIENCES

Astrodynamics

In February, a challenging mission to theMoon was cleared for mission implementa-tion. NASA approved sending two of theouter THEMIS (time history of events andmacroscale interactions during substorms)probes into lunar orbits to make measure-ments of the lunar wake, magnetotail, and so-lar wind through 2012. This new mission isnamed ARTEMIS (acceleration, reconnection,turbulence, and electrodynamics of Moon in-teraction with the Sun), and implementationwas carried out in collaboration with Univer-sity of California-Berkeley, JPL, and NASAGoddard. ARTEMIS is the first mission toconsider placing an Earth-orbiting constella-tion into a lunar constellation.Given the limited resources and schedul-

ing, finding a practically feasible mission de-sign was an extremely challenging task. Aftera series of orbit-raising maneuvers at Earth,both probes followed low-energy transfer tra-jectories into Lissajous orbits around Earth-Moon Lagrange points. After lunar orbit in-sertions, targeted for April 2011, the probeswill orbit the Moon for 18 months. This willbe followed by controlled crashes of bothprobes onto the lunar surface.Also in February, NASA announced the

second extension of the international Cassini-Huygens mission to explore the Saturniansystem until 2017, the time of summer sol-stice in Saturn’s northern hemisphere. The

The Hayabusa capsule, whichreturned to Earth after aseven-year journey to asteroidItokawa, is seen on the right,leading the debris anddisintegration of the spacecraft.Courtesy JAXA/NASA.

ARTEMIS, which will orbit theMoon for 18 months beginning inApril 2011, followed a low-energytransfer trajectory. CourtesyUC-Berkeley/NASA Goddard/JPL.



transducers than are traditionally used by fixed-array techniques.With support from NASA, University of

Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers per-formed the first-ever computational optimalaeroacoustic control of a turbulent Mach-1.3jet. The team used an adjoint-based optimiza-tion methodology with LES. The controlled jetwas 3.0 dB quieter in the peak radiation di-rection without increasing the sideline radi-ated noise. Experimental verification of thepredicted controller’s performance is planned.Cavity noise control efforts advanced on

many fronts. Digital Fusion, Kord Technolo-gies, and the University ofTennessee Space Insti-tute, with support fromAFRL, investigated amodified rod-in-crossflowdevice in cavities repre-sentative of the F-35weapons bay, using directeddy simulations and ex-periments. Initial resultsindicate that the modifieddevice would be effectiveeven in the supersonicregime. Resesarchers at the University ofFlorida, with support from AFOSR, investi-gated the effects of open- and closed-loopcontrol on the cavity flow field. Open-loop ex-periments using steady leading-edge blowingshowed nearly 50% reductions in unsteadypressure fluctuations at Mach 1.4 conditions.Closed-loop studies on subsonic (less thanMach 0.6) conditions used a zero-net mass-flux piezoelectric actuator array with differentfeedback control algorithms, achieving about20% reductions.In the area of rocket noise, NASA Mar-

shall characterized the ballistic profile, ignitiontransient, internal acoustics, and far-fieldacoustic pressure response of several full-scalesolid rocket motors including Ares I-X,SRTMV-N1, and the RSRMV-DM2. Ares Iscale-model acoustic test (ASMAT) testing,which began this year, is a 5% subscale testseries that uses 18 rocket-assisted takeoff(RATO) solid rocket motor test firings. Eachvertical ASMAT test incorporates over 120high-frequency acoustic instruments to cap-ture internal motor, ground, and liftoffacoustics; ignition overpressure; and spatialcorrelation measurements for source location.Data from these tests will be used to deter-mine full-scale acoustic launch environmentsand corresponding sound suppression sys-tems for NASA Kennedy.

Aeroacoustics

This year the “war on noise” advanced thephysical understanding, prediction, and reduc-tion of aerodynamically generated noise.Future aircraft concepts with aggressive

technology goals continued to mature. NASALangley, in collaboration with Boeing, UCIrvine, MIT, and United Technologies Re-search Center (UTRC), is preparing for aero-dynamic and acoustic testing of the hybridwing body concept. The design shows poten-tial for producing cumulative noise reductionsof up to 42 EPNdB (effective perceived noisedecibels) and consuming 25% less fuel than aBoeing 777. Wyle Labs conducted a studyand recommended a research plan to assessthe complex human response to low-fre-quency and infrasonic noise generated by theNASA-designed large civil tiltrotor.NTS (National Technical Systems), Russia,

and Boeing explored the fundamentals of air-frame noise predictions on a rudimentarylanding gear model. The model was one offour problems at the first Benchmark Prob-lems for Airframe Noise Computations work-shop. Noise calculations via CFD simulationand the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings methoddid not confirm the expected dominance ofwall-pressure contributions at low Mach num-bers. Experimental and computational investi-gation continues.Jet noise research on source identification

and modification attracted significant interest.UTRC investigated modifications of large-scale turbulence structures by chevron-typenozzles for subsonic and supersonic heatedflows. Flight effects for supersonic nozzles atfreestream Mach numbers up to 0.4 expandon available classical databases. General Elec-tric demonstrated large eddy simulation (LES)-based design differentiation capability over arange of subsonic nozzle configurations at theLES for Jet Noise Prediction workshop atNASA Glenn. CRAFT Tech used LES for pre-dicting supersonic jet noise at takeoff/landingfor carrier-borne strike aircraft. The simula-tions agreed with test data including observedtwin screech tones and broadband associatedshock noise.ATA Engineering developed a continuous-

scan acoustical holography system, with sup-port from AFRL. Experiments conducted atPenn State demonstrated that the new con-tinuous-scan signal processing can deliver “ef-fectively infinite” spatial resolution, enablinghigh-frequency measurements using fewer

by David Alvordand Abraham Meganathan

An ASMAT horizontal RATOmotor characterization test isconducted at NASA Marshall.



AEROSPACE SCIENCES

placing the refrigeration plant and heat ex-changer for the Icing Research Tunnel) werealso begun and funded as part of the Ameri-can Recovery and Reinvestment Act program.

At Aerospace Corporation, a new state-of-the-art turbopump cavitation test facility wascommissioned. This new water flow facility re-cently completed qualification testing using aquarter-scale model of the space shuttle mainengine low-pressure oxidizer pump and is nowfully operational and available for testing.

The Aerodynamics Laboratory of the Na-tional Research Council Canada upgraded its0.9-m 3/4-open-jet, closed-circuit wind tun-nel. This will allow aeroacoustic testing to beperformed in conjunction with the lab’s cur-rent aerodynamic capability for aerospace andautomotive applications.

The Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 at theArnold Engineering Development Center inWhite Oak, Maryland, successfully returned toservice after a renovation of the main tunnelcontroller and the installation of a new state-of-the-art digital control room. The tunnel alsoimplemented a global heat-transfer measure-ment system that can operate simultaneouslywith traditional measurement techniques dur-ing a continuous-pitch sweep and does notsignificantly increase the test program’s sched-ule or cost. The resulting global heat-transfermaps offer considerable insight into the aero-thermal environment experienced by the testarticle.

In the U.K., the Aircraft Research Associ-ation developed a highly productive pressuresensitive paint (PSP) capability for its 9x8-ftTransonic Wind Tunnel over the full Machnumber range. Compared with conventionalpressure measurement techniques, PSP pro-vides noncontact, full-field measurements oncomplex aerodynamic surfaces with high spa-tial resolution.

Meanwhile, researchers from NASA Lang-ley, Ohio State University, and the Universityof Iowa implemented a novel megahertz-ratelaser-based measurement system in Langley’sMach-10 tunnel to obtain global qualitativeand quantitative measurements of the flow-field structure in hypersonic flows.

A team from the Japan Aerospace Explo-ration Agency used state-of-the-art CFDmethods to determine the optimum spacerheight required in a half-model wind tunneltest. This final example is typical of the grow-ing integration of high-end computationaltools with ground test techniques around theworld, offering exciting new possibilities to theground testing community.

Ground testing

This year has seen significant progress in test-ing capabilities at major ground test centers.

New facilities have been commis-sioned to address specific testingneeds, and existing facilities havebeen upgraded to provide cus-tomers with more data while main-taining or reducing overall testcosts. In addition, facilities aroundthe world have continued to de-velop new testing methodologiesand measurement techniques toenhance understanding of flowphysics and to provide engineerswith greater insights into the per-formance of their test articles.

Despite these positive develop-ments, a combination of uncertain workloads,limited budgets for maintenance, and an aginginfrastructure have continued to erode theavailability of state-of-the-art ground test facil-ities throughout the U.S. The list of defunctfacilities has grown with the decommissioningof the Langley Full-Scale Tunnel and the dem-olition of the North American Trisonic WindTunnel, which closed in 2007. Representa-tives of NASA, DOD, and U.S. industry arecontinuing discussions to address the declineof existing test infrastructure.

At NASA Glenn, the open rotor propul-sion rig, originally conceived in the 1980s,was refurbished to help industry develop newengines based on unducted turbofan technol-ogy. In addition, the Altitude CombustionStand began operation. This new state-of-the-art facility is capable of testing gaseous hydro-gen, gaseous oxygen, liquid hydrogen, liquidoxygen, and liquid methane rocket engines upto 2,000 lb thrust and rocket chamber pres-sure to 1,000 psia. Two major test facility en-hancement projects (adding icing capability tothe Propulsion Systems Laboratory and re-by Julien Weiss

Cavitation of the spaceshuttle main engine LOXinducer is observed underoff-design conditions.

An Aerojet 100-lbf engineundergoes testing in theNASA Glenn AltitudeCombustion Stand.



tional research andengineering acquisi-tion tools and envi-ronments) programwas established inFY08 to enable ma-jor improvements inengineering designand analysis pro-cesses. The pro-gram seeks to de-velop and deployscalable, multidisci-plinary physics-based computa-tional engineering products for the design andanalysis of ships, air vehicles, and RF anten-nas. CREATE is a multiinstitutional, multiser-vice, multiagency, and multidisciplinary pro-gram with participation by the Navy, AirForce, Army, OSD, industry, and academia.The Air Vehicles program, CREATE-AV, re-leased two products in FY10, the fixed-wingdesign tool KESTRELv1.0, and the rotorcraftdesign tool HELIOSv1.0.NVIDIA and other graphics hardware ven-

dors have invested in GPUs (graphics pro-cessing units) that are designed to be mas-sively parallel accelerators to conventionalCPUs. Recent GPU performance achieve-ments for aerodynamics applications havebeen reported by several noted organizationsincluding BAE Systems, George Mason Uni-versity, Stanford, Oxford, and Cambridge.Growing interest in GPUs for CFD is evidentfrom the increasing number of relevant pa-pers at conferences. Commercial software hasprogressed, and practically every major soft-ware vendor has a GPU initiative, with somehaving released products this year.The Boeing 787-8 flight test program has

validated several innovative aerodynamicdrag-reduction technologies, including a trail-ing-edge variable camber system designed tooptimize the loading of the wing, nacelle cowlsdesigned for natural laminar flow and re-duced viscous drag, and a simple-hingedflap combined with drooped spoilers.A new approach for predicting boundary-

layer transition in CFD analysis and design oflaminar flow aircraft has been developed atNASA Langley. Called MATTC, this empiricalmethod gives detailed information on bound-ary-layer modal growth, but with greatly re-duced computational resources relative to ex-isting methods. It is currently being extendedand evaluated in a cooperative effort with theDLR in Germany.

Applied aerodynamics

The NASA Common Research Model (CRM),used in the Fourth Drag Prediction Workshop(DPW-IV, http://aaac.larc.nasa.gov/tsab/cfdlarc/aiaa-dpw/) was tested in NASA’s Na-tional Transonic Facility and 11-ft Wind Tun-nel. Preliminary results were presented at the28th Applied Aerodynamics (APA) Confer-ence. Predictions from DPW-IV participants,summaries, and statistical results were offeredin three dedicated sessions. A special CRMexperimental data session will take place atthe 49th Aerospace Sciences Meeting nextJanuary. As a continuation of DPW-IV work,a NASA/Boeing effort extended grid refine-ments beyond 2 billion points, validating thatCFD processes are capable of handling thegrowth of production-class CFD simulationsfor many years.The High Lift Prediction Workshop (Hi-

LiftPW) was created to assess the numericalprediction capability of CFD technology forswept medium/high-aspect ratio wings inlanding/takeoff configurations, develop mod-eling guidelines, and advance the understand-ing of high-lift flow physics. The first work-shop (HiLiftPW-1, http://hiliftpw.larc.nasa.gov), colocated with the 28th APA Confer-ence, used the open NASA trap wing configu-ration. It attracted 21 participants from eightcountries and 18 organizations. Trends due toflap angle were analyzed, and the effects ofgrid family, grid density, solver, and turbulencemodel were addressed. A statistical analysis ofthe CFD collective results was performed.In an effort concluding last spring, NASA

funded six industry/university teams to exam-ine transportation scenarios, advanced aircraftconfigurations, and revolutionary technologyfor commercial aircraft of 2030 and beyond.The purpose was to foster innovative ap-proaches to achieve vast gains in efficiencyand reductions in environmental impact.NASA will use the defined technology suitesand development roadmaps to prioritize fu-ture research. A team led by Boeing used aportfolio of ideas to reduce fuel burn by morethan 70%. Likewise, a team headed by MIT/Aurora/Pratt & Whitney presented a low-noise aircraft concept estimated to meet fuelburn, emissions, and field-length goals. Super-sonics teams, led by Boeing and LockheedMartin, identified innovative airframe shapingas a viable approach to achieving acceptablesonic boom.The DOD 12-year CREATE (computa-

by Andrew McComasand Stephen LeDoux

A Boeing-led team used aportfolio of innovations todesign an craft that couldprovide a 70% increase infuel economy.



SPT15 turbofan engine intended to powerthe X-48C in 2011.AeroVironment successfully completed

the first flight of the Global Observer strato-spheric unmanned aircraft system from Ed-wards AFB in August. The aircraft flew the ini-tial 1-hr flight on battery power as a precursorto later flights using the hybrid liquid-hydro-gen/electric propulsion system. Global Ob-server is designed to fly at altitudes of 55,000-65,000 ft for durations of five to seven daysand serves as a platform for communicationand sensor payloads.Northrop Grumman was awarded $517

million to develop up to three long-endurancemulti-intelligence vehicle (LEMV) systems forthe Army. LEMV is a new hybrid airshipweapons system and will be deployed in Af-ghanistan in 2011.The Navy UCAS-D X-47B completed its

slow and medium-speed taxi tests at NorthropGrumman’s production plant in Palmdale,Calif. It is currently undergoing preparationsfor its first flight at Edwards AFB this month.NASA Global Hawk completed four sci-

ence flights over the Pacific Ocean in April aspart of the Global Hawk Pacific mission, ajoint NASA-NOAA project with NorthropGrumman support. Fitted with 11 science in-struments, the craft acquired and transmitteddata that have not previously been accessiblethrough either manned flights or satellites.The flights also marked the first time a GlobalHawk has flown as far as 85° north latitude.On September 2, the UAV supported a

science research flight over Hurricane Earl tobetter understand how tropical storms formand develop into major hurricanes.Solar Impulse, the first manned airplane

designed to fly continuously without fuel, per-formed its maiden flight on April 7 and flewfor 26 hr solely on solar energy. The final goalof this project is to demonstrate the potentialof renewable energy by a five-stage flightaround the world in 2013.

by Mujahid Abdulrahim,Bruce Owens,Peggy S.Hayes,and Michael Kisska

AEROSPACE SCIENCES

Atmospheric flightmechanics

NASA completed the first pad abort flight testof the Orion launch abort system (LAS) onMay 6. The test met the flight test objectives,including propelling the crew module a safedistance away from the launch pad and assess-ing the stability and control characteristics ofthe launch abort vehicle. The test also deter-mined the performance of the abort, jettison,and attitude control motors within the LAS,demonstrated the abort event sequencing, andobtained structural loads and acoustics data atthe LAS and crew model interface.Orion’s LAS provides an emergency es-

cape system for the crew if a life-threateningissue arises either on the launch pad or duringthe vehicle’s ascent to orbit. The abort flighttests use uncrewed vehicles, although the vehi-cles have outer mold lines and mass propertiessimilar to those of the production Orion crewmodule and LAS. Data from the abort flighttests will allow NASA to validate key abortmodels for LAS performance, parachute sys-tem performance, separation aerodynamics,and separation mechanism performance.Boeing completed Flight 80 of the X-48B

on March 19 and its stated Phase-1 flight testobjectives. The program achieved edge-of-envelope maneuvers, including stalls, side-slips, and departure limiter assaults. A final re-port was drafted and submitted to NASA andAFRL customers on May 28, and a Phase-1technical out-brief took place on August 5.The X-48B flight vehicle and ground con-

trol station (GCS) began an extensive mainte-nance and upgrade program that includes acontinued airworthiness structural inspection,installation of an upgraded flight control com-puter, overhaul of the parachute and recoverysystems, as well as software upgrades for boththe aircraft and GCS.The X-48B resumed flight tests with a

checkout flight in September to perform itsPhase-1.5 follow-on test maneuvers, includingsingle-surface parameter identification evalua-tions and a flying testbed evaluation of the

The Global Observer approachesits landing site at Edwards AFBduring its first flight. CopyrightAeroVironment.



satisfying test objectives and restoring thechamber’s thermal test capability.

Scientists at NASA Marshall and the AirForce Research Laboratory, using data fromthe floating potential measurement unit onthe ISS, have shown that charging events av-eraging less than 1 min in duration sometimesoccur when the ISS is coming out of eclipse.

Atmosphericand space environments

McGill CFD Lab and Newmerical Technolo-gies International intensified their develop-ment of 3D in-flight icing tools embedded intothe system now known as FENSAP-ICE. Theyhave developed a truly unsteady in-flight iceaccretion methodology that dispenses with de-ciding how many time intervals to take duringice accretion. In addition, the two groups havedeveloped reduced-order models to analyti-cally explore the entire FAA In-Flight IcingCertification envelope and identify worst-caseicing and worst-case performance conditionsusing only a few 3D simulations. Finally, theyhave demonstrated arbitrary Eulerian La-grangian mesh movement algorithms thatpermit the calculation of long-time ice accre-tion without the need for remeshing.

NASA and the Instituto Nacional de Téc-nica Aeroespacial (INTA) in Madrid conductedan experiment to obtain droplet breakup dataon an airfoil configuration. The experimentused an airfoil model in the rotating rig testcell at INTA along with a monosize dropletgenerator. High-speed imaging was used forobserving the interaction between the dropletsand the airfoil as well as droplet deformationand breakup. Tracking software was used tomeasure the droplet displacement and calcu-late velocity and acceleration. The velocityand acceleration, together with experimentalvalues of the air velocity at the locations of thedroplets, were used to calculate the Weber,Reynolds, and Bond numbers and drag coeffi-cients along the droplet path. This is the firsttime that a systematic study of droplet defor-mation and breakup has been conducted fordroplets approaching the leading edge of anairfoil, and the first time that the importantparameters have been directly measuredand/or calculated along the path of thedroplets from initial deformation to breakupand contact with the airfoil.

A checkout test was conducted in theArnold Engineering Development Center’sMark 1 thermal vacuum chamber to completereactivation of the liquid nitrogen (LN2) coolingsystem. The Mark 1 is a 42-ft-diam, 82-ft-highspace environment simulation test chamber.The requirement for the shroud cooldown wasto provide a test environment that was coolerthan 100 K, and temperatures as low as 86 Kwere achieved. An infrared camera was usedto view the progression of LN2 through thecooling panels. The checkout was successful in

by Dustin Criderand the AIAA Atmosphericand Space EnvironmentsTechnical Committee

The Mark 1 thermal vacuumchamber, viewed from the top,is a 42-ft-diam, 82-ft-high spaceenvironment simulation testchamber.

The events may be of high amplitude andseem to be caused by abnormally high elec-tron current collection on ISS conductorswhen adjacent insulators are as yet unchargedby the daytime plasma. The events also seemto be affected by the earthly weather condi-tions at the point where the Sun is rising forISS. Partly cloudy conditions may lead tocomplex charging signatures in time, withclear patches leading to a high, open-circuitvoltage and corresponding to charging peaksin the floating potential probe output on themeasurement unit.

AIAA has published an updated version ofthe Guide to Reference and Standard Atmo-sphere Models as AIAA-G-OO3C-2010. Thisdocument provides a summary for more than78 national and international reference andstandard atmosphere models. The guide hasbeen used extensively as a source documentfor information on models pertaining to aero-space engineering applications. It includesnew contributions solicited from several modeldevelopers, both national and international.(Copies may be obtained at www.aiaa.orgwithout charge to AIAA members.)



AEROSPACE SCIENCES

will help guide efforts to develop additionaltraining methods and technologies, both insimulation and on board the aircraft, that mayreduce the number of LOC-I accidents.

To improve safety, ICATEE’s training andregulations working group is developingstrategies that may include additional flighttraining and other regulatory changes forearly career pilots, as well as changes in thetraining aids themselves.

As air traffic management is being definedin the Next Generation (NextGen) program,simulation is playing a large role in the estab-lishment of the system requirements. It willalso play an important role in the testing ofthe new guidance algorithms that will enableNextGen.

In addition to its work in support of avia-tion safety, the simulation industry continues

to develop more cost-effective simulation ca-pabilities based on commercial-off-the-shelfproducts, particularly for visual systems.Greater use of the growing capabilities ofGPUs (graphical processor units) is increasingthe overall capabilities and fidelity of simula-tion. High-rate LED flat panel displays also of-fer the possibility of further reducing visualsystem transport delays. Continuing researchfocuses on increasing the fidelity and trainingtransfer of simulation motion systems.

Areas where the aerospace simulation in-dustry has seen improvement, such as predic-tive modeling, motion control, human percep-tion and action, and system design, are alsoseeing increased spinoffs to other sectors.These include telerobotic surgery, rehabilita-tion research, and solutions to help the dis-abled and injured. A major facility for these ac-tivities is the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

Modeling and simulation

Aviation safety experts are turning to themodeling and simulation community for helpin reducing loss of control in flight (LOC-I) ac-cidents, the leading cause of aviation fatalities.Multiple government agencies and interna-tional organizations, including the AIAA Mod-eling and Simulation Technical Committee,have partnered to form the InternationalCommittee for Aviation Training in the Ex-tended Envelopes (ICATEE). This group hastaken a dual-stream approach to addressingboth short-term and long-term solutions to theproblem of LOC-I accidents: The ICATEEtraining and regulations group has created atraining matrix that identifies the requirementsfor improving pilot awareness, recognition,avoidance, and recov-ery as part of their skillsets. The intention isto take a graduatedapproach to incorpo-rating these recom-mendations and to useexisting hardware asmuch as possible aswell as advanced toolsfor academic training.

ICATEE’s researchand technology grouphas been reviewingtraining device fidelitywith a particular focuson the aerodynamicdatabases in the ex-tended envelope. Thegroup has also been making recommenda-tions that could improve the realism of flighttraining within the cockpit environment itself.

One major current shortcoming is the abil-ity of simulator-based scenarios to reproducethe surprise factor during training. While tech-nology can help to increase the realism of thesimulator, even safety-critical events becomemundane when they recur during training.Thus the role of the instructor and the devel-opment of appropriate scenarios are bothhelpful.

Another area of great interest is the fidelityof the simulation “atmosphere” inside thecockpit. Both type-specific and generic sce-narios based on real events are being createdfor use in simulation training. These scenariosare intended to provide more realistic work-load and increase the surprise factor in train-ing. The research working group of ICATEE

by the AIAA Modelingand SimulationTechnical Committee

ICATEE has been makingrecommendations thatcould improve the realismof flight training withinthe cockpit environment.


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pod, Delta Hawk, for retrofit on the A-170airship. A new Lightsign and an A-60R en-gine upgrade are under development. TheABC-built Navy MZ-3A was flown fromYuma, Arizona, to Mobile, Alabama, to assistin monitoring the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.TCOM LP has developed a new tactical

aerostat system designated 22M. It will carrydouble payloads at twice the altitudes andtwice the power of the 17M tactical used inIraq. TCOM has been awarded contracts for13 of the 22M systems.Lockheed Martin received a $133-million

contract for eight aerostat persistent threatdetection systems (PTDS) in October 2009.They will be used in Afghanistan and Iraq. ILCDover will have delivered a total of 40 PTDSenvelopes to Lockheed Martin by the end ofthis year. In addition, ILC Dover will deliver420,000-ft3 and 275,000-ft3 aerostats forTethered Aerostat Radar Systems supplied toLockheed Martin.Airship Ventures, based at the former Mof-

fett Field Navy base, assisted scientists fromthe SETI Institute and NASA in studying thesalt ponds and microscopic organisms in SanFrancisco Bay during October 2009. In Mayof this year the NT-07 flew from Moffett Fieldto San Diego to establish a new class recordfor the 10-hr, 459-mi. flight.Sanswire took receipt of its 111-ft STS-

111 (Stratellite) multisegmented airship fromthe TAO organization in Germany. Sanswirehas developed its 126-ft SkySat for testingand demonstration to potential customers byGlobal Telesat.Digital Design and Imaging Services has

built a balloon-supported “9-Eye” camera,which it uses for documenting surveillancetower placement.

Lighter-than-air systems

The Army Space and Missile Defense Com-mand awarded Northrop Grumman a $517-million contract to develop three LEMV (longendurance multiintelligence vehicle) hybrid air-ship systems. The basic LEMV performancerequirements include a three-week endurance,an optionally unmanned, 20,000-ft operatingaltitude, a 2,500-lb payload, 16 kW of pay-load power, an 80-kt dash speed, and a 20-ktstationkeeping speed. A five-year period oftest and support will include delivery in 18months, followed by test and demonstration inAfghanistan.Other members of the development team

include Hybrid Air Vehicles in the U.K., whichhas been testing a one-sixth-scaled version;ILC Dover, which will fabricate the nonrigidenvelopes, Warwick Mills, supplier of the fab-ric; AA1, furnisher of UAV control systemssoftware; and SAIC, which will provide theground environment for processing and dis-semination of sensor data.E-Green Technologies has acquired rights

from 21st Century to develop the Bullet 580airship. It will carry a NASA and Old Domin-ion University payload to measure moisturecontent in soil. E-Green currently flies a 125-ft scaled version.SAIC plans to develop several Skyship

nonrigid airships with envelope volumes of80,000 ft3 (currently operating), 138,000 ft3,and 185,000 ft3. Each could be piloted or re-motely controlled. They would carry payloadsof 1,000 to 2,000 lb. A 1.5 million-ft3 cargotransport airship also is under study.SAIC has teamed with Zeppelin Luft-

schifftechnik in Germany to produce a newmultipurpose airship, the MPZ 07, a pilot-op-tional version of the semirigid NT-07.This year Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei,

which began operations in 1997, carried its100,000th passenger. Zeppelin has developeda long-distance kit that includes additional fueltanks and transfer equipment. It was demon-strated during a 24-hr 40-min flight covering783 n.mi. NT-07 airship No. 5, with 15 pass-enger seats, is under construction. Zeppelinbought NT-07 No. 2 from Japan’s NipponAirship, which has ceased operation. No. 2probably will be rebuilt in Friedrichshafen,Germany.American Blimp (ABC) has downsized its

organization, both in Oregon and at its Light-ship Group in Florida. Current activities in-clude development of a heavy fuel engineby Norman Mayer

AIRCRAFT AND ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEMS

Northrop Grumman will build the long-endurance hybridairship for the Army.

AT.1210.final.qxd:AA-December 11/9/10 3:53 PM Page 2


endurance record set in 1986 by the Voyager,which stayed aloft for nine days.

NASA flew the first research mission withits Global Hawk on a 14-hr flight over the Pa-cific Ocean, from the Dryden Research Cen-ter nearly to Alaska and back, flying at alti-tudes in excess of 60,000 ft. The researchairplane carries 11 instruments to sample theair and profile the dynamics and meteorologyof the atmosphere.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight testfleet passed the 1,000-hr mark in June. Gulf-stream introduced a new airplane, the G250,and conducted the first flight test in December2009. Scaled Composites’ SpaceShipTwocompleted a crewed “captive carry” flight testaboard WhiteKnightTwo in July, and followedthat with the first piloted gliding flight ofSpaceShipTwo in October after it was re-leased from WhiteKnightTwo at an altitude ofabout 45,000 ft.

In rotorcraft testing this year, the SikorskyX2 demonstrated its high-speed capabilities,setting an unofficial record of 250 kt with itscoaxial rotor and pusher-prop configuration.Kaman’s autonomous K-MAX cargo resupplyvehicle demonstrated autonomous and re-motely piloted capabilities that included deliv-ering sling loads and cargo loads of 3,000 lbflying 150-n.mi. round trips. A sensor systemto enable helicopter landings in dust “brown-out” situations was tested in full brownoutconditions at the Yuma Proving Ground, Ari-zona, in September 2009 aboard an EH-60L.The 3D-LZ system consists of a dust-tolerantladar sensor with a display symbology systemthat enables a pilot to land or identify unsafeconditions and execute a go-around duringbrownout conditions.

Flight testing

NASA successfully launched the Ares I-X de-velopment flight test vehicle in October 2009,demonstrating excellent control of the first-stage flight of the booster, whose tall, slenderdesign had been planned for use in the Con-stellation program. This launch was followedin May by a successful demonstration of thecapsule abort system, using solid-rocket con-trol motors.

In further testing of vehicles for access tospace, the Air Force successfully launched theX-37B orbital test vehicle on an Atlas Vrocket in April. Designed to be a reusablespaceplane, the X-37B is a test platform forexperiments in space.

Another success in flight testing occurredin May when the X-51 scramjet-poweredWaveRider was dropped from a B-52 and seta record for the longest hypersonic flight ever,flying at Mach 5 for about 3 min.

In February the Airborne Laser Testbed, amodified Boeing 747-400 fitted with a pow-erful chemical laser and a precise targetingsystem, successfully demonstrated the firstshoot-down of a ballistic missile during boostphase using a directed-energy weapon.

The Joint Strike Fighter program contin-ued testing in January with the first in-flightengagement of the F-35B STOVL (short take-off/vertical landing) propulsion system. Thefirst vertical landing took place in March. Thecarrier variant (F-35C) made its first flight inJune, bringing all three planned variants (con-ventional, carrier, and STOVL) into the flighttesting phase.

The Stratospheric Observatory for In-frared Astronomy (SOFIA), a modified Boeing747SP with a 100-in.-diam reflective tele-scope, made its first in-flight night observa-tions. SOFIA flew at altitudes of 35,000 ft,above most of the atmospheric water vaporproblems that hinder ground-based observa-tions. When operational, the usual altitudesfor observations will be between 41,000 ftand 45,000 ft. The observatory will carry amaximum of 20 crewmembers for missionslasting up to 8 hr.

Solar-powered aircraft began breaking en-durance records this year. The piloted SolarImpulse flew on solar power for 26 hr in July,and the Zephyr UAV flew at 60,000 ft, re-maining aloft for two weeks. Zephyr’s flightbroke the previous unmanned airplane en-durance record of over 30 hr, set by a GlobalHawk in 2001, as well as the manned flight by Jay Brandon

Launch of the Ares I-Xdevelopment flight testvehicle took place onOctober 28, 2009.



NSC’s high altitude shuttle system (HASS),which has defense, science, and commercialapplications, continues to progress toward be-coming operational. HASS fully integrates aninnovative tactical launch system with a spe-cial high-altitude UAS for payload recovery.The system allows launches to be performedin winds of up to 30 kt with a two-personcrew from undeveloped sites (including ships).The design of the HASS shuttle UAV was op-timized for high-altitude payloads and theirsemiautonomous return to predeterminedlanding locations. To date, NSC has con-ducted over 100 HASS flights, returning pay-loads of up to 30 lb.

Smith College has continued to developcontrolled meteorological (CMET) balloons foruse in atmospheric research. These balloons,although similar in size to standard rawin-sondes, carry sophisticated sensors, have long-duration flight capability, and can repeatedlychange altitude on command via satellite. Re-cent analyses demonstrate that CMET bal-loons performing continuous soundings cansimultaneously measure trajectories over awide range of altitudes for periods of 30 hror more.

This new technique, which was found tobe more accurate than transport models inpredicting plume location, has applications inair-pollution and atmospheric process studiesand for tracking hazardous plumes in near-realtime. In an August study directed by the Nor-wegian Meteorological Institute, five CMETballoons were flown from Ny Ålesund, Nor-way (78.9° N), reaching new milestones forflight time (192 hr) and number of balloons inthe air at one time (four) as they dispersedover the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.

NASA’s flight program had its successesand challenges this year. Six flights were con-ducted from Antarctica. The CREAM (cosmicray energetic and mass) mission achieved over37 days’ flight duration, thus providing over155 days of cumulative exposure for the proj-ect. The BARREL (balloon array for RBSPrelativistic electron losses) project flew fourtest flights in preparation for a 40-flight cam-paign in 2012. The increased-volume super-pressure balloon failed going into float. Afteran investigation, changes were made in thedesign and another balloon was fabricated fortesting this month.

The Australia campaign supported twomissions: The TIGRE (Tracking and ImagingGamma Ray Experiment) mission flew for 57hr, and the Nuclear Compton Telescope mis-sion suffered a mishap during launch.

Balloon systems

This year brought progress in planetary bal-looning, controllable small balloons, and re-covery systems. These advances are stretch-ing the boundaries of traditional balloonmission concepts.

A JPL team conducted a successful aerialdeployment and inflation flight test on a 5.5-m-diam prototype Venus balloon. The balloonwas deployed and inflated with 7 kg of heliumgas while descending under a parachute with

aerodynamic conditionscomparable to those atVenus. Although the bal-loon was not later re-leased for free flights, allother steps in the processwere demonstrated, andthe balloon was recov-ered, inspected, andfound to be undamaged.This result demonstratesfurther maturing of theballoon technology re-quired at Venus for along-duration, cloud-levelballoon capable of carry-ing a 45-kg payload.

Near Space Corpora-tion (NSC) has developeda new large/heavy-liftballoon capability. Thiseffort allowed for a freshlook at scientific balloonparadigms and led tosome significant new ap-proaches, including useof a staged, packed-para-chute recovery system.The system uses adrogue chute for the ini-tial high-speed stabilizeddescent, followed by thedeployment of one ormore main chutes toslow the descent beforeimpact. The new recov-ery system significantlyreduces the descent timefrom altitude, the poten-tial landing footprint,shock loads, and oscilla-tion of the payload. It isapplicable to payloads

with masses ranging from a few hundred toseveral thousand pounds.


CMET balloons performingcontinuous soundings cansimultaneously measuretrajectories over a widerange of altitudes forperiods of 30 hr or more.

by the AIAABalloon SystemsTechnical Committee



lage. The company is proceeding to expand itinto a four-place certifiable airplane with a180-hp Lycoming engine.

Light sport deliveries were down this year,but the industry is holding its own, especiallywith both Piper and Cessna now producingLSA. A number of companies have re-sponded to complaints about high LSA pricesby offering economy models. Legend intro-duced the Classic J-3 for under $95,000, andFlight Design is displaying its CTLS Lite at$20,000 under the standard model. The com-pany also announced a new version of the CTdesigned specifically for glider tow, the CTLSHL (for high lift).

In June the FAA granted an allowable in-crease of 110 lb in gross weight to the Terra-fugia Transition roadable airplane. This shouldallow the aircraft to incorporate features thatenable it to meet federal highway safety stan-dards and still qualify as an LSA. A redesignedproduction prototype has already been devel-oped, and vehicle deliveries are anticipatedlate next year.

The general aviation industry still appearsto be in a slump, and layoffs continue.Mooney has shut down all new production,doing only customer service work with its re-maining 55 employees. Hawker Beech is de-pending on military contracts to offset its de-clining business aircraft sales. Still, industryanalysts remain optimistic and expect a turn-around soon.

General aviation

General aviation sales continued to declinethis year, but did so at a lesser rate than lastyear. Total shipments for the first half of thisyear were down 10% from last year. How-ever, in the same period last year they weredown 46% from the previous year, and 42%for all of 2009. Billings actually increasedslightly this year, a significant change from2009, when they declined for the first time inover a decade. Deliveries of high-end businessjets accounted for the increased billings, al-though shipments of all business jets dropped14% from last year.

The biggest change in deliveries was forpiston aircraft. Last year they had declined54%, but for the first half of this year the fig-ure was only 2%. Cirrus actually deliveredmore airplanes than in the same period lastyear, with 127 units, and was the largest pro-ducer of piston aircraft.

Piper, under new ownership by Imprimus,is expanding internationally. It is again em-phasizing entry-level singles, having delivered30 Warriors and Archers so far this year, ver-sus two last year. In a surprise move, in Janu-ary the company introduced the PiperSport, alight sport aircraft (LSA) manufactured byCzech Sport Aircraft. The first model underthe Piper name was delivered in April. Thecompany is also proceeding with full develop-ment of the PiperJet.

At present, the very light jet market asoriginally conceived appears to be dormant,but larger models that are more in the light-jetclass are doing quite well. Both the EmbraerPhenom 100 and the Cessna Citation Mus-tang are top sellers among all jets. Earlier thisyear Cessna announced the rollout of the300th Mustang, although production wasdownsized at midyear. The HondaJet contin-ues in development, as do the single-engineDiamond D-Jet and the Cirrus Vision.

Large jet development also continues. TheGulfstream G650 is in flight testing and claimsa cruise speed of Mach 0.925, slightly edgingout the 0.92 record of the Cessna Citation X.In addition, the Gulfstream G250 midsize ison schedule for spring 2011 certification.

Tecnam of Italy is becoming a significantplayer in the general aviation market. Bestknown as a major producer of LSA, the com-pany received FAA certification this spring forthe twin Rotax-powered retractable P2006T.This year the firm also introduced the P2008,a top-of-the-line LSA with composite fuse- by Hubert C.“Skip” Smith

Piper introducedthe PiperSport earlythis year, a slightlymodified versionof a light sportbuilt by CzechSport Aircraft.

After beinggranted anallowable weightincrease thissummer, Terrafugiahas redesigned theTransition roadableaircraft into aproductionprototype.




chute. In this test, conducted at the YumaProving Grounds, a record weight of 78,000lb was deployed. Following release, the testarticle was allowed to accelerate to a prede-termined velocity before the 68-ft-diamdrogue parachute was deployed. This para-chute is designed to reorient and deceleratethe first-stage booster to an acceptable speedbefore the three main parachutes are de-ployed. The test exercised the drogue para-chute to its intended 450,000-lb design loadfor the Ares I first stage.

Pioneer Aerospace began an effort to de-sign, build, and test the descent system forESA’s intermediate experimental vehicle(IXV). The IXV project is part of the ESA Fu-ture Launchers Preparatory Program. TheIXV reentry system is a technology platformto verify in-flight performance of critical re-entry technologies. The lifting-body-shapedIXV weighs approximately 1,900 kg and is 5m long and 2 m wide. The IXV descent sys-tem consists of a mortar-deployed pilot, a su-personic ribbon drogue, subsonic ribbondrogue, and ringsail main parachute. The IXVlaunch, reentry, and final 6-m/sec water land-ing is planned for 2013.

A Blizzard autonomous networked aerialdelivery system (ADS) was developed by theAerodynamic Decelerator Systems Center atthe Naval Postgraduate School. Because of itssmart guidance and control algorithms, evenwith strong winds this ultralightweight ADSproved quite reliable and exhibited a superbperformance of 40 m circular error probable.Such performance allows the developmentteam to proceed with the demonstration ofunique applications for aerial delivery, such asprecise delivery of an autonomous ground ro-bot, landing on a moving platform, and de-ployment from the stratosphere.

In Europe, the FASTWing CL Project,largely funded by the European Commissionand conducted by a consortium of eight Euro-pean companies and institutions, was com-pleted successfully, with a total of 21 droptests of payloads weighing between 6,500and 13,000 lb. Using a 3,225-ft2 taperedparafoil and ultracapacitor-powered actuators,the system navigated autonomously to the tar-get, showing an average glide ratio of 4:1.

The SPADES 1000 Mk2 system, devel-oped by NLR and Dutch Space in the Nether-lands, has been sold to the Netherlands De-fense Forces and is presently undergoingsystem qualification.

For more information, go to: https://info.aiaa.org/tac/AASG/ADSTC/default.aspx.

Aerodynamic decelerators

This was an extremely busyyear for parachute develop-ment, both for space appli-cations and for precisionaerial delivery. NASA’sOrion crew exploration vehi-cle parachute assembly sys-tem (CPAS) was successfullydemonstrated in May atWhite Sands Missile Rangeas part of a launch abort sys-tem test. CPAS consists oftwo mortar-deployed drogueparachutes, which slow thecrew module during reentryinto the Earth’s atmosphere,followed by three mortar-de-ployed pilot parachutes thatin turn deploy three 116-ftfinal descent main para-chutes. The CPAS team hasbeen performing compo-nent and subsystem testssince 2006, but the recentlyconducted Pad Abort 1 testmarked a significant mile-stone in the demonstrationof the complete recoverysystem, which functionedflawlessly.

SpaceX recently com-pleted its first Dragon space-craft drop test. The purposewas to test the deploymentof the Dragon recovery sys-tem as well as recovery op-erations ahead of the firstscheduled launch later thisyear. The recovery systemincludes two drogue para-chutes to begin decelerationand stabilization of thespacecraft, followed by threemain parachutes that reducethe capsule’s speed to thedesired landing descent rate.This test, conducted in Au-gust off the coast of Califor-nia, was a complete success.

Alliant Techsystems, to-gether with NASA, theArmy, and United Space Al-

liance, broke the record for the largest singleload extracted from a C-17 aircraft as theysuccessfully tested an Ares I drogue para-by Elsa Hennings

The crew module descendsfollowing Pad Abort 1 launchon May 6 at White SandsMissile Range.



increase further when BF-5, the final test jet,enters airborne testing late this year.

The year’s other, equally significant mile-stone was Sikorsky’s record-breaking X2 flighton September 15, in which the company’sX2 Technology Demonstrator achieved 250kt true air speed in level flight and fulfilled theprogram’s primary objective. All loads, vibra-tions, and temperatures were within limits,and the speed was limited only by power avail-able. The aircraft hit 260 kt in a shallow diveimmediately following the level flight record.Testing was at the company’s West PalmBeach facility.

“The real significance of this record flightis that X2 technology can [now] be applied tonew designs using the knowledge learned.The era of high-speed, low-disk-loading heli-copters has arrived and will change rotary-

wing aviation forever,” says Sikorsky engineerTom Lawrence.

During the buildup flights to the record runof the Sikorsky X2, the aircraft was modifiedto improve its handling qualities. A small hor-izontal surface was added to the ventral fin toimprove longitudinal stability, and the fly-by-wire control laws were tuned to improvedamping. The active vibration control systemwas also adjusted to maintain low vibrationlevels in the cockpit. As a result, the aircraftwas easy to fly at 250 kt and should be capa-ble of achieving higher speeds.

Work is currently under way to add an in-terhub fairing, sometimes called the sail fair-ing, to reduce the drag of the exposed upperrotor shaft. With this addition, it is expectedthat the X2 will achieve speed increases of10-15 kt. Further flight testing is planned intonext year.

A significant contribution to the X2’s mile-stone flight was the use of piloted simulation.This allowed changes in control laws or con-figuration to be assessed before being imple-mented and made it possible for the X2 toreach 250 kt in only 17 flights.

V/STOL

In two major highlights for the year, both theF-35B Joint Strike Fighter and the X2 heli-copter set very important speed records.

Lockheed Martin’s milestone flight oc-curred on June 10, when an F-35B piloted bya U.S. marine became the first of the JSF pro-duction STOVL (short takeoff/vertical land-ing) aircraft to fly faster than the speed ofsound. The aircraft accelerated to Mach 1.07on the first in a long series of planned super-sonic flights. The ultimate requirement isMach 1.6. “For the first time in military avia-tion history, supersonic, radar-evading stealthcomes with short takeoff/vertical landing ca-pability,” said Bob Price, Lockheed MartinF-35 USMC program manager.

On the significance of the flight, the pro-gram manager said, “The supersonic F-35Bcan deploy from small ships and austere basesnear front-line combat zones, greatly enhanc-ing combat air support with higher sortie-gen-eration rates.”

The Mach 1.07 record was achieved onthe 30th flight of the F-35B STOVL variantknown as BF-2. The pilot, Marine Corps Lt.Col. Matt Kelly, climbed to 30,000 ft and ac-celerated to Mach 1.07 in the offshore super-sonic test track near NAS Patuxent River, Md.Future testing will gradually expand the flightenvelope out to the aircraft’s top speed ofMach 1.6, which the F-35 is designed toachieve with a full internal weapons load ofmore than 3,000 lb.

By August 31, the F-35B STOVL jets un-dergoing flight testing at Patuxent River hadcompleted 122 flights, broken the sound bar-rier, and logged 10 vertical landings for theyear. The flights of the four STOVL jets (BF-1,-2, -3, and -4) represent more than half of the233 total F-35 flights for the year to date. TheSTOVL jets logged 26 flights in August, theirhighest monthly total so far. Flight rates will by E.R. Wood

On June 10, an F-35B reacheda record speed of Mach 1.07.

AT.1210.final.qxd:AA-December 11/15/10 10:24 AM Page 7

The Boeing X-51AWaveRider made his-tory on May 26 bymaking the longestever supersonic com-bustion hypersonicflight. Pratt & Whit-ney Rocketdyne’s hy-drocarbon-fueled andfuel-cooled scramjetengine burned for200 sec, acceleratingthe vehicle to Mach5. The X-51A is a

major advancement toward sustained-use hy-personic propulsion relative to its predecessorthe X-43A, which was powered by an un-cooled, hydrogen-fueled scramjet that burnedfor just 12 sec.Other key activities complementing scram-

jet development are under way. LockheedMartin and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne areworking on a TBCC (turbine-based combined-cycle) engine, under DARPA’s Mode Transi-tion program. The Vulcan engine programhas advanced to the second stage, aimed atdevelopment and demonstration of a constant-volume combustion (CVC) engine and CVCmodule integration into a turbine engine.In the military aircraft segment, the Ma-

rines’ STOVL F-35B accomplished its firstvertical landing, and the Navy F-35C carriervariant achieved its first flight. The Air ForceF-35A is undergoing mission systems andweapons testing. Northrop Grumman’s NavyE-2D Advanced Hawkeye entered operationalservice. The X-47B UCAV (unmanned com-bat air vehicle) is undergoing testing for air ve-hicle systems/ship systems interface, prepar-ing for its maiden flight.

Boeing’s solar-elec-tric-powered SolarEaglehigh-altitude long-endur-ance (HALE) UAV wasselected for DARPA’sVulture program to dem-onstrate, in 2014, aUAV that can carry a1,000-lb payload and

draw 5 kW of power while flying uninterrupt-ed for five years at above 60,000 ft. Thequad-tail 400-ft flying wing design uses highlyefficient electric motors and propellers. En-ergy collected by the solar panels is stored insolid-oxide fuel cells. Boeing is also develop-ing the 150-ft hydrogen-powered PhantomEye HALE UAV, which can fly up to four dayswith a 450-lb payload.


Harvard University is developing high-per-formance insect-size flapping-wing spy vehi-cles, using a unique fabrication technique tocreate the insect-scale wings, actuators, tho-rax, and airframe. The effect of wing designon performance is being investigated throughexperiments that move the wings at high fre-quencies, recreating trajectories similar tothose of an insect. These include high-speedstereoscopic motion tracking, force measure-ments, and wing flow visualization.Military rotorcraft design could get a ma-

jor boost this year. Sikorsky’s fly-by-wire high-speed X2 demonstrator achieved its 250-ktspeed milestone, paving the way for the de-velopment of faster helicopters. DARPA’sMission Adaptive Rotor program is develop-ing a shape-changing rotor that could offersubstantially more payload and range withsignificantly less noise and vibration. The ro-tor’s blades can “adapt” to a wide range offlight conditions by changing their own pa-rameters. Boeing is studying the Discrotorconvertible rotorcraft, which slows the rotorand retracts extendable telescopic bladeswithin the disc as it accelerates, until itmorphs into a high-speed (400-kt) swept-wing aircraft powered by variable-thrustducted propfans.The truss braced wing (TBW) configura-

tion is promising to be a “green” design thatcould be used for commercial airliners enter-ing service in 2030. A Virginia Tech-led studyfor NASA is showing that a TBW aircraftburns 30% less fuel than a B-777. Synergybetween the TBW’s advanced wing topology,tailless designs, fuselage drag reduction withriblets, fuselage relaminarization, Goldschmieddevices, and/or buried engines indicates thepotential to achieve more than 70% reducedfuel burn.Boeing recently produced five ultragreen

single-aisle commercial aircraft design con-cepts. Sugar Volt, a concept featuring a TBWaircraft using an electric battery gas turbinehybrid propulsion system, indicates 70% re-duced fuel burn relative to a B-737.Lockheed Martin produced a low-sonic-

boom design concept featuring an “inverted-V” engine-under-wing configuration and ca-nards for supersonic commercial transports.Another promising concept is Boeing’s

X-48B blended wing body, which recentlycompleted “limiter assaults” flights, confirm-ing that a robust, versatile, and safe controlsystem can be developed. A modified low-noise version, the X-48C, is being preparedfor flight tests in 2011.

by Dyna Bencherguiand Charlie Svoboda


Aircraft design

The SolarEagle is designedto carry a 1,000-lb payloadin continuous flight forfive years.

The hydrogen-powered PhantomEye can stay aloft for four dayswith a 450-lb payload



over strategic time horizons, EDA provides ef-ficient descents that avoid traffic conflictswhile maximizing arrival throughput. Reac-tions of controllers and pilots were en-couraging. To further enable fuel-efficientdescents, EDA technology was combinedwith new automation and procedures in aseries of NASA TAPSS (terminal areaprecision scheduling system) simulations.These combined new time-based meter-ing automation with advanced navigationconcepts to enable environmentally friendlydescents in high-density airspace.

NASA investigated function allocation forNextGen, comparing different approaches toseparation assurance. Two human-in-the-loopsimulation experiments were conducted onhomogeneous airborne and ground-basedfour-dimensional trajectory-based operations.In coordinated simulations, controllers for theground-based concept at Ames and pilots forthe airborne concept at Langley managed thesame traffic scenarios under the two differentconcepts. Results showed no substantial dif-ferences in performance or operator accept-ability. Mean schedule conformance and flightpath deviation were considered adequate forboth approaches. Conflict detection warningtimes and resolution times were mostly ade-quate, but certain conflict situations were de-tected too late to be resolved promptly, creat-ing safety compromises and/or unacceptableworkloads. Controller feedback was generallypositive, although further study is required.

Research in traffic flow management ex-amined more equitable flight planning undercapacity restrictions such as adverse weather,using a credits-based concept. The conceptestablishes airline flight priorities and routepreferences, and allows airlines to maintainschedule integrity and flight-connectivity con-cerns while minimizing fuel consumption. Ahuman-in-the-loop simulation demonstratedfeasibility and support for the concept. TheFAA and NASA also tested the near-term,Generic Airspace concept. Generic Airspacegives air traffic controllers new tools and in-formation that enable them to become quicklyaccustomed to new airspace sectors designedfor maximum operational efficiency.

A NASA/Navy/Air Force simulation mo-deled the integration of the Navy’s broad areamaritime surveillance (BAMS) UAS (un-manned aircraft system) with civilian airspaceoperations. Results have been used to perfectthe BAMS design and validate the modelingand simulation system for future UAS inte-gration studies.

Aircraft operations

This year significant research, including sev-eral simulation experiments, advanced theNext Generation Air Transportation System(NextGen) concept.

In the airport surface domain, a NASA ex-periment tested taxi scheduling algorithms ina human-in-the-loop simulation of a majorU.S. airport, using advanced controller advi-sory tools. The experiment demonstrated theinitial feasibility of the algorithms and showedthat eliminating stop-and-go operations dur-ing taxiing could reduce fuel expenditure onthe airport surface by 18%.

In the terminal area domain, NASA simu-lations increased airport capacity by allowingplanes to approach closely spaced parallelrunways in low visibility. The TAAPR (termi-nal area approach procedures research) simu-lations compared manual and automatic tech-niques to pair aircraft from different arrivalstreams to a coupling point 15 n.mi. from therunway threshold. The speed of the trailingaircraft was coupled to that of the lead aircraftto maintain adequate in-trail spacing to therunways.

An FAA/NASA experiment used 22 com-mercial airline pilots to determine the effect ofusing Data Comm during busy terminal areaoperations. Quantitative data were collectedon subject reaction time and eye tracking.Oculometer systems simultaneously trackedthe Pilot Flying (Captain) and Pilot Monitoring(First Officer) head angle and eye gaze vector.Each crew managed over 200 aircraft and1,200 voice transmissions. Of particular inter-est to the FAA were new D-TAXI messages,such as the “Expected Taxi” clearance to besent prior to gate pushback during departures,and prior to Top Of Descent during arrivals.Crewmembers responded to 95% of the DataComm messages within 1 min; however,there was general agreement that 2 min wasreasonable for response. Eye tracking data in-dicated a significant increase in head-downtime for the Pilot Monitoring when DataComm was introduced; however, workloadwas rated as operationally acceptable by al-most all crewmembers in all conditions, ex-cept at certain points beyond the final ap-proach fix and during certain taxi operations.

NASA, with Boeing and the FAA, contin-ued developing the efficient descent advisor(EDA). It gives controllers maneuver advisoriesto enable continuous, idle-thrust descent oper-ations in busy traffic. By predicting trajectories

by the AIAAAircraft OperationsTechnical Committee

Human-in-the-loop simulationof the TAPSS were conducted.


Systems engineering

Simon Ramo, pioneering physicist and engi-neer, defined systems engineering as “a disci-pline that concentrates on the design and ap-plication of the whole [system] as distinct fromthe parts. It involves looking at a problem inits entirety, taking into account all the facetsand all the variables, and relating the social tothe technical aspect.”

Engineered systems have become increas-ingly complex, and their desired complexityalso has been growing at an ever-increasingrate. This poses major challenges for the sys-tems engineer (SE). As noted systems thinkerRussell Ackoff stated, “Change itself is con-stantly changing.” Donald A. Schön, anothereminent thinker in this field, pointed out thatas the rate of change increases, so does thecomplexity of the problems that face us. Themore complex the problems, the longer ittakes to solve them. The more the rate ofchange increases, the more the problems thatface us change, and the shorter the life of thesolutions we find. Therefore, by the time wefind solutions, they often are no longer rele-vant or effective.

This is becoming prophetic for the SE.The social aspects of systems engineering,particularly the political aspects, are becoming

a greater influence on SEs, challenging theirability to develop products and services thatare still value added by the time they becomeoperational. U.S. government acquisition isan example of such an influencer. The devel-opment cycle for some of the most complexaerospace systems is significantly longer thanthe yearly congressional budget approval cy-cles and the tenures of White House adminis-trations and policies.

As each Congress and White House putsits stamp on defense and space policies, thechanges cause cyclic disruptions in most ma-jor DOD and NASA programs. There is a dis-continuity between even the most conserva-tive development cycle and these budget and


policy approval cycles. This typically causesout-year cost growth and schedule slippage asprograms struggle to reduce near-termspending while policy and budgets are de-bated. This in turn provides political justifica-tion for cancelling programs. And even if aprogram survives, the end system is less likelyto prove useful when it becomes operational,because it must also overcome the accelerat-ing rate of change in the need during thelength of the schedule slip. This problem hasresulted in billions of dollars being sunk oncanceled projects.

SEs emphasize the need for internal pro-gram stability, especially in funding and re-quirements. Often we hear SEs stress theneed for well-defined requirements at pro-gram inception, and the need to resist chang-ing the requirements set during the develop-ment process. This may seem like resistanceto change; yet it is resistance to internal pro-gram change that is absolutely necessary formanaging costs and program complexity inefforts to produce a system that does repre-sent a leap forward in operational capability.It is this actual end product or service thatconstitutes a capability advancement in anever-changing world.

The alternative—repeated restructuringand rescoping of a project—increases the like-lihood of program cancellation, or at a mini-

mum, cost and schedule creep. Such restruc-turing may be done with good intention—thatis, in an attempt to meet an end user’s ever-changing needs—but all too often the result isa system that never achieves operational sta-tus because of program cancellation, justifiedby schedule and cost overruns.

Until government acquisition policy isaligned with the realities of the desired com-plexity of future systems, there will be a grow-ing gap between the length of time it takes todevelop operational system capabilities andthe length of policy and budget approval cy-cles. This will make the SE’s job of racingchanging needs to the operational finish lineever more challenging.

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT

by Brian Selvy

The Air Forcetanker program

has gonethrough several

bid-award-appealcycles.

ET-1210.qxd:AA-December 11/16/10 11:56 AM Page 2


tain and may require more material, signifi-cantly affecting product profitability.

OODA in a product design process helpsengineers and designers observe a product’sbehaviors before it is manufactured. With ad-vances in hardware and software technologies,the notion of simulation-based engineering canbe used for digitally creating and testing anidea before it is ever real. Rather than explor-ing one design in a certain time period, engi-neers can explore significantly more designs.They can ask “What if I did this or that?”

They can orient themselves to new ideasfaster, then make a decision and act by asking“What if?” or saying “Wow, I did it.” By accel-erating an engineer’s OODA loop, you haveeffectively accelerated the art of innovation atyour organization.

We live in interesting times; in fact, thetechnologies presented by software and hard-ware providers are so fascinating that they arechallenging our status quo. They present uswith opportunities to work smarter and moreefficiently. We now have options to iteratethrough more ideas in less time. We can movefrom an adequate to an optimal design. Butare we deploying our new “stuff” to supportthe way we have been doing business allalong—in some cases decades? Should we bereviewing our processes and then consideringoptions—hardware and software—that willreadily enable us to work the way we believe isbest? After all, we are the experts in our prod-uct development.

If the definition of insanity is “to do thesame thing over and over again and expectdifferent results,” isn’t it time we accelerate in-novation again and explore how we can rein-vent the design process using the talents andtechnologies we have available to us?

Computer-aidedenterprise solutions

After 10 years of advances in software andhardware technologies, it would be useful tosee what has changed and ask the question:Are we doing enough to exploit the technolo-gies we have around us?

From 2000 to 2005, CAD applicationperformance increased almost fivefold, ac-cording to estimates. In the next five years itincreased only about threefold. Most CAD ap-plications, being single threaded, exploit onlya fraction of the available computationalpower of today’s workstations. Intel and othersemiconductor manufacturers moved from in-creasing clock speeds to maintaining them,adding new instruction and more computa-tional cores. The impact was a leveling off inthe performance of serial applications such ascomputer-aided design.

During the same period, analysis and sim-ulation performance is estimated to have in-creased by nearly 100 times. This was duemainly to increased core count per processor,new instructions, and faster infrastructure.Complex simulations that took nearly fivehours to process in 2003 were now beingcompleted in less than 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, technical computing softwarevendors were merging and acquiring CAD,meshing, simulation, and analysis companies.They retooled themselves and created com-prehensive engineering suites, presentingusers with innovative schematic views that tietogether CAD with the entire simulation pro-cess. The schematics serve as guides to engi-neers, enabling them to process complex mul-tiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop sim-plicity. Their intention is to accelerate theuser’s innovation rate by reducing complexityand increasing system utilization.

Henry Ford said, “There’s a better way todo it—find it.” With advances in workstationtechnologies and the integration of CAD,meshing, CAE, and CFD software, there hasto be a more efficient way to create, test,modify, and visualize ideas. An interestingprocess that can be applied to the designprocess is Boyd’s loop, also known as theOODA (observe, orient, decide, and act) loop.Simply defined, Boyd’s loop is a decision-making process similar to the plan-do-check-act cycle. The speed of the loop is often anearly indicator of a group’s ability to deliver anoptimal design rather than an adequate designthat may cost more to manufacture and main-

by Bill Abramson,Wes Shimanek,and Mike R. Jahadi




USSR. This is not surprising, because thespace race was on. But by 1971, the 10th an-niversary of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s firstflight, the top-down music culture directed bythe Communist Party was dead. It appearsthat Soviet culture, in terms of the productionof space music, was rather anemic, whereasin contemporary bottom-up Russian popularmusic, space themes are literally rocketing tonew heights. Also on a steep ascent are songsin the aggregate from countries other thanRussia and the U.S. Meanwhile, U.S. produc-tion of space-themed songs may be in declineafter having reached a second peak in the firstdecade of this century.

In the U.S., the later peak likely reflectsthe various discoveries concerning Mars madein the late 1990s and early 2000s; public in-

terest in the Hubble space telescope, spaceshuttle, and ISS news; and policies about re-turning to the Moon and sending humans toMars. The downturn seems to track with deci-sions on retiring the shuttle, withdrawing fromthe ISS, and shutting down the Constellationprogram.

Despite the slump in space-themed songsfrom the former space race rivals, such musicfrom the aggregate of other countries hasdemonstrated steady growth and is now in al-most as sharp an ascent as that of modernRussia. What can this mean? It is likely reflec-tive of the investment by other nations in thecivil space enterprise: China has orbited taiko-nauts, India has mastered splashdown tech-nology, and a supranational Europe has takenthe lead in partnering with other nations onspace projects.

Society and aerospacetechnology

When the subject of funding for civil spaceprograms is broached, the “public will” or“public mood” is usually cited as well. It isclear that when the public will for a spaceproject is lacking, so too are the neededfunds. But conducting an accurate annual na-tional survey on the issue would likely cost asmuch as running some spaceborne experi-ments aboard the ISS.

Fortunately, the social sciences have othermeans at their disposal for gauging the publicmood about space. Specifically, a recentanalysis of 1,027 space-themed popularsongs from around the world has provided auseful gauge of the public mood toward spaceover time, beginning with the start of thespace race. The analysis was performed byThomas Gangale, an author of this report anda member of the Astrosociology Subcommit-tee of the AIAA Technical Committee on So-ciety and Aerospace Technology. The analy-sis reveals some surprising patterns.

Many U.S. and British songs use outerspace as a metaphor rather than being specifi-cally about human spaceflight; only a fewsongs celebrate particular space missions. Sci-ence fiction themes are more prevalent, espe-cially Star Trek themes. The UFO phenome-non was captured in popular music from thevery beginning (1947) and continues today.The first Sputniks inspired a flurry of rocka-billy songs. Space jazz was pioneered in themid-1950s and continued through the 1980s.Surf music also displayed an early affinity forthe adventure of spaceflight. “Trek rock” hasbeen a niche for pop groups in both Swedenand the U.S.

By contrast, Soviet songs were specificallyabout the heroic adventures of the cosmo-nauts. Even modern Russian music tends tobe more grounded in the reality of humanspaceflight in Earth orbit, or in the foreseeablepossibilities of travel in the inner solar system,rather than in interstellar science-fiction vi-sions set in future centuries.

It appears that the rest of the worldmourns America’s fading space glory muchmore than the U.S. itself does. Songs on thesubject, particularly in the U.K., lament thepassing of the Apollo years, or, as in Canada,satirize the wildly optimistic literature thatbaby boomers were raised on.

Peaks in the numbers of songs producedoccurred in the 1960s for the U.S. and the

by Marilyn Dudley-Floresand Thomas Gangale

“…a recent analysis

of 1,027 space-themed popular

songs from around the world

has provided a useful gauge of

the public mood toward space

over time, beginning with the

start of the space race.”



developing a commercial space transportationsystem capable of providing cargo to the ISS,is scheduled for late this year.

Despite lower interest rates for corporatebonds and modest easing of lending stan-dards, companies still faced a constrainedcredit environment compared to the pre-crisisperiod. However, several satellite operatorswere able to turn to export credit agencies(ECA) for substantial portions of their financ-ing needs, continuing a trend that started withGlobalstar’s credit facility from Coface,France’s ECA, in 2009. Hughes Communica-tions received Coface backing for about $90million in financing for the launch of itsJupiter Ka-band broadband satellite aboard anAriane rocket. Coface also guaranteed $1.7billion of a credit facility for Iridium’s NEXTmobile satellite system constellation, under de-velopment by Thales Alenia Space. In addi-tion, Inmarsat is seeking U.S. Export-ImportBank support for the $500-million cost ofthree Boeing Ka-band satellites for its GlobalXpress mobile broadband system.

Economics

The aerospace industry saw many positive de-velopments this year, including a recovery inair transportation, progress on programs withpotentially large economic implications, andincreased use of export financing by the spaceindustry. However, the approaching end ofthe shuttle era and a sluggish economy arecauses for concern.

The economic recovery aided a reboundin the air transportation industry. By June, theInternational Air Transport Association wasforecasting that commercial airline industryvolume will grow over 7% for passenger mar-kets and almost 19% for cargo markets. Theindustry is on track to achieve an estimated$2.5 billion in profits this year as compared toestimated losses of $9.9 billion in 2009 and$16 billion in 2008. In addition, Boeing’s787 Dreamliner made progress. Following upon its first flight in December of 2009, the787 entered into an extensive flight test pro-gram, with over 500 flightsand 1,500 flight hoursthrough the end of August.Scheduled for first deliveriesin 2011, the 787 has the po-tential to impact airline indus-try economics significantly.Among the benefits the planewill provide, says Boeing, are20% less fuel consumption,30% lower maintenance costs,10% lower cash operatingcosts, and an increase in cargorevenue capacity of over 40%.

Another milestone mark-ing progress in industry eco-nomics was the successfulflight of SpaceX’s Falcon 9launcher. On its inaugural launch in June, Fal-con 9 attained a nearly perfect orbital inser-tion and accomplished all of its primary mis-sion objectives. SpaceX claims that thelauncher represents the lowest mission pricefor its vehicle class, listing prices of about $50million-$60 million per launch. Demand formore cost-effective launch services appearsstrong, with SpaceX announcing that it hasover 40 launches under contract, including a$492-million deal to launch satellites for mo-bile satellite services provider Iridium’s up-coming NEXT constellation—the largest singlecommercial launch deal ever signed. In addi-tion, the first demonstration flight of the Fal-con 9 for NASA’s COTS program, aimed at

by Scott Isaraand Marilee Wheaton

With the end of the space shuttle era ap-proaching and its replacement, the Constella-tion program, cancelled, the space industrialbase is confronting a difficult period. Accord-ing to the Dept. of Labor, the end of the shut-tle program could result in the loss of 20,000jobs, with implications for the health and sus-tainability of the industrial base. United SpaceAlliance, the prime shuttle contractor, has al-ready sent out layoff notices to over 1,300workers, about 15% of its workforce. Further-more, the economy appears to be weakening,with GDP slowing this year and other eco-nomic indicators fading. Looking toward2011, a cautious outlook for the aerospaceindustry is warranted.

Boeing’s 787 has begun an extensive flight test program



this issue is how each of these four areas com-pounds the complexity of, the required re-sponse to, and recovery from a crisis.

Even though not associated with aero-space, the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexicoillustrates the interrelatedness of these areas.It shows how rapidly advancing technology,decreasing budgets/staffing, as well asincreasing system complexity all challenge ourability to sustain critical knowledge and man-age risk holistically. It also demonstrates howspillovers—unintended consequences—impactother industries that then have to respond.

•Cultural change. Change is that all en-compassing, ubiquitous thing that we’ve allcome to…love. What is interesting and impor-tant about this issue is the diversity of areasnow effecting cultural change: a multigenera-tion workforce, intense global competition, astressful economic environment, loss of expe-rience on the contractor and the governmentsides, much more complex systems, and morerapidly evolving (that is, changing) require-ments, to name only a few. How well we areable to manage cultural change will largely de-termine how successful we are in each ofthese areas in the future. Furthermore, howwell we manage cultural change will have a

direct impact on our re-silience, for example, onhow well we are able tomanage crises in the future.Again, the relationships andthe interface between thesevery important issues arerecognized as crucial.

Developing a vision forthe future of aeronauticalsciences is deeply interre-lated with our industry’spractice of knowledge man-agement and depends heav-

ily on our management of cultural change.Absent an effective system for maintainingcurrent expertise and skills, our future maysimply be relegated to reinventing the past.The challenge in aerospace management con-tinues to be one of recognizing and under-standing these complex issues. Managementremains committed to sharing insights andbest practices on these topics—distilling theiressence—in a way that advances our industry.

In aerospace, our culture, our knowledge,how we think about and manage risk, and inreality our future, all depend on our vision.

Management

A review of the issues aerospace managementgrappled with in 2010 starts with formulatingand prioritizing lists. However, while lists areeasy to create, in reality it is much more diffi-cult to segregate issues into topics that can besuccinctly discussed. Further consideration ofthe top issues reveals that not only are all in-terrelated, but each compounds the effects ofthe others. The unavoidable conclusion is thatnone of these issues can be addressed alone.And even though each issue on the list is im-portant in and of itself, we can only briefly ex-amine the most critical of these issues here.

•Developing a vision for the future ofaeronautical sciences may be the most im-portant endeavor in the first half of the 21stcentury. Just as the development of aeronau-tics in the late 18th and early 19th centuriespaved the way for change that still affectseach of us today, the aeronautical scienceswill have a profound effect on our lives farinto the future.

Aeronautics literally means “navigation ofthe air”; however, the aeronautical scienceshave produced a broad plethora of goods,services and knowledge beyond aircraft, fromnavigation/communication systems to cook-ware for home use. Any vision for the future

of aeronautical sciences cannot and shouldnot focus solely on air transportation. Just aseach of management’s top issues affects allthe others, the aeronautical sciences will con-tinue to affect much more than our mobilitythrough the air.

•Management of crisis, in the broadercontext of a “top issue,” is different frommany of the crises in the history of aerospace.The focus of this issue is not a single vehicleor incident. Rather, the focus is on the rela-tionship between technology, people, knowl-edge, and risk. What is really important about


by Marvine Hamner

“Any vision for the future of aeronautical

sciences cannot and should not focus solely on

air transportation. Just as each of management’s

top issues affects all the others, the aeronautical

sciences will continue to affect much more

than our mobility through the air.”


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INFORMATION SYSTEMS

software to enable vision scientists on Earth toenhance human eyesight.

Software is used to trigger and synchro-nize an increasing number of onboard func-tions on an increasing number of onboardprocessors. For example, published reportsfrom this year indicate that the F-35 fifth-gen-eration fighter will have about four times asmuch software code as the F-22 has. Thislarger volume of code will be executing on asignificant number of processors on the air-craft, all orchestrated by onboard software.

Safety is a paramount concern for aero-space systems. Newer systems are becom-

ing more complex in responseto customers’ needs for

better performanceand more features,and softwareplays a majorrole in imple-menting thisemergent, com-plex functionality.

But with addedfunctionality comes an

even larger burden, that ofensuring the safety of these increas-

ingly complex implementations. Flight sys-tems are safe today in part because of thesound development processes and effectivepartnerships that have been forged betweensystems/software developers and customeroversight/regulatory bodies, all of whom havea keen interest in the development and opera-tion of safe flight systems.

To help deal with this increasing complex-ity and to ensure system safety, organizationssuch as the National Science Foundation,NASA, and DOD laboratories have madesome important investments in software de-velopment methodologies and in V&V (verifi-cation and validation) technologies for soft-ware. Investment areas include cyber-physicalsystems, model-based development for flightsoftware, studying the use of formal methodsfor code analysis, formal languages for soft-ware requirements, research on software de-sign-for-certification, and research on prov-ably correct autocode generators.

These research areas can be important forsupporting continued development of increas-ingly complex and safe aerospace systems, allenabled by software that can be developedaffordably.

Software systems

Software continues to play an increasingly im-portant role in the development of new aero-space platforms and breakthrough platformcapabilities. Of significance here are softwaresystems—both resident on flight systems andexecuting on the ground—that control, man-age, and otherwise interact with flight sys-tems. This year saw some notable examplesof the important role that software has playedin this area.

Flight tests were conducted on a demon-strator aircraft to prepare it for an attempt tobreak the world speed record for a helicopter(400 kph, set in 1986). Decades ago, anearly flight of an original con-cept demonstrator hadresulted in a crashlanding after asudden pitchingmotion forcedthe pilot to landon the aircraft’stail. For thisyear’s attempt atthe record, CADsoftware tools wereused to redesign the airfoils,rotors, and fuselage. Software waswritten to implement necessary stability aug-mentation functions to dampen unwantedpitch and roll when the plane was under pilotcontrol, and simulation software was usedto estimate vehicle performance and to drivepilot-in-loop training prior to live flight. Theaircraft, a Sikorsky X2, reached 250 kt inlevel flight.

In April a major domestic airline modifiedthe cockpit software in a majority of the air-planes in its fleet to allow for precise satellite-based navigation approaches to airports. Thisleverages the emerging concept of RNP (re-quired navigation performance) routes to en-able fuel savings, reduce noise, and shortenarrival delays.

Also this year, work for NASA resulted inthe building of software to fix blurred imagesreceived from space telescopes. The conceptinvolves calculating optical aberrations thatwill be used to sharpen incoming images. Thissoftware will be coupled with future telescopeshaving flexible mirrors that can bend andmove on command; the combination will en-able identification of a sensor’s own errorsand implementation of subsequent compensa-tion. There is even thought of extending thisby Jim Paunicka

“Flightsystems are safe today in part

because of the sound developmentprocesses and effective partnerships that have

been forged between systems/softwaredevelopers and customer oversight/regulatory

bodies, all of whom have a keen interest inthe development and operation of

safe flight systems.”

IS-1210.qxd:AA-December 11/16/10 12:03 PM Page 2


flight data recorders through DASHlink (dash-link.arc.nasa.gov), a Web 2.0 portal for theworld. Using Miner and Orca, two advancedanomaly detection techniques, Southwest wasable to uncover operationally significantevents that would not be triggered by their ex-isting methods. Orca alone analyzed 7,200flights from 10,000 ft to touchdown, reveal-ing data quality issues, high roll and pitchevents near final approach fix, and hard nose-over prior to landing, leading to everydaychanges in the commercial airline’s operation.On the space side, the University of Wyo-

ming pushed the state-of-the-art in evolvingintelligent systems that enhance control, sta-bility, and robustness during autonomous as-sembly of large complex structures in space.The components of an evolving system self-assemble to form new components and are

augmented with additional local controls to en-sure system stability during assembly. Evolvingsystems enable modular system design andthe reuse of components where scale, com-plexity, and distance preclude astronaut assis-tance because of inherent risks and costs. Theevolving systems framework provides a scala-ble, modular architecture to model and ana-lyze subsystem components and connections.Enabling astronauts to make better in-

formed decisions, researchers at NASA John-son and Jet Propulsion Lab unveiled and fieldtested a new onboard energy managementadvisory system. It combines an intelligentplanner with real-time estimation to providedetailed projections of battery energy acrosscomplex activity plans. The onboard plannercontinually revalidates the activity plan as it isexecuted and can inform astronauts whenprojection models indicate that the plannedactivities will lead to an unsafe state or willjeopardize a contingency plan; the systemthen suggests recovery options.

Intelligent systems

This was a year of exciting advances for intel-ligent systems in both aviation and space.In aviation, DARPA funded Rockwell Col-

lins to design damage tolerant control (DTC)technology to mitigate common UAV failuressuch as surface damage, airframe damage,and complete engine failure. A series of flighttests were performed with a subscale F/A-18to showcase key aspects of the DTC technol-ogy. DTC’s unique, software-based approachto vehicle control has been developed andevolved over the past decade. Flight testsdemonstrated completely autonomous flightswith loss of ailerons, loss of 60% of a wingand 30% of vertical and horizontal stabilizers,engine-out condition, and 80% wing loss. Thecombination of all-attitude control and anemergency mission management system pro-vided these UAVs with unprecedented robust-ness against otherwise catastrophic failures.Robust adaptive flight control was an area

of particular emphasis this year. A collabora-tion by Wichita State, Kansas State-Salina,Missouri University of Science and Technol-ogy, and Hawker Beechcraft demonstrated an-other adaptive flight control technology forgeneral aviation aircraft. The team, funded byNASA, is advancing model reference adaptivecontrol techniques, investigating adaptation inthe presence of aeroelastic modes, and usingflight simulation flown by student pilots. Theirfirst flight test on board the Hawker BeechcraftBonanza AGATE/SATS fly-by-wire testbedshowed promising results.Researchers in the Diagnostic and Prog-

nostic Group at NASA Ames’ Intelligent Sys-tems Division, in collaboration with CaliforniaState Polytechnic University, have designedand built an innovative airborne testbed forconducting research into prognostic healthmanagement of electromechanical actuators.Use of such actuators in aerospace vehicles isexpected to increase for safety-critical func-tions. Several experimental flights of the test-bed have been conducted aboard USAF C-17aircraft and Army UH-60 helicopters. Duringflight tests, the testbed’s nominal and fault-in-jected test actuators mimicked the motion andload profiles that the aircraft’s actuators wereexperiencing, while health management algo-rithms evaluated conditions in real time.Southwest Airlines streamlined its opera-

tions thanks to NASA technology transfer.This year NASA open-sourced many key datamining algorithms for analysis of output from

by Seth Harvey,Michel Ingham,and Kristin Yvonne Rozier

“The combination of all-attitude

control and an emergency mission

management system provided

these UAVs with unprecedented

robustness against otherwise

catastrophic failures.”



which maintains the specification for Open-GL, now has a cross-platform Open Comput-ing Language, OpenCL.As of June, the fastest supercomputer in

the world (according to http://top500.org) isJaguar (1.759 tFLOPS), at Oak Ridge Na-tional Laboratory. Built by Cray, it is a vast ar-ray of multicore 64-bit AMD Opteron proces-sors. The second-fastest supercomputer isNebulae (1.271 tFLOPS), at the National Su-percomputing Centre in Shenzhen, China, us-ing a mix of multicore 64-bit Intel processorsand NVidia Tesla GPUs. Third-fastest is Road-Runner (1.042 tFLOPS), at Los Alamos Na-tional Laboratory, using IBM PowerXCell (avariant of the CELL broadband engine) alongwith multicore 64-bit Opteron processors.The need to shorten protracted develop-

ment times for spacecraft is driving the devel-opment of plug-and-play architectures analo-gous to those in personal computers. Tac-Sat-3, launched in 2009, flew the first spacedemonstration of AFRL space plug-and-playarchitecture. In June, it was handed over tothe Air Force as a full-time operational asset.Spaceborne electronics are susceptible to

effects of radiation. Mitigating these effects isa complex problem involving techniques suchas error correction, redundancy, shielding,latch-up current monitors, and watchdogtimers. Xilinx, a major provider of program-mable logic devices, was funded by AFRL’sSpace Vehicles Directorate to create the Vir-tex-5QV, a rad-hard version of the Virtex VFPGA. The 1-billion-transistor chip is themost complex circuit ever designed for space.It allows rad-hard designers to use the sametools currently used in nonhardened designs.The result should revolutionize the implemen-tation of high-performance computation inspace. But the niche market for rad-hard de-vices keeps their prices well above those oftheir commercial counterparts.Space weather forecasters say a storm

season is approaching, noting that the Sun iswaking up from an unusually long dormancy.The next solar maximum is expected in early2013. This is the first since widespread con-sumer adoption of GPS technology. The pre-vious solar max (2000) was preceded by asurge in cell phone adoption. Now, however,developing countries are skipping land lines infavor of cell towers.A solar max is accompanied by coronal

mass ejections (CMEs). Given the wrong polar-ity, it could necessitate shutdown of airborneand spaceborne electronics while the associ-ated plasma storm passes by the Earth.

Computer systems

Transformative advances in computing con-tinue unabated. Aerospace and advanced mo-bile technologies have hit the consumer mar-ket. Computational science and engineeringare turning to high-performance graphics fornew methods of supercomputing. A new radi-ation-hardened FPGA (field programmablegate array) is becoming available for space-borne applications. And space plug-and-playarchitecture is proving itself in orbit.GPS-enabled navigation has become es-

sential to drivers on the road. Accelerometershave revolutionized game consoles such as theNintendo Wii. Today so-called “smartphones”integrate sensor and computing technologythat would normally be expected in a UAV.Both the Apple iPhone and Google Android-based devices have GPS receivers, accelerom-eters, and gyro or solid-state compasses. Theyalso add digital cameras and radios to supportwi-fi, Bluetooth, and 3G communication,along with a sophisticated operating systemand its array of “apps.” This low-cost, mass-marketed integrated package has caused some

aerospace researchers to adopt smart phonesas their starting point for “faster, cheaper, bet-ter” vehicle or small satellite design.In recent years, computational science and

engineering have migrated to massive clustersof multicore microprocessors for supercom-puting power. Now graphics processing units(GPUs) that normally power real-time 3D vis-ualization are being added to the mix. GPUleader NVidia provides a common interface toits GPUs through its Compute Unified DeviceArchitecture, or CUDA. The Khronos Group,by Rick Kwan and Jim Lyke

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

The Virtex-5 field programmablegate array consists of variousfunctions embedded in acolumnar architecture.(Courtesy Xilinx.)

MGT DSP Logic

I/O Clocking&Config. BRAM

PowerPC



ing five spacecraft procuredon-orbit and ordered a newsatellite from SS/L in Octo-ber. A new regional opera-tor, Vietnamese VNPT, or-dered its second satellitefrom Lockheed Martin.

In the government sector,the Air Force placed thethird Boeing WGS into oper-ation. WGS 4, 5, and 6 con-tinue production, and long-lead funding for a seventhWGS has been authorized.The USAF could acquire upto 12 WGS satellites for thewideband capabilities lostwith the TSAT cancellationlast fall. The Air Force isstudying commercial pro-curement practices as afaster and less expensive wayto meet requirements. Lock-heed Martin launched the first Advanced EHFsatellite; however, a propulsion anomaly wasidentified and will delay its entry into service.The second and third AEHF satellites arescheduled to be launched in 2011 and 2012,respectively.

In August, Intelsat announced that its IS-27 spacecraft, being manufactured by Boeing,will include a UHF-hosted payload to comple-ment existing UFO (UHF Follow-On) and fu-ture MUOS (mobile user objective system)programs.

Among emerging technologies, higherpower continues to be important, with Thalesand Astrium integrating Alphasat I-XL for In-marsat, and SS/L qualifying its 25-kW space-craft. Flexible payloads providing on-boardrouting and beamforming have limited appli-cation because of the cost premium, but mod-est implementations such as IRIS on Intelsat-14 are demonstrating benefits. For “bent-pipe” payloads, the quantity of equipment re-quired for two-way broadband and mobile ap-plications is likely to drive more hardwareminiaturization.

On the regulatory side, the FCC issued anotice that could lead to terrestrial use of por-tions of MSS spectrum for wireless broad-band. The U.S. is reviewing its export controlpolicies, which may result in some processstreamlining. At WRC-12, satellite issues tobe addressed include long-term spectrum foraeronautical MSS, spectrum usage of the21.4-22-GHz band for BSS, and new MSSfrequency allocations.

Communications systems

This is the fifth consecutive year of robust ac-tivity for the satellite industry, with 20-25commercial awards projected and 14-16launches. With large backlogs, the outlook forthe satellite manufacturing and launch indus-try continues to be healthy.

By mid-October, Space Systems/Loral(SS/L) had been awarded six satellites, andBoeing increased its backlog with the win ofInmarsat-5. Lockheed, Thales, Astrium, andOrbital received one or two awards each.

Launch services became a duopoly be-tween ILS and Arianespace, but this is chang-ing. Sea Launch returned to the market afteremerging from Chapter 11 with a Russian in-vestor, and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 had a success-ful maiden launch. The U.S. EELV manifestincludes only government launches, exceptfor GeoEye-2, which will launch on an Atlas.

For satellite broadband, in the U.S., bothViaSat and Hughes continue to add sub-scribers and have next-generation high-throughput satellites on order from SS/L. KA-SAT and HYLAS-1, both manufactured byAstrium, are scheduled for launch late thisyear for service in Europe, and the Australiangovernment indicates that satellites will be in-cluded in its national broadband plan.

In the direct broadcast market, DIRECTVand the Dish Network continued growingtheir fleets. Dish launched two spacecraft,DIRECTV ordered DIRECTV-14, and SIRIUSXM Radio launched XM-5. Regarding FSSsatellites, Telesat ordered Anik G1 and SESAstra continued its expansion with the launchof Astra 3B. In Asia, the AsiaSat andEchoStar joint venture started HDTV servicein June.

MSS (mobile satellite service) providerTerreStar made its 3G satellite phone com-mercially available through ATT. SkyTerra,rebranded LightSquared, is ready to launchits SkyTerra-1 satellite, and is paying In-marsat to move its traffic to share spectrumefficiently. The first Thales-provided second-generation Globalstar spacecraft launched,and Iridium selected Thales to build its NEXTsystem, with construction financed by CO-FACE, the French export agency. An orderof three Ka-band spacecraft for the Inmarsat-5 program signaled a shift for the mobile L-band operator.

The top four FSS (fixed service satellite)operators are completing a major satellite re-placement cycle. New entrant ABS is operat- by Christopher F. Hoeber

ViaSat-1 is lifted into the thermalvacuum chamber at the SpaceSystems/Loral satellite assembly,integration, and test facility inPalo Alto, California.



supplement voice communications with lessworkload-intensive data communications, andenable ground systems to use real-time aircraftdata to improve traffic management. DataComm will provide two-way data exchange be-tween controllers and flight crews for clear-ances, instructions, advisories, flight crew re-quests, and reports. This new FAA technologywill enhance air traffic safety by providingmore timely and effective clearances, leavingmore time for controllers and pilots to thinkand select appropriate actions. It will also en-able more orderly communications duringpeak traffic and more reliable messaging,thereby reducing the number of operationalerrors associated with voice communications.

In addition, Data Comm will improve con-troller and aircrew productivity by enablingmore efficient operations, faster revised de-parture clearances, trajectory-based routing,optimized profile descents, and automation ofrepetitive tasks. This will lessen ground de-lays, taxi time, fuel use, greenhouse gas emis-sions, and operational costs. By reducingvoice communications congestion and relatederrors, the FAA estimates the digital datacommunications will enable controllers tosafely handle approximately 130% of currenttraffic.

With these improvements, ATC will evolvefrom short-term tactical control to managingflights strategically gate-to-gate. Once imple-mented, Data Comm will provide data trans-missions directly to pilots, who can autoloadthe messages into their flight managementsystems. This will increase air traffic effi-ciency, capacity, and throughput. Use of DataComm technology in the NAS is scheduled tobegin in 2014.

The FAA projects that domestic air travelwill grow substantially by 2015. By 2022, ac-cording to the agency’s estimates, failure tofund and implement NextGen would cost theU.S. economy $22 billion annually in losteconomic activity. The number will grow tomore than $40 billion annually by 2033 if itis not implemented. The FAA believes invest-ment in NextGen Data Communicationstechnology is the critically important nextstep for improving air safety, reducing delays,increasing fuel savings, improving the envi-ronment, and leading U.S. aviation into the21st century.

For more information on the NextGenData Communications program, please con-tact Sandra Anderson, manager, Air/GroundData Communications Group at [email protected].

Digital avionics

At Oshkosh AirVenture 2010, the huge gen-eral aviation air show, the FAA NextGen DataCommunications (Data Comm) program in-troduced new technology that promises majorsavings in time, money, fuel, and environ-mental effects. Data Comm avionics wereamong the FAA’s key NextGen exhibits. Thetechnologies introduced there by Data Commincluded its new air traffic control (ATC) andBoeing 737 cockpit simulators. Both simula-tors demonstrate the emerging digital datacommunication avionics and controller toolsbeing developed for ATC and aircrews.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood andFAA Administrator Randy Babbitt were two ofthe first Oshkosh AirVenture participants tofly the new Data Comm B737 cockpit flightsimulator. Babbitt, a lifelong aviation enthusi-ast and former airline pilot, demonstrated hispiloting skills at the controls of the simulatorby easily taking off, flying, and landing on asimulated flight between Miami and Ft. Laud-erdale, Florida, aided by the simulator’s newData Comm technology.

Data Comm is a key transformational pro-gram within the FAA NextGen effort. To meetfuture demand and avoid gridlock in the skyand at airports, the NextGen Data Commprogram is designed to advance today’s ana-log voice-only air-to-ground communicationssystem to one in which digital communica-tions become an alternative, and eventually apredominant, mode of communications.

Data Comm is necessary for fully realizingthe NextGen vision of trajectory-based opera-tion in the National Airspace System (NAS).The technology will automate repetitive tasks,

by John Gonda,Everett Zillinger, and theAIAA Digital AvionicsTechnical Committee

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

All smiles in the cockpit asSecretary of Transportation RayLaHood enjoys “flying” with FAAAdministrator and former airlinepilot Randy Babbitt. Babbitt is atthe controls of the FAA NextGenData Comm Boeing 737 flightsimulator. The simulator hasbuilt-in cockpit display units,which demonstrate the transferof Data Comm digital datacommunications from air trafficcontrollers to the aircrew.Photo courtesy FAA DataCommunications Program.



multiple sensors around the vehicle, providingthe pilot with a “look through” the airframespherical image. Northrop Grumman’s IRDAS (infrared distributed-aperture sensors)and Raytheon’s ADAS (advanced distributedaperture system) have already demonstratedthe capability of this technology.

A team from Carnegie-Mellon InnovationsLab, NASA Ames, and the U.S. GeologicalSurvey implemented a payload-directed con-trol system to show that mission sensors cancontrol unmanned systems directly. The ex-periment used a commercial magnetometeron a NASA unmanned ground vehicle anddemonstrated the use of sensor data for bothreal-time feedback control of vehicle motionand geophysical mapping. Magnetic anom-

alies were used to map subsurface fault zonesin a test area in Northern California. Thissensing concept may be applied with UAVssuch as NASA’s Exploration Aerial Vehicle.

Microscale sensor systems allow measure-ment of the turbulent boundary layer encoun-tered in aerospace systems. Researchers atTufts University and Spirit Aerosystems arecollaborating on the development of surfacepressure and shear sensor array-on-a-chip de-vices for characterization of the pressure andshear spectrum in the turbulent boundarylayer. These silicon-based microsystems incor-porate up to 64 individually addressable mi-crophones or shear sensors on a 1-cm2 chip.System electronics allow the array to be re-configured on the fly. Careful packaging en-sures low-profile interconnects, minimizingthe effect of the sensor system on the proper-ties of the flow. The systems have beendemonstrated in the laboratory, and will bewind-tunnel tested in the coming year.

Sensor systems

Aerospace sensor systems provided vital datain a variety of settings this year, allowing im-proved responses to natural and man-madedisasters, giving new data on the universe,providing greater safety in combat operations,and improving system performance.

Sensing technologies ranging from satel-lite sensor systems to laboratory particle im-age velocimetery (PIV) techniques played arole in measuring British Petroleum’s oil spillin the Gulf of Mexico. The MISR (multiangleimaging spectroradiometer) instrumentaboard NASA’s Terra spacecraft, the ad-vanced synthetic aperture radar aboard ESA’sEnvisat Earth observation spacecraft, andRaytheon’s MODIS (moderate resolution im-aging spectroradiometer) on board NASA’sTerra and Aqua satellites all provided data onthe spill. Laboratory experiments and analy-sis, including the work of Steve Wereley ofPurdue University and Tim Crone of Colum-bia’s Lamont-Doherty laboratory, were usedto interpret the underwater photographs ofthe leaking well-head, leading to revised esti-mates of the spill’s magnitude. This informa-tion was critical for planning the response tothe spill.

A similar approach was used to assess thethreat to aviation created by the eruption ofIceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Space-basedsensing included thermal imaging fromMODIS on board Aqua and SEVIRI on boardEumetsat’s Meteosat Second Generationsatellite, along with lidar (light detection andranging) observations from NASA’s CALIPSO(cloud-aerosol lidar and infrared pathfindersatellite observations) spacecraft. These wereused, together with ground-based lidar meas-urements and airborne sampling, to estimatethe extent of the ash cloud.

NASA’s WISE (Wide-Field Infrared SurveyExplorer) spacecraft began its mission at theend of 2009. This year the satellite capturedimages in mid-infrared wavelengths of objectsranging from brown dwarf stars, distant ultra-luminous galaxies, and dangerous near-Earthobjects. As it began to run out of coolant inAugust, the satellite shifted to the “warm”mission, aiming at new targets and imaging indifferent wavelengths.

Several new sensor system technologieswere demonstrated this year. The F-35 JointStrike Fighter and the UH-60 Blackhawk hel-icopter will benefit from distributed-apertureelectrooptical systems. These systems use

by Wei-Jen Su,Michael Martin,Robert White, Tim Howard,and Jeffery Puschell

A scanning electron microscopereveals a prototype MEMSshear sensor design that iscurrently under development byresearchers at Tufts Universityand Spirit Aerosystems.



flight in Seattle, Washington, on December15, 2009, and the GEnx-1B made its firstflight on the Dreamliner on June 16.

GE’s CF34-10A engine, which will powerthe new ARJ21 regional jet from COMAC(Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China),received its FAA type certification in July. Thenew H80 turboshaft for business and generalaviation began its certification testing in earlyMarch and met or exceeded all power ratingsin multiple runs at GE Aviation’s facility inPrague, Czech Republic. On February 2 Will-iams International received FAA type certifica-tion for its 3,600-lb-thrust FJ44-4 engine,which powers the Cessna CJ4 business jet.Also achieving its first run was the latest mem-ber of Rolls-Royce’s Trent aero engine family,the Trent XWB, which powers the AirbusA350 XWB family of aircraft.

A strong focus on energy and the environ-ment marked propulsion development activi-ties. The ADVENT and HEETE (highly effi-cient embedded turbine engine) programscontinued to progress at AFRL, and NASAcontinued work under the EnvironmentallyResponsible Aviation project, with both agen-cies aiming to make significant improvementsin aircraft engine efficiency. The FAA’s con-tinuous lower energy, emissions and noise(CLEEN) technologies program made signifi-cant progress, having awarded Rolls-Royce a$16-million contract to perform aero enginetest demonstrations. These focus specificallyon reduced fuel burn technologies and on eval-uating alternative aviation fuels. The CLEENprogram’s goals are to achieve a 33% reduc-tion in fuel burn, against a baseline of currentperformance technology, and to advance sus-tainable alternative aviation fuels by 2015.

AFRL successfully completed a 12-monthPhase-1 program for an effort called Develop-ment of Combustion Rules and Tools for theCharacterization of Alternative Fuels. Its work-ing group consisted of GE Aviation, Honey-well, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, WilliamsInternational, and various consultants. Theprogram met all objectives, including estab-lishing a database of alternative fuel testingexperience, reviewing the current fuel evalua-tion process to identify improvements, devel-oping an improved methodology/process forfuel evaluation, and developing a multiphaseprogram approach to bring the evaluationmethodology to maturity. Phase II, expectedto begin in 2011, includes the testing of base-line and alternative fuels in combustor rigs,engines, and fundamental experiments, aswell as analytical tool development.

Gas turbine engines

This was a busy year for military propulsiondevelopment. The Pratt & Whitney F135 en-gine achieved its first-ever vertical landing aspart of the STOVL (short takeoff/verticallanding) variant of the Joint Strike Fighter,and an F119 engine demonstrated full life re-quirements in 8,650 cycles of accelerated mis-sion testing.

Meanwhile, under the adaptive versatileengine technology (ADVENT) program, Rolls-Royce North American Technologies and GEAviation continued to develop variable-cycleengine technologies that will enable significantreductions in fuel consumption across theflight envelope. Both companies producedvariable fan rigs, and Rolls-Royce initiatedtesting at Wright-Patterson AFB. In addition,the Air Force selected Rolls-Royce to proceedwith integration of various advanced technolo-gies, component testing, and development ofa technology demonstrator core and engine.GE Aviation was selected to continue work ona demonstrator core, including componentdevelopment/integration and demonstration.In May, the GE38 turboshaft engine, whichpowers the CH-53K helicopter, producedover 7,500 shp while exceeding productionperformance margins for fuel consumption.

Commercial development has been busyas well. The GE Aviation GEnx-2B had itsmaiden flight on the Boeing 747-8 on Febru-ary 8 and received its FAA type certification inJuly after accumulating more than 2,600 hrof testing. Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 enginespowered the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s first

by the Gas Turbine EnginesTechnical Committee

PROPULSION AND ENERGY

Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB powersthe Airbus A350 XWB.

PE-1210.qxd:AA-December 11/16/10 2:25 PM Page 2

AEROSPACE AMERICA/DECEMBER 2010- 47

April 22, and NASA successfully launched theAres I-X rocket on October 28, 2009, fromthe Kennedy Space Center.In support of the Ares I first-stage five-seg-

ment solid rocket motor development, ATKconducted two successful ground static tests:DM-1 September 2009, and DM-2 in Augustof this year. The five-segment rocket motorhas been identified as a key element ofNASA’s future heavy-lift launch vehicle.As some programs begin, others are wind-

ing down. The shuttle program conducted itsfinal ground test of the reusable solid rocketmotor (RSRM) at ATK’s facility in Promon-tory, Utah. The test marked the end of a 30-year program that continuously improved theRSRM’s performance and safety features.This year, three success-ful shuttle launches havetaken place; one is lefton the manifest.On May 6, NASA

successfully tested theOrion crew moduleabort system. Conductedat the Army’s WhiteSands Missile Range inNew Mexico, it was thefirst fully integrated testof the launch abort sys-tem (LAS). The LAS in-cluded three solid rocketmotors: abort, attitudecontrol, and jettison.The abort motor, manu-factured by ATK, pro-pelled the crew modulefrom the pad. The atti-tude control motor, alsobuilt by ATK, fired simul-taneously with the abort motor and steeredthe vehicle. The jettison motor, built by Aero-jet, pulled the entire LAS from the crew mod-ule, clearing the way for the parachute de-ployment and landing.

Solid rockets

Progress in solid propulsion included signifi-cant milestones and technology break-throughs this year. In May, Raytheon MissileSystems delivered the 100th Standard Missile-3 Block IA to the Missile Defense Agency. Onthe tactical side, the Army selected Raytheonto finalize the design for the next-generation1.55-mm precision-guided projectile duringthe next phase of the Excalibur Ib program.The production milestones continue for

solid propulsion as Lockheed Martin deliveredthe 1,000th Joint Air-to-Surface StandoffMissile to the Air Force.Lockheed Martin and Aerojet teamed on

the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) pro-gram and achieved a technological break-through by successfully completing full tem-perature range testing and validation to sup-port a single rocket motor solution for allJAGM fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms.Aerojet provided the missile segment en-

hancement (MSE) advanced two-pulse solidrocket motor that provided the energy man-agement for Lockheed Martin Missiles andFire Control’s successful Patriot Advanced Ca-pability-3 (PAC-3) MSE guided test flight-1B(GTF-1B). This was the first successful MSEtest in which a target simulating a tactical bal-listic missile was intercepted in the MSE ex-tended battlespace.ATK was awarded an R&D contract for the

Counter Air/Future Naval Capabilities pro-gram by Naval Surface Warfare Center/ChinaLake to develop new technologies that can beincorporated into next-generation air-to-airmissiles such as AMRAAM and like systems.Aerojet’s advanced third-stage technology

demonstration motor and advanced second-stage motor were successfully tested by theAir Force in altitude static tests. Meanwhile,ATK successfully static tested its internallyfunded CASTOR 30 motor, being developedto support commercial resupply missions tothe ISS, at the Air Force’s Arnold EngineeringDevelopment Center in Tennessee.July 20 marked the 50th anniversary of

the Navy Strategic Systems Programs’ firstunderwater launch of a fleet ballistic missile.Today’s Trident II D5, a three-stage, solid-pro-pellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile, hasachieved 134 consecutive successful sub-merged test launches since 1989, the last fourhaving occurred on June 8 and 9 of this year.Orbital Sciences successfully launched its

first Minotaur IV rocket for the Air Force onby Clyde E. Carr Jr.and Barbara A. Leary

The Orion launch abort systemand attitude control motor, bothmanufactured by ATK, undergostatic testing.

Data from flighttests of the Ares I-Xwill enable NASA toimprove the vehicle’sdesign and safety.



and examining their combustion characteris-tics for clean and efficient use in current en-gines. Research groups at the University ofTexas at El Paso are developing fuel-flexibleturbine combustors and next-generation ther-mal barrier coatings (TBCs) for future zero-emission coal power systems. Some notableadvances in this area include identification offlame flashback due to combustion-inducedvortex breakdown, and development of nano-structured hafnium-based TBCs.

CFD tools are essential for all aspects ofdesigning terrestrial energy systems. Re-searchers at institutions around the world areworking to develop and validate next-genera-tion CFD tools such as large-eddy simulation(LES). Because of the significant spatial andtemporal variations of flow variables, the pres-ence of large-scale coherent vortical struc-tures, and other inherently transient physicaland chemical processes in gas turbine com-bustors, LES models appear to be much morepromising than Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes models. LES provides detailed time-de-pendent spatial data, which are valuable fordevelopment/evaluation of new combustorsand the design of reliable control strategies.

The CFD group at Michigan State Univer-sity has been involved in modeling and large-scale simulations of turbulent reacting flows inrealistic flow configurations. More recently,the group has developed a novel subgrid com-bustion model called FMDF. This model canhandle the two-way interactions between theturbulence and combustion in LES and is ap-plicable to various turbulent flames (nonpre-mixed, premixed, partially premixed, slow,fast, and so on). The LES/FMDF methodol-ogy provides a basic framework for imple-menting important physical and chemicalprocesses into the simulations. It can also becontinuously and systematically improved andapplied to increasingly complex systems.

Finally, it is worth noting that during thepast two decades, the U.S. energy R&D en-terprises have experienced a “missing genera-tion” of energy engineers and professionals.There are simply not enough graduate stu-dents enrolled in energy disciplines at U.S.universities to replace the engineers and sci-entists who plan to retire within the next fiveto eight years. This has now become a seriousworkforce crisis and poses a threat to the na-tion’s energy security and sustainability. Tomeet the workforce demand, the U.S. mustinvest more in this area so that universities cancontinue to train and educate future leaders inenergy science and engineering programs.

Terrestrial energy systems

This year significant efforts focused on the de-velopment of sustainable energy technologies,including alternative fuels, renewable power,advanced fossil power generation, and carboncapture and sequestration. Among several al-ternative fuel options, biofuel has the bestnear-term potential. Researchers at the Uni-versity of Oklahoma are using molecular engi-neering and designer catalysts to tailor theproperties of biomass-derived fuels to closelymatch gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels. Theyhave also developed experimental techniquesfor rapidly characterizing the combustion be-havior of biofuels.

Currently available power plant designtools are highly discipline specific. However,tomorrow’s zero-emission power plants arehighly integrated, complex systems. Their de-sign and development processes require engi-neers with diverse expertise. Recently, AmesLaboratory scientists have developed virtualengineering software to facilitate power plantdesign processes within a multidisciplinaryframework. The software combines CADmodels, process simulation, and CFD analysesto allow real-time design review and changes.

Coal remains the primary source of fuelfor most of the electricity generation in theU.S. An aggressive portfolio of technologies isemerging to make the future coal power sys-tem cleaner and more efficient. Enabling tech-nologies such as advanced gasification, high-hydrogen fuel turbines, oxy-fuel turbines, andcarbon sequestration not only will allow exist-ing systems to meet stringent environmentalregulations but also will make the future plantscleaner and more efficient.

At the University of Maryland, researchersare investigating flameless combustion tech-nologies for zero-emission and energy-effi-cient gas turbine engines. They are also devel-oping biofuels using membrane technologyby Ahsan Choudhuri


Prof. Mark Bryden (left) of IowaState University shows the newvirtual engineering tool forenergy systems design.



delivered, with orders or options up to model20. Twenty years in-orbit and 12,000 hr ofthrusting time have been accumulated. Forthe small GEO EP thruster assembly, eightSPT-100 thrusters have been procured, andSnecma will begin integration activities. De-veloped under ESA, small GEO satellites willrely on Hall thrusters from Snecma, or onHEMPT units from Thales.

At over 31,500 hr of operation, NASA’sevolutionary xenon thruster—a 7-kW ion en-gine developed by NASA Glenn and Aerojet—became the longest lifetime thruster of anytype ever, with a total propellant throughputover 520 kg and total impulse over 19 MN-sec.

The high-voltage Hall accelerator, a high-specific-impulse engineering model thrusterbuilt by Aerojet and NASA Glenn, has under-gone performance testing. The thruster in-corporated a life-extending discharge channelreplacement innovation. The testing of theNASA-300M Hall thruster was performed forpower and voltage levels up to 20 kW and600V with xenon and krypton propellants.

The French GDR research group (CNRS/CNES/Snecma/universities) continued Hallthruster physics investigations, with partner-ships with the Charles University of Pragueand the IPPLM institute of Warsaw. WithSnecma, ONERA, and IPPLM, the GDR willdesign, manufacture, and test a 20-kW Hall-effect thruster within the HiPER European re-search program on high-power EP. Testingwill begin in 2011.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, withAerospace Corporation, examined perform-ance improvements for cylindrical Hallthrusters (CHTs). The lab built low-power per-manent magnet CHTs with improved mag-netic design, which demonstrated superiorperformance over CHT with electromagnetsduring measurements at NASA Marshall.With a larger volume-to-surface ratio overconventional Hall thrusters, the CHT poten-tially offers less erosion and longer lifetime.

Electric propulsion

The Aerojet/Lockheed Martin Space SystemsBPT-4000, a 4.5-kW Hall thruster system,was launched for the first time aboard theUSAF Advanced Extremely High Frequencysatellite. It also completed over 10,000 hr ofground testing, marking the most throughputever demonstrated on a Hall thruster. Acceler-ation channel erosion was reduced significantlyafter about 5,600 hr. Numerical simulations atJPL revealed with potentially breakthrough im-plications that by properly shaping the mag-netic field near the channel walls, their erosioncan be practically eliminated.

In 2010, three science missions featuredEP in flight. The Hayabusa spacecraft’s ionengine system powered it back to Earth aftera seven-year mission to asteroid Itokawa. Thesystem logged 39,637 engine-on hours, in-cluding 14,830 hr on a single engine. Aerojethas entered into an agreement with NEC tomarket this system in Japan and the U.S.

By the end of August, the three-engineion propulsion system (IPS) on NASA’s Dawnspacecraft had operated in flight for 16,500hr and delivered a delta-V of 4.8 km/secwhile consuming 183 kg of the original 425kg of xenon propellant. Dawn is scheduled torendezvous with Vesta in July 2011 andCeres in 2015.

ESA’S GOCE satellite is providing uniquedata on Earth’s gravity field and geoid usingtwo T5 ion thrusters. The ion propulsion as-sembly from QinetiQ is operating well.

ESA’s LISA Pathfinder, scheduled tolaunch in 2012, features a drag-free systemusing micronewton EP provided by ESA andNASA. BepiColombo, a Cornerstone missionto Mercury to launch in 2014, will rely on a4.5-kW T6 IPS from QinetiQ.

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) has launchedsix spacecraft with stationary plasma thrusters(SPTs). The SPT subsystems in flight have to-gether logged over 11,000 hr of thruster op-eration. They incorporate four Fakel SPTs andtwo SS/L power processing units. The lastthree satellites feature new SPT modules withgreater range of motion. SS/L has five SPTsubsystems delivered to spacecraft scheduledto launch through 2011, and five more to bedelivered to spacecraft under construction.

At Snecma, Safran Group, the last two offour PPS 1350-G thrusters for Alphasat weredelivered. Production of thruster module as-semblies has attained significant milestones:By the end of the year, flight model 16 will be by Olivier Duchemin

Testing of advancedmetal propellants for EPtook place at MichiganTechnological University.From upper left andgoing clockwise thepropellants are xenon,bismuth, zinc, andmagnesium. CourtesyMichigan TechnologicalUniversity.



within Earth’s atmosphere. Of particular note,engine performance, operability, and thermalbalance characteristics were all as expected,comparing quite favorably with those ofground tests. The flight made history, alreadyhaving being compared to the first flight of thejet engine, and has ignited serious interest inapplications for future operational vehicles us-ing hydrocarbon fuels. Three additional flightsare tentatively planned between this monthand May 2011.

Air Transport World awarded the Joseph F.Murphy Industry Achievement Award toCAAFI, the Commercial Aviation AlternativeFuel Initiative, for the overall coordination ofalternative aviation fuel efforts. The aviationindustry formulated a system-level gated riskmanagement process (fuel readiness level) aswell as an environmental analysis frameworkdeveloped by a U.S. Interagency WorkingGroup that included DOE, the Air Force, andthe FAA. Both these initiatives were submittedto the International Civil Aviation Organiza-tion and adopted as best practices.

The FAA’s Partnership for Air Transporta-tion Noise and Emissions Reduction (PART-NER) released the first quantitative “ground towake” report on alternative jet fuel green-house gas life-cycle emissions, as part of con-tinuing research under the FAA-funded PART-NER Center of Excellence at MIT. Followingsuccessful adoption of the alternative jet fuelspecification (ASTM D7566) in 2009, a num-ber of alternative fuel flights were conductedthis year. On April 30, United Airlines con-ducted the first flight (in the U.S.) of a com-mercial aircraft using natural-gas-derived Fis-cher-Tropsch synthetic paraffinic kerosene(SPK), a jet fuel produced by Rentech.

In March and April, the USAF and Navyconducted a significant ground and flight test-ing program with a hydrocarbon aviation bio-fuel—hydroprocessed renewable jet or bio-SPK—on the A-10 and F-18. The C-17 alsowas flight tested with this fuel in August. TheUSAF/Navy fuel was competitively procuredfrom UOP by the Defense Energy SupportCenter. Several alternative jet fuel productionagreements also were announced this year. Inparallel, the Princeton-led AFOSR-funded sur-rogate fuel Multi-University Research Initiativeproject has developed and tested a generic ap-proach to constructing surrogate jet fuel mod-els for real fuels from alternative sources. Thispartnership and the progress in jet surrogatefuel modeling will support the developmentand deployment of commercially viable, envi-ronmentally friendly alternative aviation fuels.

Propellants and combustion

The X-51A scramjet engine demonstrator(see page 57) made its first flight on May 26.The WaveRider is a USAF/DARPA-fundedresearch project managed by the AFRLPropulsion Directorate with participation byNASA, Boeing, and Pratt & Whitney Rocket-dyne. The goal is to demonstrate that the hy-drocarbon-fueled scramjet engine has taken amajor step toward reaching TRL 6 (technol-ogy readiness level six) and is ready for pow-ered flight tests.

This year the program met several signifi-cant milestones, including successful comple-tion of dress rehearsal flights in preparation

for WaveRider’s first flight; completion of as-sembly of all four flight test vehicles; and,most important, successful first flight.

The flight went as planned: The ATACMsbooster accelerated the vehicle at over 6 g tothe engine start envelope, where a nominalstage separation and scramjet ignition on eth-ylene occurred. Transition to JP-7 went as ex-pected. The vehicle had nominal performanceexcept for isolated internal temperature rises.After 143 sec of the 240-sec planned scram-jet engine operation, the vehicle began to de-celerate and descend in what appeared to bea glide. The mission was an unqualified suc-cess. Analysis of the flight continues.

The WaveRider achieved flight conditionsbetween approximately Mach 4.7 and Mach4.90 and cruised at those conditions for over170 sec, of which 143 sec provided good en-gine data. (During the last roughly 25 sec ofpowered flight, significant data dropouts oc-curred.) This is over 10 times longer than anyprevious scramjet operation in free flight

by Joanna Austin, CharlesF. Brink, James Edwards,and Yiguang Ju


A C-17 Globemaster III takes offAugust 27 on a flight test to ex-amine how it performs with dif-ferent combinations of biofuels.The aircraft is powered by 50%JP-8, 25% by hydro-treated re-newable jet fuel, and 25% by aFischer–Tropsch fuel. The 418thFlight Test Squadron conductsflight tests during the week us-ing different combinations ofregular JP-8 and the HRJ. AirForce photo by Kenji Thuloweit.



expensive way for thestudents to learn. Theprogram and its curric-ula are being replicatedacross Texas. NASAprovided funding toFHS to support alter-native hybrid fuel andnozzle material devel-opment. This year,FHS successfully testednine alternative fuels atthe school’s Humble-Bowden PropulsionResearch Center. Us-ing a fuel grain andnozzle material from itsR&D work, FHS de-signed and built a 525-lb hybrid-propelledsounding rocket capa-ble of lofting a 25-lbtelemetry research pay-load to 75,000 ft byproducing 2,500-lbf ofthrust for 26 sec.

Orbital Technologies (ORBITEC) contin-ued developmental testing of a 10,000-lbf-thrust-class vortex hybrid motor. The 14-in.-diam motor uses aluminized HTPB (hyroxyl-terminated polybutadiene) solid fuel and liquidoxygen injected in a swirling fashion to gener-ate a vortex flow field in the fuel port to drivefuel regression rates that are both fast and ax-ially uniform. The high regression rates allowfor a single-port, cartridge-loaded fuel grain toprovide low operations costs and rapid turn-around. The test program aims to demon-strate the functionality of the vortex hybrid de-sign, stable and efficient combustion, highreliability, and the potential for low recurringcosts. Testing to date has indicated stable, ef-ficient combustion, with characteristic velocityefficiencies of about 97%.

Rocket Lab of New Zealand successfullydeveloped and launched a hybrid suborbital-class sounding rocket with the aim of reaching120-km altitude. The sounding rocket was anall-carbon-composite construction, includingcomposite linerless pressure vessels, in-house-developed aerothermal ablatives, and com-posite combustion chamber and nozzle. Thepropellants used were nitrous oxide andRocket Lab’s in-house-developed fuel, hybrid90A. The company says this fuel offers equiv-alent regression rates to HTPB but with supe-rior mechanical properties that enable com-plex grain geometries without web supports.

Hybrid rockets

Several organizations made important contri-butions to hybrid rocket research this year.Scaled Composites has completed five suc-cessful static firing tests of the hybrid rocketmotor for SpaceShipTwo, including an in-creased duration firing in August. On October10, the vehicle completed its first piloted glideflight. The craft, under development by VirginGalactic, will be transported by a new com-posite aircraft to the upper atmosphere,where the hybrid motor will ignite and propelspace tourists, scientists, and payloads intospace. Suborbital trajectories of up to 65-mi.altitude are expected.

Under a contract from AFRL, SpacePropulsion Group (SPG) has continued its de-velopment of high-performance LOX/paraf-fin-based hybrid rocket motor technology.Over the course of the year, more than 15motors in the 7,000-lb-thrust class have beenfired. Excellent combustion efficiencies andgood motor stability behavior have beendemonstrated without the addition of externalheat or the injection of pyrophoric liquids. Inaddition, SPG has successfully fabricated sev-eral 22-in.-diam paraffin-based fuel grains,each weighing over 1,500 lb. The new grainswill be burned in a 30,000-lb-thrust LOX hy-brid motor. Static firing of this large motor isplanned for the end of this year.

IN Space, along with partners Purdue Uni-versity and General Kinetics, investigated thecatalytic decomposition of oxidizers in hybridrockets to improve energy management whileincreasing fuel-grain regression rates and lim-iting fuel slivers. Using a catalyst bed to de-compose the oxidizer before injection, a labo-ratory-scale hydrogen peroxide/polyethylenehybrid motor achieved characteristic velocityefficiencies of up to 100%, regression ratesup to 50% higher compared to a different ig-nition method, and a 10:1 throttling rangewith stable combustion. For a liquid injectionconfiguration, catalytic fuel grains were staticfired with 90% hydrogen peroxide, resultingin rapid ignition and regression rates 2.5times those of uncatalyzed fuel grains. Thisproject was funded by the Air Force at AFRL.

Fredericksburg High School (FHS) in Fred-ericksburg, Texas, is continuing its aero-science program, led by Brett Williams. Thisprogram educates high school studentsthrough theoretical study and hands-on expe-rience in rocket propulsion. Working with hy-brid motors provides a relatively safe and in- by Steven Frolik

A hybrid sounding rocket built by Fredericksburg High Schoolwas launched from White Sands Missile Range.



pressed target, creating a hot spot in the inte-rior of the target burn that propagates out-ward into the surrounding fuel. This thengreatly increases energy gain, because part ofthe required input energy is replaced by thepropagating burn. Fast ignition is very effi-cient in giving very high gains while maintain-ing a low electron temperature, allowing igni-tion of more demanding fusion fuels such asp-11B. The University of Illinois and the LosAlamos National Laboratory conducted thiswork.

NASA’s recent Mars DRA (design refer-ence architecture) 5.0 study examined mis-sion, payload, and transportation system op-tions and requirements for a human Marsmission in the 2031-2033 timeframe. Aproven technology, NTP could potentially en-able future human Mars missions with reason-able initial mass in LEO and a reasonablenumber of Ares V launches. However, to re-capture, mature, and flight qualify NTP sys-tems in time to support future cargo andcrewed Mars missions in the post-2030 time-frame will require meaningful, sustained in-vestments beginning in the next several years.

These investments will attempt to establishfirm NTP engine system requirements usingupdated Mars mission analysis and payloadestimates; recapture composite Rover/NERVAfuel element technology, and mature uraniumdioxide in tungsten metal “cermet” fuel tech-nology; perform high-fidelity modeling, de-sign, and engineering of candidate engine sys-tems; prepare test facilities; and conduct therequired nuclear/nonnuclear demonstrationtests of NTP fuels, components, and subsys-tems in preparation for “contained” full-scaleground testing of both demonstration andflight-type engines.

Assuming five years of technology prepa-ration and then a 10-year developmentphase, NTP flight testing can begin in the late2020s, in time to support initial human Marsflights in the 2031-2033 timeframe.

Nuclear and future flightpropulsion

Atmospheric mining in the outer solar systemwas investigated as a means of fuel productionfor high-energy propulsion and power. Fusionfuels such as helium 3 (3He) and hydrogencan be wrested from the atmospheres ofUranus and Neptune.

In 2009 Case Western Reserve, assistedby NASA Glenn, undertook six aerospace de-sign studies of such mining. Both 3He and hy-drogen were the primary gases of interest, hy-drogen being the main propellant for nuclearthermal or nuclear fusion rocket-based atmo-spheric flight. Four teams addressed issues as-sociated with atmospheric cruiser-based andballoon-based mining vehicles. Two teams fo-cused on outer planet moon mining for thegases. Many of the cruiser designs were effec-tive in gathering 3He in less than one year.

Using nuclear thermal propulsion, or NTP(with primarily closed-cycle gas core rockettechnology), effective flights into and out ofthe atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune werepossible. Outer planet moon mining vehicleswere also designed and parametric analyses of3He concentration conducted. A centralpower system supported multiple miners,making the mobile miners lighter than thosewith onboard power. Some teams concludedthat NTP must focus on very high specific im-pulse closed-cycle gas core powered vehicles.Uranus’ and Neptune’s vast reservoirs of fuelsare more readily accessible than those ofJupiter and Saturn and, with the advent of nu-clear fusion propulsion, may offer the best op-tion for the first practical interstellar flight.

Laser-driven inertial confinement fusion(ICF) is extremely attractive for deep-spacepropulsion and has been the subject of severalconceptual design studies. However, thesewere based on older ICF technology using ei-ther “direct or indirect X-ray-driven“ type tar-get irradiation. This leads to rather low energygains. Moreover, traditional deuterium tritiumfusion was selected, requiring tritium breedingand delivering 80% of the fusion energy inneutrons that cannot be directed through anexhaust nozzle.

However, important new directions havedeveloped for laser ICF in recent years follow-ing the development of “chirped” lasers capa-ble of ultrashort pulses with powers of ter-awatts up to a few petawatts. This has led tothe exciting concept of “fast ignition,” wherethe petawatt laser beam strikes a precom-

by Bryan Palaszewskiand the AIAA Nuclear andFuture Flight PropulsionTechnical Committee


The performance and size of theRL10B-2 chemical engine can becompared with different thrustNTR engines.



duce material in support of DOD and com-mercial applications.NASA successfully boosted the Orion

Launch Abort System (LAS) at the Army’sWhite Sands Missile Range on May 6. At igni-tion, the motor produced 500,000 lb of forcethat pulled the Orion capsule mockup off thepad and accelerated it skyward to about 445mph in less than 3 sec. The motor, with itsfour nozzles, continued to burn for a total ofabout 6 sec, boosting the system to an altitudeof nearly 4,000 ft and putting it on a ballistictrajectory with a predicted high point ofroughly 6,000 ft. The revolutionary attitudecontrol module (ACM), a solid motor witheight computer-controlled exhaust ports,helped maintain the craft’s stability during theinitial climb away from the launch pad.Ten seconds after takeoff, the ACM began

repositioning the vehicle to a capsule-first ori-entation, and as the craft passed through theapex of its trajectory, the burned-out LAS wasjettisoned. Drogue parachutes then deployedfrom the capsule to slow and stabilize it beforethree 116-ft-wide parachutes unfurled for thefinal descent. The heavily instrumented cap-sule hit the ground at 16 mph, 2 min 14 secor so after launch and 6,919 ft from its take-off point.

Energetic componentsand systems

On August 31, Alliant Techsystems andNASA conducted a second successful groundtest (DM-2) of the Ares-I five-segment devel-opment motor. This test was an importantmilestone in the development of the next gen-eration of U.S. launch vehicles.Initial test data indicated that the motor,

which had been chilled to a 40 F core temper-ature since early July, performed as designed,burning for just over 2 min and producing ap-proximately 3.6 million lb of thrust and about22 million hp. The test collected 764 chan-nels of data to accomplish 53 test objectives.The DM-2 test was designed to expand

the envelope of operating conditions for thefive-segment motor by firing it at cold temper-ature to test its redesigned joints. The jointshad been modified after the 1986 space shut-tle Challenger accident, with joint heatersadded to keep the O-rings flexible at cold tem-peratures. Since then, engineers have devel-oped O-rings with a new material that is farmore resilient at colder temperatures than theold materials, to the point where the jointheaters are no longer necessary. A major partof the DM-2 test was to confirm the perform-ance of the joints at these colder tempera-tures. Test data indicate the new joint designperformed properly.The CAD/PAD (cartridge actuated de-

vice/propellant actuated device) R&D and PIP(product improvement program) Branch atthe Indian Head Division, Naval Surface War-fare Center, is leading a multiyear develop-ment program to find an environmentallyfriendly replacement for the primary explosivelead azide, specifically RD-1333. The result ofthis effort is a novel compound, copper(I) 5-ni-trotetrazole, also called DBX-1, which hasbeen synthesized and characterized by PacificScientific Energetic Materials (PSEMC) inChandler, Arizona. Testing of this material hasshown that it has sensitivity and safety charac-teristics that are similar to those of lead azide,and slightly greater output characteristics. Inaddition, DBX-1 has been tested in a varietyof detonator applications, with results that in-dicate it may serve as a drop-in replacementfor lead azide.PSEMC is currently working to scale the

compound up to larger batch sizes. The cen-ter is attempting to establish a manufacturingcapability for this material. Once the materialfabrication is scaled up, the center will pro- by Donald Jackson

Alliant Techsystems and NASA conducted a second successful ground test of the Ares Ifive-segment development motor.



by Advanced Methods and Materials, and apair of Sunpower 1-kWe Stirling engines with

thermodynamically coupledshared working fluid ex-pansion space to reducestructural weight and con-trol complexity.

Development alsocontinues on the ad-vanced Stirling ra-dioisotope generator(ASRG) for potentialuse in NASA’s Dis-covery 12 mission

in 2015. The ASRG reduces Pu-238 require-ments by a factor of four over current RTG(radioisotope thermoelectric generator) sys-tems. The ASRG engineering unit has been inextended testing at NASA Glenn, accumulat-ing over 13,000 hr of extended operation andsupporting controller development with Lock-heed Martin, DOE’s ASRG system integrator.NASA Glenn has also received four pairs ofnext-generation advanced Stirling convertors.These are hermetically sealed and include allthe necessary interfaces. Testing of these de-vices includes extended (24 hours a day) oper-ation to provide additional data on life, relia-bility, and durability and to enable furthercontroller development.NASA is improving battery performance

and safety for human missions. This effort in-cludes development of “non-flow-through”proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells andelectrolyzers, coupled with low-permeabilitymembranes for high pressure operation; high-energy battery cells using lithiated mixed-metal-oxide of NMC (Ni-Mn-Co) cathodes;electrolytes that are both high-voltage stableand flame resistant; cathode coatings to re-duce exothermic reactions; and a reversiblethermal switch for overtemp conditions. Forthe NASA extravehicular mobility unit, ABSLdelivered four long-life battery assemblies forintegration into astronaut spacesuits designedfor use on the ISS. Each battery assembly hasan energy density in excess of 180 Wh/kg.Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), sched-

uled to launch in the fall of 2011 and land onthe red planet in August 2012, includes thelargest rover ever sent to Mars. MSL has suc-cessfully completed the integration and test ofupgraded power system electronics, testing ofa new solar array qualification coupon, andfabrication of the first EM lithium-ion batteryassembly with the new higher capacity roverbattery assembly unit containing two 43-amp-hr batteries.

Aerospace power systems

Power system technology contin-ues to advance to meet the needfor higher performance and en-able high-power missions withreduced mass and stowed vol-ume for launch. AFRL con-tinued its research intohigh-efficiency, flexible ap-plications using invertedmetamorphic (IMM) so-lar cells to achieve effi-ciencies of over 32% with a “thinned” multi-junction cell. Current efforts focus on applyingthese advanced cells to space arrays using anintegrated blanket interconnect system.AFRL’s array initiatives for incorporating theIMM cell include Boeing’s high-performancesolar array, ATK’s ultraflex array, the DSSroll-out solar array, and MicroSat Systems’folded integrated thin-film stiffener array.DARPA’s Fast Access Spacecraft Testbed

(FAST) program aims at developing an ultra-lightweight high-power-generation system thatcan generate up to 175 kW. The goal of theprogram is to demonstrate a suite of criticaltechnologies, including high-efficiency solarcells, sunlight-concentrating arrays, large de-ployable structures, and ultralightweight solararrays. These technologies enable lightweight,high-efficiency, high-power satellites. Whencombined with electric propulsion, FAST willlay a foundation for future self-deployed high-mobility spacecraft to perform ultrahigh-power communications, space radar, satellitetransfer, and servicing missions.Modular solar panels promise improved

cost, standardization, and qualification trace-ability compared to today’s customized tech-nology. DR Technologies’ MOSAIC modulesare sized as a single string of standard high-efficiency cells and integrate into body-mounted and deployable panel configurations;a flight on FalconSat 6 is planned. SpaceQuesthas provided its modules for FASTSAT, a jointactivity of NASA and the Dept. of Defense.NASA and the Dept. of Energy continue

to conduct research and subsystem testingaimed at enabling fission power in space oron planetary surfaces. This year nearly allplanned subsystems technology readinessdemonstrations were completed. The subsys-tems included a no-moving-parts electromag-netic annular linear induction pump for con-trolled flow of liquid metal NaK at 525 C, aprototype NaK-to-NaK heat exchanger built

by the AIAA AerospacePower Systems TechnicalCommittee


Mars Science Laboratory hassuccessfully completedtesting of a new solar arrayqualification coupon.



biter, also known as the Akatsuki spacecraft.Akatsuki will begin transfer into Venus orbit inDecember 2010 using this 500N bipropellantengine built by IHI Aerospace. One week afterthe Akatsuki launch, Aerojet celebrated thelaunch of its highly modular propulsion sys-tem on the inaugural GPS IIF spacecraft.The European Space Agency (ESA) con-

tinued to develop the 180-kN Vinci expandercycle engine designated to power the futureupper stage of the Ariane 5 launcher midlifeevolution (A5ME). As part of various designadjustments related to A5ME requirements,Snecma conducted additional tests on theP4.1 high-altitude bench at DLR Lampold-shausen. The main objectives of these testswere to explore the engine’s entire flight do-main with firing time beyond 700 seconds,and to operate the large area ratio extendiblecomposite nozzle in line with its deploymentmechanism.ESA's Future Launcher Preparatory Pro-

gram (FLPP) refined system studies were initi-ated in 2010 to more specifically trade differ-ent launcher candidates in view of a next-generation space transportation system. Animportant focus area was FLPP’s main stagepropulsion technology program. By midyear,EADS/Astrium had successfully hot-fired ahigh pressure liquid hydrogen cooled subscalenozzle (SCENE), designed and manufacturedby Volvo Aero Corporation (VAC). The en-gine employed laser-welded sandwich technol-ogy in its construction and achieved a cham-ber pressure of 140 bar on the P8 test benchat DLR Lampoldshausen. Earlier in the year,VAC had set a novel achievement in Euro-pean nozzle technology when a full-scale liq-uid hydrogen cooled sandwich nozzle was suc-cessfully hot-fired on a Vulcain 2 engine atDLR’s P5 test bench in support of the ESAAriane 5 research and technology accompa-niment program. In parallel, Snecma flighttested several cost-saving technology break-throughs on a Vulcain-scale gas generator andhydrogen turbo-pump assembly, confirmingthe technological readiness levels for thesecomponents.

Liquid propulsion

In support of next-generation manned space-flight, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne’s Com-mon Extensible Cryogenic Engine (CECE)demonstrated a throttling range from 104%of rated power down to 5.9%. CECE is a15,000-lbf thrust class rocket engine designedas a technology demonstrator for throttlingand use of LH2/LO2 or CH4/LO2. This latesttest was the fourth in a series conducted inWest Palm Beach over the past five years.The CECE program is funded by the NASAPropulsion and Cryogenics Advanced Devel-opment project under a contract to demon-strate cryogenic engine technologies thatcould be used for space exploration activities,including landing on the moon, an asteroid, oranother planet.The 17.7-to-1 throttling capability demon-

strated by CECE is a first for a cryogenic en-gine. Other cryogenic firsts achieved includeclosed-loop control throughout the throttlerange, engine start at 10% power level, andrapid restart at varying power levels. The totalrun time for the most recent test series was2,403 sec, bringing the program’s total en-gine run time to 7,436 sec.There was also progress on the liquid

propulsion system for the Orion crew andservice modules. Aerojet’s R-1E 25-lbf bipro-pellant engine completed hot-fire test se-quences including more than 17,250 sec oftotal burn time, demonstrating its ability to op-erate under a broad variety of conditions ex-pected for the Service Module. In support ofthe Crew Module, Aerojet successfully testedan up-rated MR-104 160-lbf monopropellanthydrazine thruster under three times the pre-viously qualified vibration loads. Subsequenthot-fire testing demonstrated life and highthrust for contingency operations duringlaunch abort.The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

(JAXA) and IHI Aerospace qualified two newpressure-fed, bipropellant rocket engines. The500-N design is the main engine for JAXA’scargo transfer vehicle to the ISS, commonlyknown as the HTV. The 120-N engines areused for HTV’s reaction control system. IHIAerospace also completed manufacturing ofthe HTV-3 flight engines, scheduled to launchin 2012.Two improved unmanned propulsion de-

signs debuted in summer 2010. On May 20,the world’s first ceramic rocket engine waslaunched aboard Japan’s Venus Climate Or-

by the AIAALiquid PropulsionTechnical Committee

The HTV main engine undergoeshot-fire testing.

A SCENE nozzle demonstratormounted on an EADS/Astrium40-kN subscale chamber awaitstesting at the DLR P8 bench.



PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cellfueled by hydrogen from high-pressure andlightweight hydrogen storage tanks. It boastsquiet operation and high efficiency. The fuelcell has about four times the efficiency of acomparable internal combustion engine, andthe system provides seven times the energy inthe equivalent weight of batteries.The United Technologies Research Center

completed a pioneering system study forNASA assessing embedded, boundary-layer-ingesting (BLI) propulsor technologies for hy-brid wing body aircraft. Results indicate thatembedded propulsors, with BLI inlet airflowdistortion effects mitigated adequately, pro-vide up to 5% reduced fuel burn compared toadvanced conventionally configured turbofanengines, and 10% (or more) reduced fuel burnwith increased levels of BLI.An 18-month NASA effort to explore con-

cepts for 2030-era subsonic single-aisle com-mercial aircraft has produced interesting find-ings. A Boeing-led study that presented fivedesigns indicates that hybrid electric enginetechnology is a clear winner that can meetNASA’s goals of reduced fuel burn, NOx emis-sions, and field length. A portfolio of ad-vanced technologies (nicknamed SUGARVolt), including an electric battery gas turbinehybrid propulsion system, was found to re-duce fuel burn by more than 70% relative totoday. MIT/Aurora/Pratt&Whitney pre-sented a concept featuring a “double-bubble”design and a three-engine BLI propulsion sys-tem with ultra-high-bypass ratios above 20.Two versions are being considered, one usingexisting technologies and another using ad-vanced technologies. The latter design’s en-gines have compressor exit corrected flows ofroughly 1 lb/sec; the definition of appropriateconfigurations to provide these high-efficiencysmall cores is a technology challenge remain-ing to be addressed.The NASA/General Electric collaboration

on open rotors ended its first phase with com-pletion of aerodynamic and acoustic testing inthe NASA Glenn 9 x15-ft low speed windtunnel. Six blade sets were evaluated for per-formance at takeoff and approach conditions.Detailed measurements using technologiessuch as acoustic phased array and stereo par-ticle image velocimetry also were performed.These provided the historical baseline blade-set data required for a comprehensive data-base that will support modeling and simula-tion. Testing for performance at cruise speedhas begun in Glenn’s 8x6-ft high-speed windtunnel and will continue through this winter.

Air-breathing propulsionsystems integration

This year has seeninteresting develop-ments in hypersonicpropulsion systemsand green aviation.The Air Force

Research Lab (AFRL)completed a series ofsuccessful experi-ments demonstratingAerojet’s combined-cycle integrated in-let, an enabling tech-nology for integrated

turbine-based combined-cycle (TBCC) en-gines. The tests took place at NASA Glennfollowing earlier high-Mach tests performed atLangley. Transonic wind tunnel testing of thisinlet, completed under AFRL’s multidiscipli-nary Robust Scramjet Program and in part-nership with NASA’s Hypersonics Project,will improve understanding of TBCC engineoperation and performance capacity. Thisfirst-of-its-kind test activity measured subsonicthrough combined-cycle propulsion modetransition and collected 8,000 data points foran integrated TBCC inlet.The X-51’s historic 200-sec hypersonic

flight on May 26 marked an important ad-vancement in scramjet development. Power-ing the X-51 is the hydrocarbon-fueled SJY61Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne scramjet engine,which features fuel-cooled walls operating inan endothermic cycle. JP-7 fuel is pumpedfrom a holding tank through all four walls ofthe engine to provide cooling. In the processof cooling, the fuel is vaporized and eventuallyis partially cracked for combustion.Boeing’s Phantom Eye high-altitude long-

endurance UAV passed a key testing phase ofits propulsion system, which comprises twohydrogen-fueled Ford 150-hp, 2.3-liter, four-cylinder internal combustion engines. Liquidhydrogen stored in tanks is boiled off and thenpassed through a heat exchanger and fed intothe engines at near room temperature. Theengine, turbochargers, and engine controlsystem successfully completed an 80-hr test inan altitude chamber.The Navy’s Ion Tiger, a small electric

UAV, recently set a 26-hr endurance record.This aircraft, which can carry a 5-lb payload,features an onboard electric fuel cell propul-sion system comprising a 550-W Protonex

by Dyna Benchergui,Jeffrey Flamm,and Richard Wahls


NASA Glenn’s wind tunnels areenabling the current NASA/GEcollaborative testing ofcounterrotating fan-bladesystems for open-rotor jetengine designs.



heed Martin completed preliminary design ofan actively cooled dual-mode ramjet combus-tor under the DARPA-funded mode transitiondemonstrator program.

Aerojet’s supersonic sea-skimming targetramjet propulsion system successfully com-pleted the first flight test of the Coyote HighDiver supersonic target mission. The targetvehicle, developed by Orbital Sciences withAerojet’s solid-fueled variable-flow ductedrocket engine, was rail-launched from theground and boosted by a rocket motor to ram-jet-takeover speed. Under ramjet power, thesystem ascended to 35,000 ft and reachedMach-3.3 cruise speed. At the end of its 110-n.mi. flight, the vehicle executed a plannedunpowered dive to its objective.

The international community pushed for-ward air-breathing hypersonics as well. Brazil’sInstitute for Advanced Studies (IEAv) continueddeveloping its 14-X, a Mach-10 waverider hy-personic vehicle. IEAv also ground tested air-breathing laser propulsion in collaborationwith the Air Force Office of Scientific Re-search. In France, MBDA and ONERA contin-ued R&T activities in hypersonic air-breathingpropulsion, under contract to continue the re-maining part of LEA’s flight testing program.The experimental vehicle will be flight tested atMach 4-8 in 2013-2015.

Japan’s JAXA tested a rocket-based com-bined cycle engine at Mach-11 conditions inits High Enthalpy Shock Tunnel, followingsea-level static Mach 4-6 tests with a detona-tion tube supplying combustion gas. At Rus-sia’s Central Institute of Aviation Motors, suc-

cessful tests of a large-scalescramjet model demon-

strator integrated witha hypersonic air-frame simulatorwere performedto support de-velopment ofthe axisymmet-rical hydrogen-fueled scramjet,

which was flighttested in the 1990s.The complex require-

ments of faster vehicles willcontinue to demand advances in hypersonic

propulsion. The spectacular flight of the X-51A WaveRider brought scramjet technologya major step closer to practical reality.

Read more about these and other pro-grams at https://info.aiaa.org/tac/PEG/HSABPTC/default.aspx.

High-speed air-breathingpropulsion

Air-breathing hypersonic propulsion entered anew era this year. The 7.9-m-long X-51AWaveRider, powered by the Pratt & WhitneyRocketdyne scramjet engine, made aviationhistory on May 26 with the longest everscramjet-powered flight.

“This first flight test brings aviation closerthan ever to the reality of regular, sustainedhypersonic flight,” said Curtis Berger, directorof hypersonic programs at Pratt & WhitneyRocketdyne. “We are very proud to be part ofthe team that made this possible.”

The X-51A program is a collaborative ef-fort of AFRL, DARPA, Boeing, and Pratt &Whitney Rocketdyne. During its flight, theWaveRider was carried beneath an Air ForceB-52 and dropped from an altitude of 50,000ft. A rocket booster propelled the cruiser to aspeed greater than Mach 4.5, creating the su-personic environment necessary for startingits flight. Separating from the booster, theSJY61 scramjet ignited, initially on gaseousethylene; it then transitioned to JP-7 fuel.

The achievement is significant, becausethis is the first hypersonic flight by a hydrocar-bon-fueled scramjet. “We are ecstatic to haveaccomplished many of the X-51A test pointsduring its first hypersonic mission,” declaredCharlie Brink, X-51A program manager withAFRL. Brink called the leap in engine tech-nology “equivalent to the post-WW II jumpfrom propeller-driven aircraft to jet engines.”

Aerojet also made progress onadvancing scramjet technol-ogy. Under contractwith AFRL, the com-pany completedground testing ofa scramjet com-bustor, demon-strating a newthermal manage-ment technique.Called core burning,it forces the combus-tion flames away fromwalls, thereby reducing overallheat loads. Core burning will enable scramjetsto have more thermal margin, use less coolingfuel, and fly faster than they can with conven-tional thermal management. The engine op-erated robustly at simulated Mach-3-5 flightconditions.

Pratt&Whitney Rocketdyne and Lock- by Dora Musielak

The X-51A WaveRider madehistory on May 26 with thelongest ever scramjet-powered flight.



module habitat (with testing of a prototype“space greenhouse”). Two crews, each con-sisting of an astronaut and a geologist, con-ducted closed operations in the SEVs for aweek, performing several EVAs, then dockedwith the HDU for simulation of suit mainte-nance, geology, general maintenance, andfood growth experiments.

The flame extinguishment and the smokeaerosol measurement experiments took placeon the ISS. Conducted in reduced gravity, theywere aimed at improving the reliability of fu-ture spacecraft fire suppression and detection.The capillary flow experiment improved ourability to control fluids in two-phase systems;the constrained vapor bubble looked at phe-nomena important in advanced wickless heatpipes; and IVGen produced medical quality in-travenous fluids in reduced gravity.

In late December 2009, ESA astronautFrank De Winne became the first non-U.S.,non-Russian to take command of the ISS.Two Italian astronauts are preparing their mis-sions to ISS: Paolo Nespoli for Expedition 26-27, and Roberto Vittori for STS 134. Vittoriwill execute life science and radio-biology ex-periments. ESA is increasing the ECCO (ESAcold container) fleet to allow the return of bio-logical samples to Earth at controlled temper-ature, without the need of a power supply.

The European Science Foundation has ini-tiated a 24-month project called THESEUS(towards human exploration of space: a Euro-pean strategy) to develop an integrated life sci-ences research roadmap enabling Europeanhuman space exploration in synergy withESA’s strategy to identify potential nonspaceapplications and dual R&D.

A Russian-led multinational effort to simu-late the isolation of a 500-day mission to Marsis under way in Moscow. By September themission had been in progress for 90 days andhad simulated more than 15 million km oftransit from Earth but was still 200 million kmfrom Mars.

Systems needed for maintaining breath-able air in spacecraft are being developed atseveral NASA centers. Planning continues onthe next tests of the pressure swing amine bedtechnology intended for use on Orion, Altair,EVA systems, and lunar electric rover applica-tions. A closed-loop CO2 removal system isbeing built incrementally to reduce power as-sociated with water recovery and to integrateCO2 compression with the CO2 removal func-tion. Technologies for recovery of O2 fromCO2 and H2 from methane have progressedsignificantly this year.

Life sciences and systems

The life sciences and systems (LSS) commu-nity is conducting numerous aerospace-related efforts focusing on enabling humanexploration of space. Science and technology

efforts have been un-der way at space or-ganizations around theworld to address theanticipated life sup-port needs for futurespace endeavors.

A modular air revi-talization system forfuture manned space-craft bound for theISS and other LEOdestinations has com-pleted its preliminarydesign review, clear-ing the way for workto begin on a ground

test unit. Under NASA’s CCDev (commercialcrew development) project, Paragon SpaceDevelopment passed the milestone in Julywith its commercial crew transport air revital-ization system.

A panel discussion sponsored by theHouse Committee on Science and Technol-ogy, AIAA, and the American Society forGravitational and Space Biology was held inSeptember. The panel focused on the emer-gence of the biological economy and leverag-ing of telemedicine, agriculture, energy andthe environment, and how space biological re-search enables these terrestrial applications.

In response to requests from Congress,NASA asked the National Research Councilto undertake a decadal survey of life and phys-ical sciences in microgravity. Research pro-posed for the next decade by the life andphysical sciences communities would expanduse of the space environment to solve com-plex problems in these areas to deliver bothnew knowledge and practical benefits for hu-mankind. Their interim report is available online (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12944). The final report is due inearly 2011.

Desert RATS (research and technologystudies) simulation testing was conducted inArizona to simulate planned operations for fu-ture exploration of the Moon or Mars. DesertRATS included two space exploration vehicles(SEVs) and a habitat demonstration unit(HDU) that simulated a pressurized excursionby Joe Chambliss

SPACE AND MISSILES

Desert RATS simulated lunarexploration in the Arizona desert.

SM-1210.qxd:AA-December 11/16/10 9:51 AM Page 2


masses with a 1-km-long conducting tether.Recently, NRL completed successful deploy-ment tests of a spring mechanism called astacer, which pushes the two CubeSats apartat 4 m/sec. TEPCE is planned for flight as asecondary payload in 2012.

In support of TEPCE, the U.S. NavalAcademy is developing TetherSat, a satellitesystem with a 1-km-long tether, to test theTEPCE tether deployment hardware in LEOand to analyze the dynamics during and afterdeployment. Twin end masses are 1.5UCubeSats that will contain GPS and other sen-sors to accurately measure tether libration andorbital motion data. Although the tether isconductive, it will not be used to generateelectrodynamic forces. TetherSat is plannedfor a flight in late 2011.

Under a Space and Naval Warfare Sys-tems Command Small Business InnovationResearch program, Star Technology and Re-search and Tether Applications are develop-ing a propellantless maneuvering spacecraftusing electrodynamic propulsion with a 10-km conductive tape and powered by thin-filmsolar arrays. The ElectroDynamic Debris Elim-inator (EDDE) spacecraft is designed to ac-tively remove large debris objects from LEOusing lightweight nets deployed from theends, at far lower cost than using rockets.EDDE achieves high performance from itspatented rotating design, which provides sta-bility and increased thrust. Using data fromthe TEPCE flight, a Mini-EDDE will be de-signed for an orbital flight demonstration.

Space tethers

In this past year, the space tethers communitylaunched a sounding rocket payload experi-ment and continued to prepare several up-coming flight experiments, as well as to de-velop new applications.

On August 31, a Japanese space tetherexperiment called T-Rex was launched onsounding rocket S-520-25 from UchinouraSpace Center (near Uchinoura, Japan), reach-ing a maximum altitude of 309 km. T-Rex wasdeveloped by an international team led by theKanagawa Institute of Technology/Nihon Uni-versity to test a new type of electrodynamictether (EDT) that may lead to a generation ofpropellantless propulsion systems for LEOspacecraft. The 300-m-long tape tether de-ployed as scheduled and a video of deploy-ment was transmitted to the ground. Success-ful tether deployment was verified, as was thefast ignition of a hollow cathode in the spaceenvironment. Data analysis is ongoing.

Tethers Unlimited (TUI) continued devel-opment of its terminator tape deorbit module,a lightweight, low-cost device that uses elec-trodynamic and aerodynamic drag to enablespacecraft to meet orbital lifetime regulations.The company performed testing of termina-tor tape prototypes aboard the zero-g para-bolic flight aircraft, demonstrating successfuldeployment in microgravity.

An AFOSR-funded team from Penn State,the University of Michigan, and TUI have beenexamining the use of EDTs for “energy har-vesting” on spacecraft. The goal is to developa better understanding of the power genera-tion capabilities of EDT systems on variousscales, and how to store energy in and deriveenergy from the “orbital battery.” Initial re-sults show that large satellites have the poten-tial to harvest as much as kilowatts, and smallEDT systems for use on CubeSats could har-vest tens of watts of average power for shortperiods of time—useful, for example, during aground station overpass. Femtosats, such asChipSats, could benefit from EDT systemsthat would enable them to maintain orbit with-out a significant contribution to size and massor the need for expendable propellant.

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) isplanning to fly a Tether Electrodynamic Pro-pulsion CubeSat Experiment (TEPCE) to dem-onstrate electrodynamic propulsion in LEO.With body-mounted solar cells, TEPCE will beable to change its orbit by 1 km/day. Thespacecraft consists of two 1.5U CubeSat end

by Sven G. Bilén andthe AIAA Space TethersTechnical Committee

Downlinked video fromthe T-Rex tether experimentshows successful boom(bottom) and tether(top) deployment.



images are available to the public on the SDOweb site. “By some estimates, SDO will trans-mit as much as 50 times more science datathan any mission in NASA history,” saysDean Pesnell of Goddard.The latest in the Geostationary Opera-

tional Environmental Satellite (GOES) series,GOES-P, was launched on March 8 and ac-cepted into service on September 1; it will goby the name GOES-15. It was built by BoeingSpace and Intelligence Systems and launchedwith a Delta IV rocket by ULA. The spacecraftis currently in a parking orbit, ready to takeover weather monitoring and tracking shouldone of the currently active GOES spacecraftexperience an anomaly.The European Space Agency’s CryoSat 2

spacecraft was launched on April 8 aboard aDnepr rocket. It replaces Cryo-Sat, which waslost in a 2005 launch failure. CryoSat 2 is de-signed to precisely monitor the thickness ofice, both in the ocean and on land. In its mostadvanced mode, two SAR antennae on thespacecraft use interferometric techniques toaccurately measure ice thickness.This year marked the half-time point in

New Horizon’s traverse to Pluto. The smallspacecraft, weighing only 478 kg, carries sixinstruments to conduct observations of Pluto,the once-planetary body and now largest ofthe Kuiper-belt objects. New Horizons wasbuilt jointly by the Applied Physics Lab andSouthwest Research Institute. With a destina-tion more than 30 AU from the Sun, NewHorizons is powered by a radioisotope ther-mal generator, supplying about 240 W to thegrand-piano-size spacecraft. Communicationis done via a large, 2.1-m high gain X-bandantenna. At its destination, New Horizon hasa roundtrip communications latency of ~9 hr,necessitating a relatively autonomous space-craft that can manage faults and anomalies re-covery with minimal ground contact.The Japanese Aerospace Exploration

Agency launched Akatsuki, a Venus orbiter,on May 20 aboard a JAXA H-IIA 202 rocketfrom Tanegashima. The spacecraft carries in-novative silicon nitride ceramic thrusters de-veloped by JAXA for the 500-N orbit maneu-vering engine. Akatsuki (“Dawn”) is scheduledto arrive at Venus this month and enter into a30-hr elliptical orbit. Akatsuki carries a multi-wavelength suite of instruments designed toimage the Venusian atmosphere from 90 kmdown to 10 km.These missions are just a few examples of

space systems being built around the world toexpand the frontiers of human knowledge.

Space systems

Innovative satellitesystems designed tocarry out scientific ex-ploration are a main-stay of our nation’sspace systems. Asteady stream of satel-lites since Explorer 1,launched in January1958, has quietly andproudly been expand-ing the frontiers of hu-man scientific know-ledge. In the midst ofchanges and upheavalthat marked the year2010, we celebratethese achievements,which represent some

of the best of human endeavors. Despite thechallenges faced by other parts of NASA, itsScience Mission Directorate is enjoying one ofthe most fruitful time periods, with more than15 science satellites in operation. Worldwide,scientists are getting more data from space-based observations than ever before.A slew of Earth-observing space systems

were launched in 2010 to help further under-stand our planet and its environment. Man-aged by NASA Goddard, the Solar DynamicsObservatory (SDO) was launched on February11 on an Atlas V 401 to a geosynchronousorbit to provide continuous monitoring of theSun. SDO is providing unprecedented multi-wavelength observation of the Sun, continu-ously downloaded to its own dedicatedground station. High-definition near-real-time

by Amy Lo

SPACE AND MISSILES

The New Horizons satellite isscheduled to arrive at Plutoon July 14, 2015. Imagecourtesy JHUAPL/SwRI.

A close-up look at a substantialactive region on July 9 shows ahotbed of magnetic activity thatleads to a small solar flarebursting out into space.The images were taken by SDO’sAIA instrument in the 171-Åwavelength of extreme ultravioletlight. The thin arcing loops arereally particles spiraling alongmagnetic field lines above theactive region.



tercept test. Representatives from several mis-sile defense assets and emerging technologiesobserved the launch and gathered data for fu-ture analysis. The THAAD system continuesto undergo development and testing to pro-vide a robust layered defense against ballisticmissiles of all ranges in all phases of flight.For the third time, a Japan Maritime Self-

Defense Force ship conducted a successful in-tercept flight test in cooperation with the U.S.Navy. The test was a significant milestone inthe growing cooperation between Japan andthe U.S. in the area of missile defense. Also,the Aegis BMDS successfully completed a se-ries of exercises. The second-gen-eration Aegis BMDS brings the ca-pability to engage increasinglylonger range and more sophisti-cated ballistic missiles. A two-stageground-based interceptor (GBI)was also successfully flight tested.This GBI is undergoing develop-mental testing as part of theDOD’s strategy of investing in anew missile defense option that can contributeto homeland defense.Two new propulsion systems underwent

simulated altitude testing at the Air Force’sArnold Engineering Development Center.The successful performance test of Aerojet’sadvanced second-stage large solid-propellantrocket motor was the first at simulated altitudeconditions following a 2009 sea-level test atEdwards AFB. ATK’s Castor 30 motor, de-signed to support a “family of motors” prod-uct line for possible DOD and NASA applica-tions, was also successful, operating for over150 sec. This first-ever test of this upper stagemotor was the longest firing in the test facil-ity’s 16-year history.

Missile systems

A number of exciting and important launchesand flights took place this year. Both the low-cost guided imaging rocket (LOGIR) programand the Minotaur IV had successful launches.In addition, the X-51A completed the firstpowered flight of an endothermic hydrocar-bon-fueled scramjet engine. The value and ad-vantages of these programs are enormous,enabling the U.S. to maintain its position as aworld leader.LOGIR, a Navy-developed guidance en-

hancement capability for rockets, completedits concept demonstration phase at the NavalAir Warfare Center Weapons Division with asuccessful launch and direct hit. The test in-volved the air launch of a guided rocketagainst a fast inshore attack craft target. Thelaunch aircraft was a helicopter equipped witha LOGIR fire control system and LOGIRsmart launcher. This test officially shifted theLOGIR project into the joint capability tech-nology demonstration phase, where it will beknown as Medusa. Completion of a militaryutility assessment for Medusa is expected in2011.The first Minotaur IV rocket successfully

launched in April, deploying DARPA’s hyper-sonic technology vehicle 2 into a suborbitaltrajectory. The Minotaur IV “lite” launch vehi-cle leverages the flight-proven heritage of theMinotaur I, Pegasus, and Taurus vehicles toprovide an extremely cost-effective and capa-ble space solution. Future Minotaur IV mis-sions will include options such as commercialsolid-fuel rocket upper stages and a hydrazinepropulsion and attitude control system.The X-51A made history when it success-

fully completed its first flight, with accelerationfrom boost (about Mach 4.5) to about Mach5. The X-51A is an unmanned scramjet-pro-pelled aircraft developed for advancing air-breathing hypersonic flight technology. ABoeing and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne con-sortium is developing the aircraft for the AirForce and DARPA. In the future, platformscapable of flying at hypersonic speeds will beable to respond almost instantly to strategicand tactical threats. Additional X-51A flightsare planned for late this year and 2011 tochase the goal maximum, about Mach 6+.Testing and development continued for

the nation’s ballistic missile defense system(BMDS). The operationally configured termi-nal high-altitude area defense (THAAD) mis-sile system conducted its seventh successful in-

by the AIAAMissile SystemsTechnical Committee

The successful performancetest of Aerojet’s advancedsecond-stage large solid-propellant rocket motor wasthe first at simulated altitudeconditions.

An AH-1W attack helicopterlaunches a guided imagingrocket during a test at theNAWCWD Point Mugu sea range.



SPACE AND MISSILES

probe, a multispectral microscopic imager, anX-ray diffraction instrument, a borehole X-rayfluorescence instrument, and the VAPoR(volatile analysis by pyrolysis of regolith) andRESOLVE systems for volatile analysis.

Multiagent teaming of rovers was used toautonomously prepare a landing pad at thetest site. Concentrated solar energy and elec-tric resistance heaters mounted on a roverwere used to sinter the tephra surface to in-crease stability. The geotechnical propertiesof the sintered surfaces were measured beforethey were tested with the exhaust plume froman LCH4/LOX thruster. Tephra was also col-lected with an automated rover powered by afuel cell and delivered to a carbothermal re-duction plant, where it was inserted into thereactor with a pneumatic lift system. Thetephra was processed using concentrated so-lar energy, producing water that was elec-trolyzed. The hydrogen produced was storedin metal hydride canisters, while the oxygenwas liquefied and later used to operate theLCH4/LOX thruster. The stored hydrogenwas used to operate a fuel cell that poweredthe carbothermal reduction plant and othersupport equipment.

The field test was very successful and metall its major objectives. Equipment from severalorganizations was successfully integrated at thetest site to create a true end-to-end demonstra-tion of space resource evaluation and utiliza-tion. Prototype equipment was operated in aharsh terrestrial environment for long periodsas a precursor for flight hardware develop-ment. Several systems were monitored and op-erated remotely through a satellite communi-cations link that provided telemetry, situationalawareness, command and control, and datamanagement. Outreach and public educationevents were held during the field test to sharethe exciting work with local residents, students,and the general public.

NASA Kennedy coordinated and hostedthe inaugural Lunabotics Mining Competi-tion. This event, sponsored in part by theAIAA Space Resources Technical Commit-tee, included designing and building a remote-controlled or autonomous excavator (lunabot)for competition, writing a systems engineeringpaper, coordinating informal education out-reach to K-12 students, a lunabotics miningslide presentation, and a team spirit evaluation.

Finally, an Ohio State University/NASAMarshall/NASA Kennedy/ASRC Aerospaceteam demonstrated the full removal of metallicand lunar oxide melts by countergravity castingfrom a molten regolith electrolysis furnace.

Space resources

In another exciting year for the space re-source utilization community, several tech-nologies advanced from laboratory prototype

to complete operat-ing system. Many ofthese technologieswere integrated forthe first time andtested at the 2010International LunarSurface Operationsand ISRU (in-situ re-source utilization)Analog Test. Thisfield test took placefrom January 25 toFebruary 12 at a lu-nar analog test siteoperated by PISCES(Pacific InternationalSpace Center for Ex-ploration Systems) at

an elevation of 9,000 ft on the slopes ofMauna Kea. NORCAT (Northern Center forAdvanced Technology) led the test, with fund-ing from the Canadian Space Agency.NASA’s Science Mission Directorate fundedresource characterization instruments.

The major participants in the field testwere NASA (Kennedy, Johnson, Langley,Goddard, Ames, JPL, and Headquarters),DLR (the German space agency), ORBITEC,Honeybee Robotics, PSI, ASRC Rocket,WASK Engineering, the NORCAT-led SRCanteam (Neptec, Xiphos, Ontario Drive andGear, UTIAS, Electric Vehicle Controllers,Virgin Technologies, Natural Resources Ca-nada, PACEAS Technologies, and YUM Culi-nary Academy/Cambrian College), the Uni-versity of Hilo, Arizona State University, UCDavis, McMaster University, the University ofMainz, and the University of Washington.

The field test was a unique opportunity tointegrate many different capabilities requiredfor space resource utilization—active visionsystems, drilling, robotic mobility, robotic ma-nipulators, communications, and ISRU pro-cessing technologies—into a single demonstra-tion. Several instruments characterized thegeotechnical, chemical, and mineral featuresof the tephra at the test site. Instruments in-cluded the RESOLVE (regolith and environ-ment science and oxygen and lunar volatileextraction) drill, a combined Mossbauer/XRF,several cone penetrometers, a heat flowby Robert Gustafson

The integrated regolith processingsystem located at a lunar analogtest site on Mauna Kea is remotelyoperated from NASA Johnson.



The challenge of ISS spares and preposi-tion planning is overcoming the uncertainty infailure rate estimates and minimizing the riskof inaccurate failure predictions. To mitigatethis problem, the ISS logistics and mainte-nance team and ISS reliability and maintain-ability team use Bayesian inference to updatemean time between failure estimates withORU performance history. As with previousupdates, the 2009-2010 operating periodgenerally shows on-orbit hardware perform-ing better than initially predicted. TheBayesian update process will likely continue tobe a critical tool for ISS sustainment plans ex-tending to 2020 and beyond.

ISS prepositioning, sustainment, and re-pair capabilities were showcased in August af-ter an ammonia pump module on the star-board-side truss failed. One of the station’stwo cooling loops was brought down, necessi-tating a reduction in power consumption bynoncritical systems and payloads. Planningbegan immediately for removing the brokenpump and replacing it with an available spare.

Expedition 24 flight engineers DougWheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson per-

formed a first spacewalk on August 7to remove and replace the pump.

Their excursion lasted 8 hr 3min, making it the longestISS-based spacewalk andthe sixth-longest space-walk in history. Their re-pair tasks originally in-cluded removing thefailed pump moduleand retrieving a sparefrom an externalstowage platform, butan ammonia leak ne-cessitated a second EVAto finish removing thefailed pump and preparea spare for installation in a

third and final spacewalk.The 780-lb spare ammonia

pump had been delivered in July2006 via STS-121 and placed on an

external stowage platform. The repair andreplacement tasks took a total of 22 hr 49min during the three spacewalks.

The extensive EVA work also highlightsthe need for implementing EVR (extravehicu-lar robotics) and EVA/EVR cooperative main-tenance for other external ORUs (orbital re-placement units) using the Canadian SpaceAgency’s special-purpose dexterous manipu-lator, fondly referred to as Dextre.

Space logistics

Space logistics is the theory and practice ofdriving space system design for operability,and managing the flow of materiel, services,and information needed throughout a spacesystem life cycle. The shuttle’s impending re-tirement will significantly affect space stationlogistics processes—the original ISS opera-tions and support concept was designed withcontinued shuttle operations in mind. The im-minent cancellation has driven significant ISSsustainment concept changes, which now in-volve greater reliance on spares preposition-ing, on-station ORU (orbital replacement unit)repairs, and the loss of capacity for returninglarge, high-value parts to Earth for repairs. Insum, the shuttle’s retirement will severely chal-lenge our ability to address satellite servicingand significant unplanned ISS system repairs.

Soyuz and Progress flights continue totransfer crews and materiel to the ISS, andSoyuz will become the only vehicle capable ofcrew and limited cargo return when the shut-tle retires. The automated transfer vehicle Jo-hannes Kepler is slated to become thesecond European spacecraft toreach the ISS, with the launchvia an Ariane 5 mission ex-pected early next year. Itoffers significantly morecargo capacity thanProgress, with up to5.5 metric tons offreight and supplies,840 kg of water, 100kg of gases, and 4metric tons of fuel forISS orbit correction.ESA is also investigat-ing a reusable reentryvehicle variant that is de-signed to return crew andmateriel to Earth. OtherISS resupply alternatives in-clude the NASA COTS SpaceXDragon and Orbital SciencesCygnus vehicles and the JAXA HTV, all ofwhich are planning flights to the ISS in thenext few years. Dragon brings the potentialfor significant downmass capacity.

Major tasks remaining for the ISS interna-tional partnership include coordinating flightschedules, cargo manifests, docking portavailability, and reverse logistics; maintaininga robust set of spares; and the timely deliveryof consumables. by Alan W. Johnson

Expedition 24 flight engineerTracy Caldwell Dyson, attiredin her extravehicular mobilityunit spacesuit in the ISSQuest airlock, completedthree spacewalks with flightengineer Doug Wheelock toremove and replace anammonia pump module thatfailed July 31.



The year also brought significant progressin the space tourism arena. A Virgin Galac-tic/Scaled Composites team demonstrated asuborbital test flight of VSS Enterprise in a bidto achieve commercial manned suborbitalflight. Bigelow Aerospace, teamed with Or-bitec Technologies, embarked on human rat-ing the environmental control and life-supportsystem to be used on the Sundancer inflatablehabitat in space, scheduled for a 2015 launch.ISS activities included research on human

physiology and radiation protection; micro-gravity disciplines such as materials science,fluid physics, and combustion; Earth observa-tions; and education outreach.Space settlement concepts and infrastruc-

ture supporting future space settlement werefeatured at the AIAA Space 2010 Conferenceand AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting aswell as at the National Space Society Interna-tional Space Development Conference,where the focus was on key technologies re-quired for space colonization.Evidence of popular acceptance of space

settlement concepts is increasing. The AIAA-sponsored International Space Settlement De-sign Competition involved over 1,000 high-school students worldwide in designing largespace settlements in a solar cycler orbit cross-ing the orbits of Earth and Mars Earth orbit, inMars lunar orbit, and on the surface of Mars.The National Space Society Space DesignContest attracted hundreds of entries, prima-rily from individual students.This year we have seen the U.S. space

program become a political football, with pas-sions running high in both camps. The U.S.has spent billions of dollars on developing ashuttle replacement, only to see the programfundamentally changed in midcourse. It istime for us to realize that the space programis no longer a discretionary one but rather astrategic one that is multifaceted, providing akey stimulus for technical innovation and en-terprise, showcasing technical prowess andleadership, and challenging the next genera-tion to pioneer the next frontier.The key to success in space will be a co-

herent, sustained vision, adequate funding,and relentless effort. NASA should embark onthe Moon-first path while keeping open thelater opportunity to visit other near-Earth bod-ies. Moon-Base 2020 should be an engineer-ing testbed for technologies applicable tolong-term exploration missions on Mars andelsewhere. Without these technologies anddemonstrable milestones, long-term explo-ration goals will remain elusive.

Space colonization

Expanding human presence beyond Earth isthe long-term goal of the manned spaceflightprogram—a goal clearly recognized by theAugustine commission, and against whichevery foray into space should be measured.Progress toward future space settlements ismeasured in small ways, mostly as incremen-tal changes in perception and in advances insupporting technology development. Thisyear was full of mixed signals, with commer-cial entities continuing to make progress to-ward cargo/crew launch and the U.S. gov-ernment trying to reinvent the human spaceprogram priorities and approaches.Russia, ESA, Japan, China, and India all

have proposed ambitious missions, includingmanned missions, to the Moon and planets.The announced finding of substantial amounts—perhaps a billion gallons—of water and othervolatiles from the Lunar Crater Observationand Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) 2009 impactmission has come as a stunning revelationthat warrants a second look at the Moon. Thepresence of ammonia in the impact ejecta isanother key finding for facilitating future ex-tended human presence on the lunar surface.SpaceX and Orbital Sciences made con-

tinued progress in the development of com-mercial launch vehicles via NASA-funded pro-grams. Several other firms reported programsfor suborbital launches that could be leased forresearch and/or promoting science, technol-ogy, engineering, and mathematics education.

by Ram Ramachandranand Anita Gale

SPACE AND MISSILES

Findings from the LCROSS2009 impact mission revealthe presence of large amountsof water on the Moon.



fore the end of the year. Future payloads in-clude the second ATV, Johannes Kepler, tothe ISS. The first Soyuz launch from Guiana isplanned for December.

Japan has achieved a significant “first” inspace transportation with the successful re-covery in Australia of its Hayabusa probe inJune. Launched seven years ago, Hayabusalanded on asteroid Itokawa in November2005. An H-II-A rocket launched Akatsuki,the first Japanese probe to Venus, in May; thepayload included the Ikaros satellite, equippedwith a 20-m-wide solar sail.

India launched its first GSLV Mk2 D3 withan indigenous cryogenic upper stage, but itfailed during its initial ascent. The Indian polarsatellite launch vehicle launched the Cartosat2B remote sensing satellite and multiple sec-ondary payloads. A GSLV Mk1 launch wasplanned for the last quarter of 2010. The sec-ond attempt to send a South Korean satellitewith a KSLV launcher failed in June. The ve-hicle exploded toward the end of first-stageoperations.

Seven Chinese Long March launches wereconducted this year, the last with China’s sec-ond lunar orbiter probe, Chang’e 2. Russia isstill launching at a high rate, totaling 17 bymidyear (including ILS launches). In June, Is-rael launched its Ofeq 9 reconnaissance satel-lite with a Shavit rocket.

Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo carrieraircraft, with SpaceShipTwo, made its firstlong-distance captive-carry flight to the Space-port America runway dedication in conjunc-tion with the October ISPCS meeting in LasCruces, New Mexico, following a successfulfirst free flight of the SpaceShipTwo vehicle.

XCOR is continuing to develop the Lynxsuborbital spaceplane that is expected to be-gin prototype flight tests in mid-2011. MastenSpace Systems, meanwhile, is developing sub-orbital vehicles of its own design.

Space transportation

While the space shuttle program is windingdown, NASA has entered a particularly criti-cal period in its effort to reshape its humanspaceflight program. All this activity is gener-ating a lot of media attention and discussion,as the decisions being made in Congress nowmay very well affect the agency for years tocome.

STS-130 delivered the Tranquility con-necting node and the cupola to the interna-tional space station. The cupola is a modulewith seven windows to provide a unique viewaround the station. STS-131 carried a multi-purpose logistics module with supplies and ex-periments for use aboard the ISS. STS-132carried the Russian mini-research module 1,to be attached to the Zarya module. And STS-133 delivered the express logistics carrier, amultpurpose logistics module, and criticalspare components.

The Orion pad abort test was launched atWhite Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; itwas the first fully integrated flight test of thelaunch abort system. The Orion crew explo-ration vehicle parachute assembly system per-formed a successful airdrop test at the YumaProving Grounds. The second full-scaledemonstration test of the five-segment solidrocket booster was successfully conducted.

The first SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehiclewas successfully launched in June, marking akey milestone for the commercial spaceflightindustry. Preliminary data indicated that Fal-con achieved all of its primary mission objec-tives, culminating in a nearly perfect insertionof the second stage and Dragon spacecraftqualification unit into the targeted circular or-bit. A second launch under the COTS pro-gram is planned before year’s end.

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV deliv-ered GOES-P for NASA and NOAA. Theweather satellite will monitor conditionsacross the U.S. Another ULA Delta IVlaunched the Air Force’s first Block-2F navi-gation satellite for the GPS system. A ULAAtlas V launched NASA's Solar Dynamics Ob-servatory; another launched the U.S. mili-tary’s X-37B, a prototype spaceplane. A thirdAtlas V launched the first advanced extremelyhigh frequency satellite. One each of the DeltaII and Delta IV Heavy vehicles, two Atlas Vs,and two Minotaur launches are also scheduledfor this year.

As of mid-2010, three Ariane 5 launcheshad been conducted, with three remaining be-

by Carl Ehrlich and theAIAA Space TransportationTechnical Committee

The WhiteKnightTwo carrieraircraft, with SpaceShipTwo,made its first long-distancecaptive-carry flight in October.



The various elements of the partially deployedsystem are still undergoing test and integration.

Midcourse defense intercepts long-rangemissiles while they are ballistic, the missileshaving used up their fuel. There is ongoing re-search on destroying missiles earlier, duringboost, just after launch during their accelera-tion phase, while they are still burning fuel.On February 11, the airborne laser test bed(ALTB) destroyed two missiles during launchwithin 1 hr of each other, one a liquid-fueledrocket and one a solid-fueled rocket. TheALTB has an oxygen-iodine laser housed in aBoeing 747-400 freighter. On September 1,a test was terminated as the laser beam veeredand the system software shut down the beam.

In the terminal intercept regime, wherethe missile warheads are on their way downtoward the target, this year saw another suc-cessful test of the terminal high-altitude areadefense (THAAD) missile defense system witha successful intercept of a target missile off thecoast of Hawaii on June 28. The target rep-resented a short-range ballistic missile. Alsofor short-range missiles and artillery shells, theIron Dome system is under development by Is-rael with U.S. support.

Historically, the primary defense for indi-vidual soldiers and ground vehicles has beeninaccuracy of incoming fire. Unfortunately, inAfghanistan and Iraq, explosive devices arebeing placed in close proximity to the target,negating this historical defense. Thus, our sol-diers and vehicles need equipment to protectagainst impacts and close-range blast. Afterthe initial, and successful, delivery of vehiclessuch as MRAP, we are now in a position tobegin devising vehicles that are designed fromthe ground up with impact and blast defensein mind. Ideas such as “floating” the cabs toprevent soldiers’ legs from being shatteredduring a blast event, and incorporating newmaterials and safety systems into the vehicles,are under development.

From the systems perspective, we need tounderstand all the demands on the vehicles,including mobility, stability, electrical powerrequirements, cooling, and what informationand devices need to be accessible by the crewsince additional objects in the cab becomehazards during extreme events. When theWeapon System Technical Committee firstformed in 1995, its main focus was missiledefense, requiring the most complex systemsyet created. Now ground systems need in-creased sophistication. The art of effectiveweapon system design is most challenginglyexpressed in these defensive systems.by James D. Walker

SPACE AND MISSILES

This year marks the 27th anniversary of Pres-ident Reagan’s visionary speech on strategicdefense, where he announced that the U.S.was capable enough that mutually assured de-struction was no longer a morally tenable de-fense position. He said, “I've become moreand more deeply convinced that the humanspirit must be capable of rising above dealingwith other nations and human beings bythreatening their existence.”

In this initial speech, Reagan recognizedthat “[creating a strategic defense] will takeyears, probably decades of efforts on manyfronts. There will be failures and setbacks, justas there will be successes and breakthroughs.”

Defensive systems are still proving to bethe most demanding weapon systems. Missiledefense systems strike incoming warheads,objects that are less than 1 m across, at veloc-ities ranging from subsonic (300 m/sec) toabove 5 km/sec (over 10,000 mph).

As to complexity and difficulty on the up-per intercept velocity end, the U.S. is still test-ing its deployed ground-based midcourse de-fense (GBMD) segment. On January 31, theU.S. had a test failure of the installed system:a target missile was successfully launched fromKwajalein, and the interceptor missile was suc-cessfully launched from Vandenberg AFB, butthere were problems with sea-based X-bandradar and an intercept did not occur. On June6 there was a successful launch of a ground-based interceptor, again from Vandenberg.

Weapon systemeffectiveness

This GBMD interceptor waslaunched from Vandenberg AFBon January 31. Missile DefenseAgency photo.



zation looking at conjunctions of satellitesowned by its participating operators, and theexpected first launch of the USAF’s space sur-veillance satellite.

Commercial spaceflight has made steadyprogress this year, most notably by SpaceXwith the successful maiden flight of its Falcon9 heavy-lift rocket on June 4 from LaunchComplex 40 at Cape Canaveral. The com-pany achieved another major milestone onAugust 12 with asuccessful drop testof its Dragon cap-sule about 9 mi. offthe coast of MorroBay in California.The test validatedits parachute de-ployment system.And though the ini-tial flights will de-scend for a touch-down on the water,their goal is a landrecovery. The combined Falcon 9 and Dragonwere designed not only to replace the spaceshuttle as a cargo carrier but also to transportcrew to low Earth orbit. The latter is the so-called “D” option of the Commercial OrbitalTransportation Services contract, whichNASA has not yet exercised.

Elsewhere in private spaceflight, VirginGalactic’s VSS Enterprise made its inauguralmanned flight on March 22 in a “captivecarry” flight test in which the vehicle stayed at-tached to the VMS Eve mothership. The flightlasted 2 hr 54 min and achieved a peak alti-tude of 45,000 ft.

Space operationsand support

This year has been marked by a number of sig-nificant scientific advances in the field of space-craft operations, including a number of aster-oid mission successes. Deep Impact’s flyby ofEarth in June as part of its extended investiga-tion activity en route to comet Hartley-2 wasfollowed closely by Rosetta’s flyby of asteroidLutetia in July.

The most remarkable of the asteroid mis-sions was undoubtedly the Japanese Haya-busa mission. Japan had already enjoyed asignificant scientific operations success in Maywith the launch of its Akatsuki satellite toVenus. But Hayabusa became the first missionto take a sample from the surface of an aster-oid (Itokawa) and return it to Earth.

The mission’s success was all the more re-markable considering the issues the opera-tions team had to overcome. The spacecraft’srover, Minerva, could not be dispatched andHayabusa itself, which was not intended toland on the asteroid, landed for 30 minutes.The particle collection mechanism failed, butasteroid dust was collected as a result of thelanding. A failure in one of the engines re-sulted in a loss of communications with thespacecraft for seven weeks, and JAXA neededa further 16 months to regain control. Finallythe craft had to use ion thrusters to return toEarth after the chemical thruster failure.

Space debris and situational awareness re-mained very active topics. The widely publi-cized control communications failure of theGalaxy 15 satellite while maintaining trans-ponder broadcasting in April, resulted in sig-nificant interference to neighboring spacecraftas it drifted uncontrolled in front of active geo-stationary orbital slots over the subsequentmonths. This not only caused significant dis-ruption to the geostationary communicationssector, but highlighted a less cited but equallyimportant domain of spacecraft control failuremitigation and end-of-life strategies, com-pared to past years’ dramatic debris events.

End-of-life passivation guidelines highlightthe need for disabling intentional transmitters,and although Galaxy 15 was not being placedinto an end-of-life configuration, it demon-strated very clearly the need for such guide-lines during both these and mission contin-gency activities.

Progress in space situational awareness in-cluded the first operations of the Space DataCenter, set up in 2009 as a nonprofit organi-

by Franz Newlandand J. Paul Douglas

The Dragon drop test validatedthe parachute deployment system.

JAXA’s Hayabusa overcamea series of problems beforesuccessfully returning itsprobe to Earth.

Space operationsand support



mittee meeting at the end of the year to dis-cuss an amendment to the D7566 fuel specifi-cation. If the vote on the amendment is fav-orable, it should lead to the approved use ofbiofuels in commercial aircraft.

The FAA, through its CLEEN (ContinuousLower Energy, Emissions, and Noise) pro-gram, is seeking to develop and demonstratetechnologies and alternative fuels to meetmultiple environmental and energy goals.These include reducing fuel burn by 33%, ni-trogen oxide emissions by 60%, and cumula-tive aircraft noise levels by 32 dB. In June theprogram announced $125 million in contractsto companies including Boeing, Honeywell,GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce North America.

NASA hosted a Green Aviation Summit inSeptember to discuss the challenges, opportu-nities, and progress associated with its Envi-ronmentally Responsible Aviation effort. Theevent was attended by government, industry,and academia, and highlighted the diversespectrum of NASA programs aimed at miti-gating aviation’s impact on the environment.

GE Aviation completed low-speed acoustictesting of its generation-one open rotor blades.The subscale blades were tested at NASAGlenn in the 9x15-ft low-speed wind tunnel.The company expects the final configurationto enable a double-digit reduction in fuel burn.Pratt & Whitney continued development of itsgeared turbofan, which also promises double-digit improvements in fuel burn. Rolls-Roycemade progress this year in its EnvironmentallyFriendly Engine program, which will validatetechnologies aimed at reducing noise, fuelburn, and emissions. These technologies willundergo testing in a full engine demonstrator.

The newly formed ARPA-E (Advanced Re-search Projects Agency-Energy) has had abusy year. In March it awarded $106 million incontracts focusing on biofuels, more efficientand cost-effective batteries, and clean coaltechnology. July brought $92 million in addi-tional funding for 43 potentially transforma-tional energy projects. These contracts centeron infrastructure factors such as grid scale en-ergy storage, building efficiency, and powerelectronics. Later, a September announce-ment awarded $9.6 million to six projectsaimed at increasing building energy efficiency,reducing solar energy costs, and improvingpower density.

Finally, AIAA formed a Green Engineer-ing Program Committee this year, further re-flecting the growing importance of these pro-grams to the aerospace industry.

Green engineering

Green aviation, alternative fuels, sustainabil-ity, and energy topics moved to the forefrontthis year in the aerospace industry.

In one of many key milestones for bio-fuels, a military helicopter was flown for thefirst time using a 50/50 blend of biofuel andtraditional jet fuel. The flight of a BoeingApache, piloted by the Royal Netherlands AirForce, lasted 20 min.

The Navy reached a significant landmarkin April with the first flight of a naval fighterfueled by a biofuel blend. The Boeing F/A-18Green Hornet, powered by GE F414 engines,flew for 45 min and performed as expected.Preceding this test were hundreds of hours ofcomponent and ground testing.

The Air Force posted key achievements aswell, completing altitude tests of an F110 en-

gine using a 50/50 biofuel mix at Arnold En-gineering Development Center. The first flightof an A-10 Thunderbolt II using a camelina-derived biofuel blend took place in March.

CAAFI (Commercial Aviation AlternativeFuels Initiative) is researching the use of alter-native fuels as a means of improving energysecurity and environmental sustainability. It issponsored by the FAA, the Airports CouncilInternational-North America, the AerospaceIndustries Association, and the Air TransportAssociation of America. The coalition also in-cludes members from airlines, airframers, en-gine manufacturers, and energy producers. InJanuary, CAAFI received the Joseph S. Mur-phy Industry Service Award, which recognizedthe partnership’s considerable achievementsin advancing alternative fuels.

ASTM International will hold a critical com-by Jason Slagle

PROGRAM COMMITTEES

Dr. Bilal BomaniinspectsSalicornia as apotentialbiofuel fornext-generationaviation fuels inthe Green Lab atNASA Glenn inCleveland, Ohio.

PC-1210.qxd:AA-December 11/16/10 2:28 PM Page 2


areas—physical sciences, biology, medicine,psychology, Earth observation, preparationfor human exploration, and technology dem-onstration. Use of the station’s U.S. NationalLaboratory also promotes the commercializa-tion of space. This year the National Institutesof Health (NIH) awarded three grants to usethe ISS National Laboratory facilities for con-ducting research in the areas of bone, immu-nity, and disease. The grants, which total over$1.3 million, enable a partnership that takesadvantage of the unique microgravity environ-ment aboard the ISS. This environment allowsexploration of fundamental questions aboutimportant health issues here on Earth while

also advancing NASA’s exploration goals.As ISS research has progressed, the ISS

partners have been working together to trackthe objectives, accomplishments, and applica-tions of the new knowledge gained. To date,there have been 59 countries represented byresearch and educational activities on the ISS.From 1998 through March of this year, theISS partner agencies have conducted a totalof 552 experiments in the following disci-plines: physical and material sciences, biologyand biotechnology, human research, Earthand space science, technology development,commercial development, and educational ac-tivities. As the era of utilization begins, thesenumbers are expected to grow.

Space stations

The ISS is an international collaborative spaceventure that includes partnerships betweenNASA, the Canadian Space Agency, ESA,Roscosmos (the Russian space agency), andthe Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.

For more than 15 years this partnershiphas weathered economic, technical, and polit-ical challenges, having completed one of themost ambitious engineering projects everconceived. However, the challenge of success-fully utilizing the platform remains. Facilitiescommissioned in 2009 and 2010 includephysical sciences hardware for combustion,materials science, and fluid physics research,as well as additional multipurpose and sup-porting infrastructure.Discovery’s STS-131mission added theWORF (window obser-vational research facil-ity), which will enablefull scientific use of theoptical quality windowin the Destiny labora-tory; the third and finalMELFI (-80° laboratoryfreezer), an ESA-built,NASA-operated freezerfor science sample stor-age; EXPRESS (expe-dite the processing ofexperiments to spacestation) Rack 7, a multi-purpose payload racksystem that supportsexperiments in any dis-cipline by providingstructural interfaces,power, data, cooling andwater; and the MARES (muscle atrophy re-search and exercise system), which will im-prove understanding of microgravity’s effectson the human muscular system.

Even during the assembly phase, workdone on the ISS demonstrated the potentialbenefits of space-based R&D. These includethe advancement of scientific knowledgebased on experiments conducted in space, de-velopment and testing of new technologies,and derivation of Earth applications from newunderstanding.

The ISS, with its human-tended capabili-ties and configurability for experiments, pro-vides a unique platform that supports interna-tional research spanning a broad array of

by Tara Ruttley, JacobCohen, Julie Robinson,Bev Girten, the AIAASpace Station ProgramCommittee, and the AIAAMicrogravity and SpaceProcesses TechnicalCommittee

ISS partner agency percentageof experiments conducted todate by discipline.



stability is inhibited by uncertainties intro-duced via the stochastic objective function.The detailed results were presented at theSpace 2010 conference.A second example of the use of a value-

driven/centric design approach is DECODE(decision environment for complex designs), athree-year research program at the Universityof Southampton funded by the U.K.’s Engi-neering and Physical Sciences ResearchCouncil. The primary aim of DECODE, nowin its second year, is to provide a consistent,rigorous method for the activities associatedwith the design of complex systems. The goalis to complete three full design cycles on a rel-atively complex but accessible design, and todevelop the necessary associated tools. Theplatform chosen for demonstrating the DE-CODE concept is a small man-portable UAS(unmanned air system). The two DECODEteams have already produced a round ofUASs that are currently undergoing testing.The National Science Foundation commis-

sioned a series of two one- to three-day work-shops on the future of systems engineeringand the viability of using value-models as analternative to the current requirements flow-down process. The first of these workshopswas held February 22-24 in Washington,D.C., with a follow-up workshop on Septem-ber 12 in Ft. Worth, Texas. The Value-DrivenDesign Institute organized both events. Theoutcome of the first is now publicly availableat the Institute’s Web site, where the secondworkshop’s results will also be published at alater date. These workshops focused on thefuture of systems engineering, specifically thearea of complex systems design. They werepart of a larger series of workshops commis-sioned by Christina Bloebaum, program direc-tor for engineering design and innovation atthe NSF, focusing on several aspects of engi-neering design and optimization.There are also some nascent efforts where

activity has been accelerating, and these por-tend well for the future. The first of these isthe establishment of a joint academic and in-dustry network in Europe that focuses on edu-cation and research into value-driven/centricdesign methods. The second effort follows de-velopments in a planned DARPA programcalled Advanced Make. Both efforts appearlikely to produce some interesting results.Overall, value-driven design made significantadvances this year, and the future holds evenmore promise.For more information on the NSF work-

shops see: http://vddi.org/vddi-home.htm.

Value-driven design

High points this year in the field of value-driven/centric design include a DARPA-funded research program, a series of NationalScience Foundation workshops on the futureof systems engineering, a U.K. research task,and the development of an active network ofexperts in this field from academia and indus-try in Europe.

The DARPA research effort is the frac-tionated spacecraft program, or system F6.Late last year, after downselecting from fourprime contractors at the end of the designphase, DARPA funded Orbital Sciences toperform the detailed design on the spacecraftconcept. As part of this program, academicsat MIT performed an in-depth analysis of pub-licly available fractionated satellite value-cen-tric design tools from Phase 1 of the DARPAsystem F6 program. The first task, a compar-ative benchmarking study of these four tools,involved modeling several use cases to deter-mine differences in inputs, analysis methods,and outputs. The results found the tools to besubstantially diverse in modeling architecturesand value interpretation.The second task applied optimization

methods to the Phase 1 PIVOT tool, createdby Orbital Sciences to maximize satellite sys-tem value. The results showed that solution

by the AIAA Value-DrivenDesign Program Committee

PROGRAM COMMITTEES

The DECODE UAS is currently undergoing testing.



ATK test fired a five-segment solid rocket mo-tor for Ares I to demonstrate operation at coldtemperatures. A ground test article of theOrion capsule was fabricated and tested atproof pressure. The Constellation programalso completed its preliminary design review.

Plans to develop commercial rockets forlaunching crew and cargo into LEO weregiven a boost by the successful launch of theSpace-X Falcon 9 vehicle on June 4. NASAawarded contracts to begin development ofconcepts and technologies for commercialcrew launch.

In September, the Lunar ReconnaissanceOrbiter (LRO) completed its one-year missionto map the Moon and identify potential land-ing sites and resources for future human mis-sions. LRO’s seven instruments have returnedover 100 terabytes of data. The orbiter’s ma-jor accomplishments include finding the cold-est spot in the solar system in shadowedcraters at the lunar poles, mapping the distri-bution of hydrogen, acquiring high-resolutionimages of the Apollo landing sites, and pro-ducing a global topographic map with its laseraltimeter. The mission will be extended fortwo more years for lunar science studies.

Two crewed rovers, a large payload trans-port rover, and a habitat unit were tested inthe Arizona desert to simulate operationalscenarios for planetary surface exploration.Robonaut 2 was launched to ISS in Novemberto assist the crew in performing tasks.

The year closes with Congress havingpassed the NASA Authorization Act of 2010,which directs NASA to begin a new heavy-liftlaunch vehicle program and continue the de-velopment of a crew exploration vehicle in2011.

Space exploration

Human spaceflight activities moved in a newdirection in 2010, a year marked by both con-tinued progress in exploration systems anduncertainty about the future.

The 2009 Review of U.S. Human SpaceFlight Plans Committee, which was commis-sioned by President Barack Obama, deter-mined that the Constellation program couldnot be executed within the available budgetand recommended that NASA pursue a “flex-ible path” strategy for human exploration.Under this new strategy, human missionswould be sent to progressively more distantdestinations, such as Lagrange points, nearEarth asteroids, and the moons of Mars, be-fore attempting to land on either the Moon orMars. By first demonstrating the critical capa-bilities needed for deep space missions, andby deferring the development of landing andsurface systems, costs can be spread out intime to fit within the available budget.

In February, the president’s FY11 budgetrequest for NASA incorporated many of therecommendations of this committee in plansfor several new technology programs. Theseprograms would seek to demonstrate key ca-pabilities for human deep space explorationand would place a new emphasis on develop-ing commercial rockets to transport crews intoorbit after the space shuttle is retired. The newtechnology programs would develop liquid-fueled rocket engines for heavy-lift launchers.They would also demonstrate automated ren-dezvous and docking, cryogenic propellantstorage and transfer, a solar electric transfervehicle, and habitation systems in spaceflightexperiments. Plans also include a series of ro-botic precursor missions to scout potential des-tinations for future human activity.

On April 15 the president set a new goalfor NASA: sending a human mission to anear-Earth asteroid by 2025. The primary ob-jectives for an asteroid mission would be totest technologies and operational concepts fordeep space missions, return samples to in-crease our understanding of the solar system’sformation and evolution, and determine if as-teroids can be deflected to prevent them fromcolliding with Earth.

Meanwhile, the Constellation programcontinued to make progress despite its uncer-tain future. On May 6 the first integrated testof the launch abort system for the Orion crewexploration vehicle was successfully conductedat White Sands Missile Range. On August 31

by Chris Mooreand Surendra Sharma

The Pad Abort 1 test of the Orionlaunch abort system took placesuccessfully at White SandsMissile Range.



long-duration, reusable vehicles with au-tonomous entry into Earth’s atmosphere andlanding capabilities, and to conduct some ex-periments. Its mission time will depend on theprogress of the experiments.

Under Italy’s PRORA-USV program, theItalian Aerospace Research Center success-fully completed the second mission of thedropped transonic flight test to acquire dataon transonic and low supersonic flight. Astratospheric balloon took Polluce (Pollux) upto a drop altitude of 24 km. After it wasdropped, it achieved a maximum falling speedof Mach 1.24. The vehicle executed auton-omous control laws, performing a series ofextremely complex maneuvers. A COTSparachute was used at around Mach 0.14 forwater landing.

Hypersonic technologiesand aerospace plane

In various activities this year, critical test datawere collected to verify performance and todetermine lessons learned.

A Falcon HTV-2 flight test resulted in acrash nearly 9 min into a 30-min flight over adistance of 5,700 km. A DARPA reviewboard is analyzing the data gathered to deter-mine the cause.

After the HyFly missile with its solid rocketbooster was released from an F-15E, itsbooster engine did not ignite. On detectinglow internal battery voltage, the onboard soft-ware aborted motor ignition. This was thethird failure to demonstrate transonic combus-tion technology.

On Flight 1, the HIFiRE program con-ducted two experiments, mostly successfully.The vehicle design consisted of a cone/cylin-der/flare configuration. A ballistic trajectorywas flown to enable varying Reynolds num-bers to be achieved at near-constant Machnumber. Data were collected to study bound-ary-layer transition and shock/boundary-layerinteraction.

DLR completed integration of the facetedtip of the experimental sharp-edged space-craft SHEFEX II. Nine different thermal pro-tection systems, mostly based on ceramic ma-trix composites, were integrated. SHEFEX IIhas about 160 gauges for measuring pressure,temperature, and heat flux. Canards are usedto control the attitude of the vehicle.

JAXA has completed ground firing tests ofa hypersonic precooled turbojet engine to de-velop a turbine-based combined-cycle engine.Conducting the tests with both horizontal andvertical attitude enabled the evaluation of theeffect of gravity force in a free-fall flight ex-periment. The starting characteristics of theair intake were obtained in a supersonic en-gine test facility.

MBDA and Onera are to receive a con-tract from the French administration coveringthe remaining parts of their flight testing pro-gram, LEA. The upgrade of the Onera S4Mawind tunnel is in progress and will provide alarge-scale Mach-6 free-jet test capability.Tests involving fuel-cooled composite struc-ture were conducted in the new MBDA testfacility, Methyle.

The objectives of the first orbital flight ofthe X-37B craft, launched aboard an Atlas Von April 22, are to verify its on-orbit perform-ance, to validate the technologies required forby Unmeel Mehta

PROGRAM COMMITTEES

First flight of X-51AAround 1980, the ramjet-powered AdvancedStrategic Air-Launched Missile was tested. OnFlight 1, after it was launched at Mach 2.54 andaccelerated to Mach 4.1, the fuel control stuckwide open, further accelerating the missile toMach 5.6-6.0. During Flight 7, ASALM cruised atMach 4.0 for 290 sec. In 2004, the scramjet-pow-ered X-43A flew at Mach 9.68 for 11 sec. On May26 of this year, the X-51A vehicle achieved aroundMach 4.9, and the dual-mode scramjet (DMSJ)engine (per the X-51A program’s characteriza-tion) operated for 143 sec, exhibiting transoniccombustion.

This flight of the X-51A was very significant,achieving nearly all test objectives. The fuel-cooled DMSJ engine started on ethylene at Mach4.7 and successfully transitioned to JP-7 secondslater. The vehicle accelerated at 0.15 g. After thefirst 25 sec of engine-on flight, it suffered ananomaly. It decelerated to 0.0 g, and during thelatter part of deceleration it experienced a pro-nounced bank angle along with a slight side slip.There was an inlet unstart, followed by enginerecovery. At 160 sec into the flight, the X-51Abriefly returned to nominal operation, accelerat-ing at 0.15 g. Again, it began to decelerate.Telemetry was lost and the flight was terminated.

The X-51A flew and the thermally balancedengine performed as expected before the anom-aly. Measured drag, thrust, angle of attack, andtail deflection angles were extremely close topredictions. The objectives of reaching Mach 5.9and of operating the engine for 240 sec werenot achieved. A fix to the vehicle would be madeto achieve these objectives on the next flight.

To fully exploit airbreathing hypersonic flight,engines are needed to cover Mach ranges 0-6, 3-8, 6-12, and finally 0-12. The first flight of X-51Awas another major milestone toward that goal.

Pollux is the first unmannedspace vehicle with a slenderconfiguration to be tested inflight at low speeds.



sultant improvement in surveillance coveragein the Gulf of Mexico facilitated the heavy airactivity that followed this year’s massive oilspill in the region.Also in connection with ADS-B, in May

the FAA published new rules mandating air-space and avionics performance requirementseffective after January 1, 2020, giving aircraftowners approximately 10 years to equip foroperations within the designated (busiest) air-space. The avionics perform a function gen-erally known as “ADS-B Out,” which trans-mits precise location and other informationabout a plane to ground stations and otherADS-B-equipped aircraft. The new rule hasadded significance because it signals theFAA’s resolve to make sure that operators up-date their aircraft systems (namely avionics) sothat NextGen benefits can be fully exploited.Interest in unmanned air systems (UAS)

for commercial use has intensified, puttingpressure on ANSPs to establish operatingprocedures that would allow these aircraftgreater access to domestic airspace. An indi-cation of this interest is the rapidly growingnumber of special authorizations the FAA hasissued allowing public entities such as law en-forcement to use defined airspace. In addition,the FAA has now asked the private nonprofitcorporation RTCA to work with the industryto develop UAS standards centering on issuesof command and control and “sense andavoid” so that UAS can safely operate amongpiloted aircraft without undue restrictions. Un-fortunately, the current target date for com-pletion of this work is not unil 2015.

Aerospace trafficmanagement

Air carriers were experiencing better financialreturns, based on an upturn in passengerbookings and the results of “down gauging,”in which airlines use smaller aircraft to achievebetter load factors. Meanwhile, the eruptionof a volcano in Iceland in March caused sig-nificant disruptions to air travel across theNorth Atlantic and in Western Europe forabout a month. Concerns that the ash plumewould damage engines caused closures oflarge portions of the airspace, leading airlinesto cancel many flights.The event brought home to travelers, ship-

pers, aircraft operators, and air navigationservice providers (ANSPs) the profound influ-ence that environmental factors such as se-vere weather can have on air operations. Italso engendered a lively and continuing de-bate over the scientific basis for concernsabout abrasion in aircraft engines exposed tovolcanic ash, and the actions that should betaken to safeguard life and property.Aviation safety remains at an exceptionally

high level, but those few accidents that dohappen focus attention on areas where im-provement is still needed. The Polish air forceTu-154 crash that occurred in April near thecity of Smolensk, Russia, killed all 96 peopleon board. This was a high-profile event be-cause the victims included the Polish president,along with a large delegation of high-level of-ficials going to a memorial service.While the cause of the crash is still under

investigation, it is clear that the pilot was at-tempting to land under low-visibility condi-tions without benefit of an instrument landingsystem (ILS) to provide lateral and, most im-portant, vertical guidance. In an environmentwhere GPS signals are pervasive and the costof receivers is low, aircraft landing guidance(vertical and lateral) is easily accommodatedby the addition of inexpensive ground installa-tions. Around the world, airports without ILShave recognized this and are acting to imple-ment the needed systems.The U.S. NextGen program is deploying

ADS–B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast) at an accelerated pace. This is oneof the enabling technologies that, in combina-tion with other NextGen developments, willallow the National Airspace System to accom-modate traffic growth safely through 2025.The deployment, still far from nationwide, hashad unforeseen benefits—for example, the re-

by the AIAA AerospaceTraffic ManagementProgram Committee

The ash plume from the eruptionof a volcano in Iceland causedwidespread disruptions in airtravel.



shifted to electrically driven lasers to over-come the issues of chemical reactant storage,transportation, and effluent. The first genera-tion of 100-kW-class solid-state weapons ismoving out of the laboratory and into fieldtesting. But proponents of even more ad-vanced technologies continue to developmore advanced, more efficient concepts thatoffer promise when budget pressures takeprecedence over operational needs.

The head of the MDA announced thatsolid-state lasers would not achieve the mega-watt-class power levels needed to shoot downballistic missiles, and that the next generationof hybrid electric/gas lasers (diode-pumpedheavy metal vapor such as alkali) might be thedesired option. The power levels of theselasers, first demonstrated in July, are orders ofmagnitude below the megawatt class neededand many years away from weapons-class use.

The ONR/NorthropGrumman MaritimeLaser Demonstration program continued tomake progress on integrating a 100-kW-classsolid-state laser on a seaborne platform fortesting against tactical targets. Advanced fiberlasers are also being incorporated into close-range, tactical naval laser weapon systems.After tests against mortar rounds in flight in2009, the Navy/Raytheon LaWS programsuccessfully engaged and shot down UAVs in

maritime environment tests inMay at San Nicolas Island.

Nonweapons aspects of di-rected energy systems involvebeamed energy propulsion(BEP), a revolutionary technol-ogy for future space transporta-tion. BEP vehicles would bedriven by power beamed fromremote, reusable, long-rangesources. Although most BEPtechniques are based on lasers,the scope of this technologyalso covers other forms of di-rected energy, such as mi-crowave and X-ray radiationand particle beams. BEP sys-tems could provide uniquepropulsive characteristics im-

possible to achieve with traditional, combus-tion-based engines. Vehicles driven by BEPwill be smaller, lighter, faster, and more effi-cient than any currently existing means ofspace transportation. Work by the AdvancedPropulsion Technology Group, JPL, andNASA continues to advance BEP technology,as reported in the proceedings of the Ameri-can Institute of Beamed Energy Propulsion.

Directed energy systems

Progress toward development of directed en-ergy weapon systems continued in severalmajor DOD programs, the Airborne Laser(ABL), the Office of Naval Research MaritimeLaser Demonstrator, the Navy LaWS (LaserWeapon System), and the Army High EnergyLaser Tactical Demonstrator programs. Boe-ing was selected by the Office of Naval Re-search (ONR) to develop the design and inte-gration of a 100-kW FEL demonstrator. TheAir Force announced initiation of ELLA (Elec-tric Laser on a Large Aircraft), a new programfor aircraft integration of a 100-kW-classsolid-state laser.

A Missile Defense Agency (MDA) modi-fied Boeing 747 ABL boost-phase missile de-fense prototype aircraft successfully accom-plished kill sequences against instrumentedboosting missile targets early this year. ABL’smegawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laserwas then tested twice unsuccessfully later inthe year against a simulated ballistic missile ata range of over 100 mi. Citing technical andoperational issues, Defense Secretary RobertGates opted to continue using that single plat-form as a testbed rather than to proceed withacquiring additional platforms.

This decision highlights the problem facednot only by directed energy weapons but alsoby many other innovative emerging technolo-gies: After successful near-prototype demon-strations, acquisition and fielding are deferredbecause a better technology is always justaround the corner.

Despite decades of successful high-powerchemical laser demonstrations, attention hasby James A. Horkovich

PROGRAM COMMITTEES

The MDA’s modified Boeing 747ABL boost-phase missile defenseprototype aircraft successfullyaccomplished kill sequencesagainst instrumented boostingmissile targets early this year.


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for the next 10 years under a special agreement. TheAeroplane, Dec. 30, 1960, p. 850.

Dec. 10 The Discoverer 18 reconnaissance satellite issuccessfully “air-snatched” by a C-119 aircraft over thePacific Ocean near Hawaii. It is the third successful midaircatch and also features the first successful use of theKH-2 Itek camera system aboard a satellite. On Dec. 20,

Discoverer 19 is launched. The Aeroplane, Dec. 16, 1960, p. 812, and Dec. 30,1960, p. 848; D. Baker, Spaceflight and Rocketry, p. 111.

Dec. 15 The three-stage British Jaguar solid-fuel sounding rocket succeeds inthe first of a series of hypersonic flights launched to gather basic information onaerodynamic phenomena at hypersonic speeds up to 7,000 mph. The first stageis a Skylark; the second and third stages are newly developed Gosling and Lobsterrockets. The Aeroplane, Dec. 23, 1960, p. 821.

Dec. 19 Martin, the company established by Glenn L. Martin in 1912, deliversits last airplane, a Marlin Patrol Boat, to the Navy. But the Baltimore-based firmremains active in the missile and space fields, building products such as the TitanICBM and the Mace, Bullpup, Lacrosse, Matador, and Pershing missiles. E. Preston,ed., FAA Historical Chronology, p. 69; Flight, Jan. 6, 1961, p. 3.

Dec. 20 The first Douglas DC-8 Series 50aircraft, featuring four 17,000-lb thrust Pratt& Whitney JT3D turbofan engines, makesits first powered flight. D. Baker, Flight and

Flying, p. 373; Flight, Jan. 27, 1961, p. 129.

75 Years Ago, December 1935

Dec. 3 William Durand is awarded the John Fritz Medal for his distinguishedwork in engineering and aeronautics. Aircraft Year Book, 1936, p. 441.

Dec. 5 Explorer Lincoln Ellsworth and pilot Herbert Hollick-Kenyon, who took offNov. 23 in a Northrop Gamma Polar Star from Dundee Island in the Weddell Seaheaded across Antarctica for Little America, are forced to land 25 mi. short oftheir goal. This is the first transcontinental flight across the South Pole and isflown largely over unexplored territory later named Ellsworth Land. After thelanding, the two walk for six days to a camp abandoned by Richard E. Byrdyears earlier. The British ResearchSociety ship Discovery II sightsthem on January 15, 1936, nearthe Bay of Whales. Hollick-Kenyonlater returns to recover the aircraft,and Ellsworth donates it to theNational Air and Space Museum.The total distance flown by on themission is about 2,400 mi. NASMAircraft Reference File, Northrop GammaPolar Star.


Dec. 7 The China Clipper, a PanAmerican Boeing 747, arrives inBeijing after departing New York andmaking a stop in Tokyo. It is the firstcommercial flight between the U.S.and mainland China since 1949.Chronicle of Aviation History, 1980-89.


Dec. 1WilliamAllen,president of Boeing, authorizesdevelopment of the three-jet-engineBoeing 727 airliner after studying theconcept for four years. On December 6he signs contracts with two airlines,United and Eastern, to build 40 each.The 727 proves highly successful andis produced in greater numbers thanany other commercial jet airliner inthe world in its time, with 1,832manufactured. D. Baker, Flight andFlying, p. 373; The 1961 AerospaceYear Book, p. 445.

Dec. 1-2 The Soviet Sputnik VI islaunched with two dogs, Pchelka(Little Bee) and Mushka (Little Fly)on board, as well as other animals,insects, and plant life. However,following a 24-hr orbit of Earth, itdescends along an incorrect trajectory,has to be destroyed by a commandsignal from Earth, and burns up in theatmosphere. The Aeroplane, Dec. 9,1960, pp. 753, 761.

Dec. 5 The Polaris A-2travels 1,600 mi. in asuccessful test flight. Itsdesign range is 1,725mi., compared to 1,380for the A-1 model. The

Aeroplane, Dec. 16, 1960, p. 793.

Dec. 8 Howard Hughes transferscontrol of TWA (Trans World Airways)


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(purchased from the Wrights in 1909), and he accompanied Orville Wright on theArmy acceptance flight from Ft. Myer to Alexandria, Va. Foulois was the only pilot,navigator, observer, and commander in the Army’s heavier-than-air division from1909-1911, and was commander of the First Aero Squadron, which in 1916 wassent on the Mexican Punitive Expedition. He was later chief of the Air Corps.Aero Digest, October 1935.

Dec. 18-21 French pilots Gaston Genin and Andre Robert fly their Caudron-Simounaircraft between Paris and Madagascar in a record time of two days 9 hr 32 min.Aircraft Year Book, 1936, p. 442.


Dec. 8 Georges Legagneux of France sets analtitude record of 1,693 ft in a Bleriot monoplane.A. van Hoorebeeck, La Conquete de L’Air, p. 878.

Dec. 10 Romanian aviation engineer HenriCoanda allegedly flies his Turbo-Propulseurairplane accidentally, during taxiing tests atIssy-les-Moulineaux, thus achieving the world’sfirst flight of a jet plane. According to his accountgiven in 1956, he was concentrating on regulatingthe flow of gasoline in the engine when he sawthat he was headed toward army fortifications. Toavoid them, he lifted the machine off the ground but then lost control. Injectingmore fuel caused the plane to catch fire. Coanda says he cut off the fuel but theaircraft stalled. He was thrown clear as the plane crashed. However, on closeexamination of his varying accounts, and especially his patent on the Propulseur

and descriptions from that time,there is much doubt that theaircraft was a true jet andcapable of flight. The planeappears to have had a ductedfan design in which air wassucked into the front by curved

blades set in a large nose housing with the smaller end facing forward. The bladeswere driven by an internally mounted turbine screw driven by a four-cylinder 50-hp

Clerget engine. But the patents and contemporarydescriptions do not mention fuel injection at all as in a truejet, and there is no record of the alleged flight in aviationjournals, or in Le Figaro. Although the Hiller Flying Platformdid use ducted fans in the 1950s, it barely lifted with twoor three 44-hp piston engines, and the Coanda TurboPropulseur was definitely underpowered. F. Winter, TheAeronautical Journal of the Royal Society, Dec. 1980, pp.408-416.

Dec. 20 J. Tijck of Belgium makes the first aircraft flightin India while travelling in Calcutta. A. van Hoorebeeck,La Conquete de L’Air, p. 88.

An Aerospace Chronologyby Frank H.Winter, Ret.

and Robert van der Linden

Dec. 11 Flyingan AeroncaC-3,Benjamin

King sets a100-km speed

record for seaplanes of 80.931 mphand a 500-km speed record of 70.499mph for the same category whilecompeting in the Eighth AnnualAll-American Air Maneuvers in Miami,Fla. Aircraft Year Book, 1936, p. 441.

Dec. 12 Flying a Douglas OA-5amphibian airplane powered by twoWright Cyclone engines, Army Lt.Hugh F. McCaffery and his five-mancrew set a distance record of 1,033 mi.for this aircraft class, flying from SanJuan, Puerto Rico, to Chapman Fieldin Miami. Aircraft Year Book, 1936,p. 442.

Dec. 17 The Douglas DST, designedby Arthur Raymond on behalf ofAmerican Airlines, flies for the firsttime. The DST is a larger sleeperversion of the successful 14-passengerDouglas DC-2. The 21-passenger dayversion of this new aircraft willbecome the immortal DC-3. AircraftYear Book, 1936, p. 441.

Dec. 17 Maj.Gen. BenjaminD. Foulois retires.In 1908, Fouloiswas the first tofly a U.S.governmentdirigible balloon.He was also oneof the first pilotsof an Armyairplane


Georges Legagneux

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2010 INDEX


Futuristic aircraft: Old-fashioned look is only skindeep, Nov., p. 14.

Aerospace 2010: Aerospace traffic management,Dec., p. 73.

Aerospace 2010: Digital avionics, Dec., p. 44.Aerospace 2010: Guidance, navigation and control,Dec., p. 18.

COMMUNICATIONSFuture tactical communications: Getting the JTRS,Jan., p. 24.

New capabilities for GPS II/III, Feb., p. 32.Forecasting turbulence over the seas, Feb., p. 38.ISR in today’s war: A closer look, March, p. 30.Euro Hawk sparks UAS integration plans, May, p. 4.Measuring change in Earth’s wobble, May, p. 26.NextGen: A slow transformation, May, p.31.SESAR faces nontechnical hurdles, May, p. 38.Critical times for India’s space program, Oct., p. 34.Air Force technology: Change on the horizon, Nov.,p. 28.

Aerospace 2010: Communications, Dec., p. 43.

COMPUTERS AND SOFTWAREFuture tactical communications: Getting the JTRS,Jan., p. 24.

Homeland security goes transatlantic, Feb., p. 18.New capabilities for GPS II/III, Feb., p. 32.Forecasting turbulence over the seas, Feb., p. 38.Air Force technology: Change on the horizon, Nov.,p. 28.

Aerospace 2010: Computer-aided enterprisesolutions, Dec., p. 35.

Aerospace 2010: Computer systems, Dec., p. 42.Aerospace 2010: Intelligent systems, Dec., p. 41.Aerospace 2010: Meshing, visualization andcomputational environments, Dec., p. 6.

Aerospace 2010: Modeling and simulation, Dec., p. 24.Aerospace 2010: Multidisciplinary designoptimization, Dec., p. 12.

Aerospace 2010: Software systems, Dec., p. 40.

ECONOMICSAircraft industry rides out the recession…so far, Jan.p. 20.

Europe looks to outsourcing, Jan., p. 4.Changing aerospace cluster dynamics, Feb., p. 4.Homeland security goes transatlantic, Feb., p. 18.China’s short march to aerospace autonomy, Feb.,p. 24.

World tanker market: More than just KC-X, March,p. 16.

Unmanned and airborne: A new plan, March, p. 24.Trainer aircraft: Long-term hopes for growth, May,p. 20.

Israeli UAVs find a competitive edge, May, p. 22.U.S. space launch: Growth and stagnation, June, p.16. Flying gets personal in Europe, July-Aug., p. 4.

Emerging regionals crowd a flat market, July-Aug.,p. 16.

Defense electronics: The spigot is not closing,July-Aug., p. 20.

Taxes and trains threaten aircraft market, Sept., p. 4.Defense companies brace for changes, Sept., p. 16.Jetliners: Bright spot in the world economy, Oct.,p. 14.

Space launches spike upward, Oct., p. 22.Controlling launch vehicle life-cycle costs, Oct.,p. 40.

The greening of aviation: Another context, Nov., p. 3.Aerospace 2010: Economics, Dec., p. 37.Aerospace 2010: General aviation, Dec., p. 29.

ENVIRONMENTSmall Explorers with big benefits, Jan., p. 32.

Kepler’s search for Earth-like planets, Jan., p. 36.Environmental regulations fly high and wide, March,p. 4.

Why asteroids beckon: NASA and near-Earth objects,March, p. 12.

Open rotor research revs up, March, p. 38.Measuring change in Earth’s wobble, May, p. 26.SESAR faces nontechnical hurdles, May, p. 38.Making the most of GOCE, June, p. 30.Flying gets personal in Europe, July-Aug., p. 4.The greening of aviation: Another context, Nov., p. 3.New batteries, fuel cells energize aviation, Nov., p. 4.Futuristic aircraft: Old-fashioned look is only skindeep, Nov., p. 14.

Aerospace 2010: Atmospheric and spaceenvironments, Dec., p. 25.

Aerospace 2010: Green energy systems, Dec., p. 70.Aerospace 2010: Space stations, Dec., p. 69.

INSTRUMENTATION AND TECHNOLOGYFuture tactical communications: Getting the JTRS,Jan., p. 24.

Seeking other Earths, Jan., p. 28.Kepler’s search for Earth-like planets, Jan., p. 36.Homeland security goes transatlantic, Feb., p. 18.New capabilities for GPS II/III, Feb., p. 32.Forecasting turbulence over the seas, Feb., p. 38.ISR in today’s war: A closer look, March, p. 30.Open rotor research revs up, March, p. 38.Geography drives ISR technology, April, p. 22.SOFIA’s smooth ride shakes up astronomy, April, p. 26.Hubble at 20: Reflections on the universe...andourselves, April, p. 30.

Euro Hawk sparks UAS integration plans, May, p. 4.Measuring change in Earth’s wobble, May, p. 26.NextGen: A slow transformation, May, p.31.Dazzling images from our nearest star, June, p. 20.Making the most of GOCE, June, p. 30.Airborne laser shootdown: Defying the odds, June,p. 40.


Tunnel 9: A national treasure reborn, July/Aug., p. 42.Robonaut: The next generation, Sept., p. 26.X-51 scrams into the future, Oct., p. 26.New batteries, fuel cells energize aviation, Nov., p. 4.Hayabusa makes a triumphant return, Nov., p. 22.Air Force technology: Change on the horizon, Nov.,p. 28.

Air Force X-37B wings into the future, Nov., p. 34.Aerospace 2010: Aerodynamic decelerators, Dec.,p. 30.

Aerospace 2010: Aerodynamic measurementtechnology, Dec., p. 19.

Aerospace 2010: Aerospace traffic management,Dec., p 73.

Aerospace 2010: Fluid dynamics, Dec., p. 17.Aerospace 2010: Directed energy systems, Dec., p. 74.Aerospace 2010: Lighter-than-air systems, Dec., p. 26.Aerospace 2010: Missile systems, Dec., p. 61.Aerospace 2010: Plasmadynamics and lasers, Dec.,p. 14.

Aerospace 2010: Sensor systems, Dec., p. 45.Aerospace 2010: V/STOL, Dec., p. 31.

INTERNATIONALEurope looks to outsourcing, Jan., p. 4.Aircraft industry rides out the recession…so far, Jan.p. 20.

Seeking other Earths, Jan., p. 28.Space debris: Turning goals into practice, Feb., p. 3.Changing aerospace cluster dynamics, Feb., p. 4.Crouching tiger, puffing dragon, Feb., p. 6.Homeland security goes transatlantic, Feb., p. 18.China’s short march to aerospace autonomy, Feb.,p. 24.

Subjects

AIRCRAFT DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGYAircraft industry rides out the recession…so far, Jan.p. 20.

Future tactical communications: Getting the JTRS,Jan., p. 24.

Some answers, but still some questions, Feb., p. 10.China’s short march to aerospace autonomy, Feb.,p. 24.

Forecasting turbulence over the seas, Feb., p. 38.Environmental regulations fly high and wide, March,p. 4.


DARPA’s Vulcan engine goes Navy, March, p. 20.Unmanned and airborne: A new plan, March, p. 24.ISR in today’s war: A closer look, March, p. 30.Open rotor research revs up, March, p. 38.India joins the race, April, p. 8.Wind tunnels: Don’t count them out, April, p. 39.Euro Hawk sparks UAS integration plans, May, p. 4.Trainer aircraft: Long-term hopes for growth, May,p. 20.

Israeli UAVs find a competitive edge, May, p. 22.NextGen: A slow transformation, May, p.31.SESAR faces nontechnical hurdles, May, p. 38.Airborne laser shootdown: Defying the odds, June,p. 40.

Flying gets personal in Europe, July-Aug., p. 4.Emerging regionals crowd a flat market, July-Aug.,p. 16.

Tunnel 9: A national treasure reborn, July/Aug., p. 42.Iran’s unconventional approach to aerospace, Sept.,p. 39.

Europe charts path to sixth-generation fighter, Oct.,p. 4.

Jetliners: Bright spot in the world economy, Oct.,p. 14.

X-51 scrams into the future, Oct., p. 26.The greening of aviation: Another context, Nov., p. 3.New batteries, fuel cells energize aviation, Nov., p. 4.Futuristic aircraft: Old-fashioned look is only skindeep, Nov., p. 14.

Air Force technology: Change on the horizon, Nov.,p. 28.

Air Force X-37B wings into the future, Nov., p. 34.Aerospace 2010: Aeroacoustics, Dec., p. 19.Aerospace 2010: Aerodynamic decelerators, Dec.,p. 30.

Aerospace 2010: Aerodynamic measurementtechnology, Dec., p. 17.


Aerospace 2010: Aircraft design, Dec., p. 32.Aerospace 2010: Aircraft operations, Dec., p. 33.Aerospace 2010: Applied aerodynamics, Dec., p. 21.Aerospace 2010: Computer-aided enterprisesolutions, Dec., p. 35.

Aerospace 2010: Flight testing, Dec., p. 27.Aerospace 2010: General aviation, Dec., p. 29.Aerospace 2010: Ground testing, Dec., p. 12.Aerospace 2010: Hypersonic technologies andaerospace plane, Dec., p. 72.

Aerospace 2010: Lighter-than-air systems, Dec., p. 26.Aerospace 2010: Sensor systems, Dec., p. 45.Aerospace 2010: V/STOL, Dec., p. 31.

AVIONICS AND ELECTRONICSFuture tactical communications: Getting the JTRS,Jan., p. 24.

Geography drives ISR technology, April, p. 22.Defense electronics: The spigot is not closing,July-Aug., p. 20.

New batteries, fuel cells energize aviation, Nov.,p. 4.

DEC2010_INDEX.qxd:2003 index.final 11/16/10 12:54 PM Page 2


New capabilities for GPS II/III, Feb., p. 32.Environmental regulations fly high and wide, March,p. 4.

Why asteroids beckon: NASA and near-Earth objects,March, p. 12.


Reconnecting with a magnetic mystery, March, p. 18.Open rotor research revs up, March, p. 38.Europe tackles runway capacity issue, April, p. 4.India joins the race, April, p. 8.Geography drives ISR technology, April, p. 22.SOFIA’s smooth ride shakes up astronomy, April, p. 26.Euro Hawk sparks UAS integration plans, May, p. 4.Israeli UAVs find a competitive edge, May, p. 22.Measuring change in Earth’s wobble, May, p. 26.SESAR faces nontechnical hurdles, May, p. 38.“Smart” procurement falters in Europe, June, p. 4.Making the most of GOCE, June, p. 30.Flying gets personal in Europe, July-Aug., p. 4.T minus 15 years...and holding, July-Aug., p. 12.Emerging regionals crowd a flat market, July-Aug.,p. 16.


Japan’s solar sail heads starward, July-Aug., p. 24.Taxes and trains threaten aircraft market, Sept., p. 4.Arianespace: Thirty years and growing..., Sept., p. 18.Iran’s unconventional approach to aerospace, Sept.,p. 39.


Jetliners: Bright spot in the world economy, Oct.,p. 14.

Space launches spike upward, Oct., p. 22.Critical times for India’s space program, Oct., p. 34.New batteries, fuel cells energize aviation, Nov., p. 4.Hayabusa makes a triumphant return, Nov., p. 22.Aerospace 2010: Space stations, Dec., p. 69.

LIFE SCIENCESHearts in free fall, Feb., p. 22.Aerospace 2010: Life sciences, Dec., p. 58.Aerospace 2010: Space stations, Dec., p. 69.

MANAGEMENTEurope looks to outsourcing, Jan., p. 4.Changing aerospace cluster dynamics, Feb., p. 4.China’s short march to aerospace autonomy, Feb.,p. 24.

Environmental regulations fly high and wide, March,p. 4.

Euro Hawk sparks UAS integration plans, May, p. 4.NextGen: A slow transformation, May, p.31.SESAR faces nontechnical hurdles, May, p. 38.“Smart” procurement falters in Europe, June, p. 4.Defense companies brace for changes, Sept., p. 16.Controlling launch vehicle life-cycle costs, Oct., p. 40.Futuristic aircraft: Old-fashioned look is only skindeep, Nov., p. 14.


Aerospace 2010: Computer-aided enterprisesolutions, Dec., p. 35.

Aerospace 2010: Ground testing, Dec., p. 12.Aerospace 2010: Management, Dec., p. 38.Aerospace 2010: Multidisciplinary designoptimization, Dec., p. 12.

Aerospace 2010: Systems engineering, Dec., p. 34.Aerospace 2010: Value-driven design, Dec., p. 70.

MATERIALS AND STRUCTURESFuturistic aircraft: Old-fashioned look is only skindeep, Nov., p. 14.

Combining safety and survivability for future

spacefaring, Nov., p. 16.Air Force technology: Change on the horizon, Nov.,p. 28.

Air Force X-37B wings into the future, Nov., p. 34.Aerospace 2010: Adaptive structures, Dec., p. 5.Aerospace 2010: Computer-aided enterprisesolutions, Dec., p. 35.

Aerospace 2010: Design engineering, Dec., p. 4.Aerospace 2010: Materials, Dec., p. 8.Aerospace 2010: Modeling and simulation, Dec., p. 24.Aerospace 2010: Nondeterministic approaches,Dec., p. 10.

Aerospace 2010: Sensor systems, Dec., p. 45.Aerospace 2010: Space stations, Dec., p. 69.Aerospace 2010: Space tethers, Dec., p. 59.Aerospace 2010: Structural dynamics, Dec., p. 11.Aerospace 2010: Structures, Dec., p. 9.Aerospace 2010: Survivability, Dec., p. 7.

MILITARY SYSTEMSEurope looks to outsourcing, Jan., p. 4.Aircraft industry rides out the recession…so far, Jan.p. 20.

Future tactical communications: Getting the JTRS,Jan., p. 24.

Homeland security goes transatlantic, Feb., p. 18.China’s short march to aerospace autonomy, Feb.,p. 24.

New capabilities for GPS II/III, Feb., p. 32.World tanker market: More than just KC-X, March,p. 16.

DARPA’s Vulcan engine goes Navy, March, p. 20.Unmanned and airborne: A new plan, March, p. 24.ISR in today’s war: A closer look, March, p. 30.India joins the race, April, p. 8.Geography drives ISR technology, April, p. 22.As the tanker turns, May, p. 3.Feeling the pinch and fighting back, May, p. 8.Trainer aircraft: Long-term hopes for growth, May,p. 20.

Israeli UAVs find a competitive edge, May, p. 22.“Smart” procurement falters in Europe, June, p. 4.Airborne laser shootdown: Defying the odds, June,p. 40.


Iran’s unconventional approach to aerospace, Sept.,p. 39.


X-51 scrams into the future, Oct., p. 26.Critical times for India’s space program, Oct., p. 34.Combining safety and survivability for futurespacefaring, Nov., p. 16.


Air Force X-37B wings into the future, Nov., p. 34.Aerospace 2010: Directed energy systems, Dec., p. 74.Aerospace 2010: Hybrid rockets, Dec., p. 51.Aerospace 2010: Hypersonic technologies andaerospace plane, Dec., p. 72.

Aerospace 2010: Missile systems, Dec., p. 61.Aerospace 2010: Survivability, Dec., p. 7.Aerospace 2010: Weapon system effectiveness,Dec., p. 66.

MISSILESIran’s unconventional approach to aerospace, Sept.,p. 39.

Critical times for India’s space program, Oct., p. 34.Aerospace 2010: Hybrid rockets, Dec., p. 51.Aerospace 2010: Guidance, navigation, and control,Dec., p. 18.

Aerospace 2010: Missile systems, Dec., p. 61.Aerospace 2010: Weapon system effectiveness,Dec., p. 66.

POLICYMitigation and adaptation, Jan., p. 3.Money woes take center stage, Jan., p. 8.A safer path to orbit, Jan., p. 16.Space debris: Turning goals into practice, Feb., p. 3.Crouching tiger, puffing dragon, Feb., p. 6.Some answers, but still some questions, Feb., p. 10.New capabilities for GPS II/III, Feb., p. 32.Space, safety—and risk, March, p. 3.Environmental regulations fly high and wide, March,p. 4.

Big budget, big changes, March, p. 8.World tanker market: More than just KC-X, March,p. 16.

Working toward compromise, April, p. 3.Season for endings?, April, p. 11.A boost for commercial human spaceflight, April,p. 20.

Wind tunnels: Don’t count them out, April, p. 39.As the tanker turns, May, p. 3.Feeling the pinch and fighting back, May, p. 8.Space shuttle: An astronaut looks at its legacy, May,p. 16.

NextGen: A slow transformation, May, p. 31.SESAR faces nontechnical hurdles, May, p. 38.U.S. civil space policy: Clearing the fog, June, p. 3.“Smart” procurement falters in Europe, June, p. 4.Disagreements and hard decisions, June, p. 8.Paradigm shift in U.S. space policy, June, p. 22.Airborne laser shootdown: Defying the odds, June,p. 40.

The human factor, July-Aug., p. 3.Gearing up for budgetary battles, July-Aug., p. 8.T minus 15 years...and holding, July-Aug., p. 12.Human rating for future spaceflight: A roundtablediscussion, July-Aug., p. 27.

Dollars and sense, Sept., p. 3.Taxes and trains threaten aircraft market, Sept., p. 4.The difficulties of letting go, Sept., p. 8.Defense companies brace for changes, Sept., p. 16.A higher calling for suborbital research, Sept., p. 32.A good first step, Oct., p. 3.Outlasting the opposition, Oct., p. 6.Ad astra: The future of NASA’s astronaut corps, Oct.,p. 18.

Controlling launch vehicle life-cycle costs, Oct., p. 40.The greening of aviation: Another context, Nov., p. 3.The waiting game, Nov., p. 8.Combining safety and survivability for future space-faring, Nov., p. 16.


Air Force X-37B wings into the future, Nov., p. 34.Flying into history, Dec., p. 3.Aerospace 2010: Society and aerospace technology,Dec., p. 36.

PROPULSION AND POWERA safer path to orbit, Jan., p. 16.Reconnecting with a magnetic mystery, March, p. 18.DARPA’s Vulcan engine goes Navy, March, p. 20.Japan’s solar sail heads starward, July-Aug., p. 24.X-51 scrams into the future, Oct., p. 26.New batteries, fuel cells energize aviation, Nov., p. 4.Futuristic aircraft: Old-fashioned look is only skindeep, Nov., p. 14.

Hayabusa makes a triumphant return, Nov., p. 22.Air Force technology: Change on the horizon, Nov.,p. 28.

Air Force X-37B wings into the future, Nov., p. 34.Aerospace 2010: Aerospace power, Dec., p. 54.Aerospace 2010: Air-breathing propulsion, Dec., p. 56.Aerospace 2010: Electric propulsion, Dec., p. 49.Aerospace 2010: Directed energy systems, Dec., p. 74.Aerospace 2010: Energetic components, Dec., p. 53.



Aerospace 2010: Gas turbine engines, Dec., p. 46.Aerospace 2010: High-speed air-breathingpropulsion, Dec., p. 57.

Aerospace 2010: Hybrid rockets, Dec., p. 51.Aerospace 2010: Hypersonic technologies andaerospace plane, Dec., p. 72.

Aerospace 2010: Liquid propulsion, Dec., p. 55.Aerospace 2010: Nuclear and future flight propulsion,Dec., p. 52.

Aerospace 2010: Propellants and combustion, Dec.,p. 50.

Aerospace 2010: Solid rockets, Dec., p. 47.Aerospace 2010: Terrestrial energy, Dec., p. 48.

ROBOTICSParadigm shift in U.S. space policy, June, p. 22.Robonaut: The next generation, Sept., p. 26.Hayabusa makes a triumphant return, Nov., p. 22.Air Force technology: Change on the horizon, Nov.,p. 28.

Air Force X-37B wings into the future, Nov., p. 34.Aerospace 2010: Space logistics, Dec., p. 63.Aerospace 2010: Space resources, Dec., p. 62.

SPACE AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCESeeking other Earths, Jan., p. 28.Small Explorers with big benefits, Jan., p. 32.Kepler’s search for Earth-like planets, Jan., p. 36.Forecasting turbulence over the seas, Feb., p. 38.Why asteroids beckon: NASA and near-Earth objects,March, p. 12.

Reconnecting with a magnetic mystery, March, p. 18.SOFIA’s smooth ride shakes up astronomy, April, p. 26.Hubble at 20: Reflections on the universe...andourselves, April, p. 30.

Measuring change in Earth’s wobble, May, p. 26.Dazzling images from our nearest star, June, p. 20.Japan’s solar sail heads starward, July-Aug., p. 24.A higher calling for suborbital research, Sept., p. 32.Hayabusa makes a triumphant return, Nov., p. 22.

Aerospace 2010: Astrodynamics, Dec., p. 18.Aerospace 2010: Atmospheric and spaceenvironments, Dec., p. 23.

Aerospace 2010: Atmospheric flight mechanics,Dec., p. 22.

Aerospace 2010: Balloons, Dec., p. 28.Aerospace 2010: Plasmadynamics and lasers, Dec.,p. 14.

Aerospace 2010: Space colonization, Dec., p. 64.Aerospace 2010: Space exploration, Dec., p. 71.Aerospace 2010: Space operations and support,Dec., p. 67.

Aerospace 2010: Space resources, Dec., p. 62.Aerospace 2010: Space systems, Dec., p. 60.

SPACE STATIONParadigm shift in U.S. space policy, June, p. 22.Aerospace 2010: Space logistics, Dec., p. 63.Aerospace 2010: Space stations, Dec., p. 69.

SPACE TRANSPORTATIONA safer path to orbit, Jan., p. 16.DARPA’s Vulcan engine goes Navy, March, p. 20.India joins the race, April, p. 8.A boost for commercial human spaceflight, April, p. 20.Space shuttle: An astronaut looks at its legacy, May,p. 16.

U.S. space launch: Growth and stagnation, June, p. 16.Arianespace: Thirty years and growing..., Sept., p. 18.T minus 15 years...and holding, July-Aug., p. 12.Paradigm shift in U.S. space policy, June, p. 22.Human rating for future spaceflight: A roundtablediscussion, July-Aug., p. 27.

A higher calling for suborbital research, Sept., p. 32.

Iran’s unconventional approach to aerospace, Sept.,p. 39.

Ad astra: The future of NASA’s astronaut corps, Oct.,p. 18.

Space launches spike upward, Oct., p. 22.Critical times for India’s space program, Oct., p. 34.Controlling launch vehicle life-cycle costs, Oct., p. 40.Combining safety and survivability for futurespacefaring, Nov., p. 16.

Air Force X-37B wings into the future, Nov., p. 34.Aerospace 2010: Hypersonic technologies andaerospace plane, Dec., p. 72.

Aerospace 2010: Nuclear and future flight propulsion,Dec., p. 52.

Aerospace 2010: Space logistics, Dec., p. 63.Aerospace 2010: Space transportation, Dec., p. 65.

SPACECRAFTA safer path to orbit, Jan., p. 16.Seeking other Earths, Jan., p. 28.Small Explorers with big benefits, Jan., p. 32.Kepler’s search for Earth-like planets, Jan., p. 36.China’s short march to aerospace autonomy, Feb.,p. 24.

New capabilities for GPS II/III, Feb., p. 32.Forecasting turbulence over the seas, Feb., p. 38.Reconnecting with a magnetic mystery, March, p. 18.A boost for commercial human spaceflight, April, p. 20.SOFIA’s smooth ride shakes up astronomy, April, p. 26.Hubble at 20: Reflections on the universe...andourselves, April, p. 30.

Space shuttle: An astronaut looks at its legacy, May,p. 16.

U.S. space launch: Growth and stagnation, June, p. 16.Paradigm shift in U.S. space policy, June, p. 22.Making the most of GOCE, June, p. 30.T minus 15 years...and holding, July-Aug., p. 12.Japan’s solar sail heads starward, July-Aug., p. 24.Human rating for future spaceflight: A roundtablediscussion, July-Aug., p. 27.

A higher calling for suborbital research, Sept., p. 32.Critical times for India’s space program, Oct., p. 34.Combining safety and survivability for futurespacefaring, Nov., p. 16.

Hayabusa makes a triumphant return, Nov., p. 22.Air Force technology: Change on the horizon, Nov.,p. 28.

Air Force X-37B wings into the future, Nov., p. 34.Aerospace 2010: Space stations, Dec., p. 69Aerospace 2010: Space tethers, Dec., p. 59.Aerospace 2010: Space transportation, Dec., p. 65.

INTERVIEWSWith Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, Jan., p. 12.With Graham Lake, Feb., p. 14.With Dietmar Schrick, April, p. 14.With Andrew Brookes, May, p. 12.With Buzz Aldrin, June, p. 12.With Robert T. Bigelow, Sept., p. 10.With Werner J.A. Dahm, Oct., p. 10.With Mark Clough, Nov., p. 11.

Authors

AABOULAFIA, R., Aircraft industry rides out therecession…so far, Jan. p. 20.

ABOULAFIA, R., World tanker market: More than justKC-X, March, p. 16.

ABOULAFIA, R., Trainer aircraft: Long-term hopes forgrowth, May, p. 20.

ABOULAFIA, R., Emerging regionals crowd a flatmarket, July-Aug., p. 16.

ABOULAFIA, R., Jetliners: Bright spot in the worldeconomy, Oct., p. 14.

BBALL, R., Combining safety and survivability for futurespacefaring, Nov., p. 16.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., Europe looks tooutsourcing, Jan., p. 4.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., Changing aerospacecluster dynamics, Feb., p. 4.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., With Graham Lake, Feb.,p. 14.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., China’s short march toaerospace autonomy, Feb., p. 24.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., Environmental regulationsfly high and wide, March, p. 4.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., Open rotor research revsup, March, p. 38.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., Europe tackles runwaycapacity issue, April, p. 4.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., With Dietmar Schrick,April, p. 14.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., Euro Hawk sparks UASintegration plans, May, p. 4.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., With Andrew Brookes,May, p. 12.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., SESAR faces nontechnicalhurdles, May, p. 38.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., “Smart” procurementfalters in Europe, June, p. 4.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., Flying gets personal inEurope, July-Aug., p. 4.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., Taxes and trains threatenaircraft market, Sept., p. 4.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., Iran’s unconventionalapproach to aerospace, Sept., p. 39.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., Europe charts path tosixth-generation fighter, Oct., p. 4.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., Critical times for India’sspace program, Oct., p. 34.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., New batteries, fuel cellsenergize aviation, Nov., p. 4.

BUTTERWORTH-HAYES, P., With Mark Clough, Nov.,p. 11.

CCÁCERES, M., A boost for commercial humanspaceflight, April, p. 20.

CÁCERES, M., U.S. space launch: Growth andstagnation, June, p. 16.

CÁCERES, M., Space launches spike upward, Oct., p. 22.CAMHI, E., Mitigation and adaptation, Jan., p. 3.CAMHI, E., Space, safety—and risk, March, p. 3.CAMHI, E., Working toward compromise, April, p. 3.CAMHI, E., As the tanker turns, May, p. 3.CAMHI, E., The human factor, July-Aug., p. 3.CAMHI, E., Dollars and sense, Sept., p. 3.CAMHI, E., A good first step, Oct., p. 3.CAMHI, E., Flying into history, Dec. p. 3.CANAN, J., With Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, Jan., p. 12.CANAN, J., ISR in today’s war: A closer look, March,p. 30.

CANAN, J., Paradigm shift in U.S. space policy, June,p. 22.

CANAN, J., With Robert T. Bigelow, Sept., p. 10.CANAN, J., With Werner J.A. Dahm, Oct., p. 10.CANAN, J., Air Force technology: Change on thehorizon, Nov., p. 28.

COVAULT, C., Air Force X-37B wings into the future,Nov., p. 34.

DDAVID, L., Kepler’s search for Earth-like planets, Jan.,p. 36.

DAVID, L., Hubble at 20: Reflections on the universe...and ourselves, April, p. 30.

DAVID, L., A higher calling for suborbital research,Sept., p. 32.

DAVID, L., Hayabusa makes a triumphant return,Nov., p. 22.

2010 INDEX


DORR, R., Money woes take center stage, Jan., p. 8.DORR, R., Some answers, but still some questions,Feb., p. 10.

DORR, R., Big budget, big changes, March, p. 8.DORR, R., Season for endings?, April, p. 11.DORR, R., Feeling the pinch and fighting back, May,p. 8.

DORR, R., Disagreements and hard decisions, June,p. 8.

DORR, R., Gearing up for budgetary battles, July-Aug.,p. 8.

DORR, R., The difficulties of letting go, Sept., p. 8.DORR, R., Outlasting the opposition, Oct., p. 6.DORR, R., The waiting game, Nov., p. 8.

FFINKLEMAN, D., Space debris: Turning goals intopractice, Feb., p. 3.

FINNEGAN, P., Homeland security goes transatlantic,Feb., p. 18.

FINNEGAN, P., Israeli UAVs find a competitive edge,May, p. 22.

FINNEGAN, P., Defense companies brace forchanges, Sept., p. 16.

FLINN, E., Seeking other Earths, Jan., p. 28.FLINN, E., Hearts in free fall, Feb., p. 22.FLINN, E., Reconnecting with a magnetic mystery,March, p. 18.

FLINN, E., SOFIA’s smooth ride shakes up astronomy,April, p. 26.

FLINN, E., Measuring change in Earth’s wobble, May,p. 26.

FLINN, E., Futuristic aircraft: Old-fashioned look isonly skin deep, Nov., p. 14.

GGOLDSTEIN, E., Wind tunnels: Don’t count them out,April, p. 39.

GREY, J., U.S. civil space policy: Clearing the fog, June,p. 3.

GREY, J., The greening of aviation: Another context,Nov., p. 3.

JJONES, T., A safer path to orbit, Jan., p. 16.JONES, T., Why asteroids beckon: NASA andnear-Earth objects, March, p. 12.

JONES, T., Space shuttle: An astronaut looks at itslegacy, May, p. 16.

JONES, T., T minus 15 years...and holding, July-Aug.,p. 12.

JONES, T., Ad astra: The future of NASA’s astronautcorps, Oct., p. 18.

LLEWIS, M., Tunnel 9: A national treasure reborn,July/Aug., p. 42.

LEWIS, M., X-51 scrams into the future, Oct., p. 26.

RROBINSON, J., Controlling launch vehicle life-cyclecosts, Oct., p. 40.

ROCKWELL, D., Future tactical communications:Getting the JTRS, Jan., p. 24.

ROCKWELL, D., Geography drives ISR technology,April, p. 22.

ROCKWELL, D., Defense electronics: The spigot isnot closing, July-Aug., p. 20.

SSIETZEN, F., With Buzz Aldrin, June, p. 12.

WWESTLAKE, M., Crouching tiger, puffing dragon,Feb., p. 6.

WESTLAKE, M., India joins the race, April, p. 8.WESTLAKE, M., Japan’s solar sail heads starward,July-Aug., p. 24.

WILLIAMSON, M., Arianespace: Thirty years andgrowing..., Sept., p. 18.

WILSON, J., Small Explorers with big benefits, Jan., p. 32.WILSON, J., New capabilities for GPS II/III, Feb., p. 32.WILSON, J., Forecasting turbulence over the seas,Feb., p. 38.

WILSON, J., DARPA’s Vulcan engine goes Navy,March, p. 20.

WILSON, J., Unmanned and airborne: A new plan,March, p. 24.

WILSON, J., NextGen: A slow transformation, May, p.31.WILSON, J., Making the most of GOCE, June, p. 30.WILSON, J., Airborne laser shootdown: Defying theodds, June, p. 40.

WILSON, J., Robonaut: The next generation, Sept.,p. 26.




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Faculty OpeningsAeronautics & Astronautics

The School of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AAE) at Purdue Univer-sity seeks outstanding individuals with a Ph.D. and a strong background rel-evant to aerospace engineering. Currently, AAE faculty members conductresearch and teaching in the broad disciplines of Aerodynamics, AerospaceSystems, Astrodynamics and Space Applications, Dynamics and Control,Propulsion, and Structures and Materials. Candidates with interests in theseareas are encouraged to apply. Details about the School, its current faculty, and research may be found at the Purdue AAE website https://engineering.purdue.edu/AAE

Candidates should have a distinguished academic record, exceptionalpotential for world-class research, and a commitment to both undergraduateand graduate education. Tenure-track positions are available at the assistantand associate ranks. For consideration, please submit curriculum vitae, state-ment of teaching and research interests, and the names and addresses of at least three references to the College of Engineering Faculty Hiring website,https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/AboutUs/Employment/indicating in-terest in AAE. Review of applicants begins 1/15/11 and continues until thepositions are filled.

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AIAA has created a newtask force to assist in theformulation of a nationalroad map for the U.S. toaddress investments in theEarth-observing industryto adequately inform futureclimate change debatesand decisions. Composedof leading experts on policyand climate-monitoringtechnology from withinAIAA and in collaborationwith other organizations,the task force is developinga strategy to come up withrecommendations to helpreach this goal.

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december 2010 - aiaa

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