aerospace america february 2018

2018·3.6 MB·English

MATERIALS 11 HIGHLIGHTS 12 AEROSPACE MILLENNIALS 38
Carbon nanotubes to the rescue Reporting from SciTech Seeking career success
OUTSOURCING
RREEDD AAIIRR
Companies could receive billions
from the U.S. Air Force to play
the role of enemy aircraft during
pilot training. It’s lucrative,
provided contractors can meet
the challenges
PAGE 30
Boeing CEO Muilenburg PAGE 18
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30 16 24 38
Leading Langley Marketing Born after
microgravity 1980 and loving
Red Air reset
Dave Bowles, director
science
of NASA’s Langley
Private companies
Research Center, talks
The U.S. military is farming out the about what the fabled are offering scientists Young aerospace
and students a more
role of aggressor in the war games facility’s workforce will professionals talk about
affordable opportunity to
that help its pilots learn how to fl y in be tackling. what drew them to a
test their experiments in
demanding fi eld and
combat. weightlessness.
what will keep them
By Ben Iannotta
there.
By Jan Tegler
By Henry Canaday
By Amanda Miller
On the cover: Two Aero L-159E Alca jets
Image credit: Draken International
aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | FEBRUARY 2018 | 1
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AEROSPACE
IN THIS ISSUE
★ ★ ★ A M E R I C A ★ ★ ★
FEBRUARY 2018, VOL. 56, NO. 2
Henry Canaday
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Ben Iannotta
A former energy economist, Henry has written for Air Transport World,
[email protected] Aviation Week and other aviation publications for more than two decades.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR PAGE 24
Karen Small
[email protected]
STAFF REPORTER
Tom Risen
Amanda Miller
[email protected]
EDITOR, AIAA BULLETIN Amanda is a freelance reporter and editor based near Denver with 20 years
Christine Williams
of experience at weekly and daily publications. PAGE 38
[email protected]
EDITOR EMERITUS
Jerry Grey
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Joe Stumpe
Keith Button, Henry Canaday, Adam Hadhazy,
Amanda Miller, Joe Stumpe, Jan Tegler, A freelance reporter based in Wichita, Kansas, Joe has written for The New
Robert van der Linden, Debra Werner, York Times, Agence France-Presse and The Huffi ngton Post. PAGE 20
Frank H. Winter
James “Jim” Maser AIAA PRESIDENT
John Langford AIAA PRESIDENT-ELECT
DEPARTMENTS
Daniel L. Dumbacher PUBLISHER
Rodger S. Williams DEPUTY PUBLISHER
ADVERTISING TRENDING
Joan Daly, 703-938-5907 Counting down to the 2019 launch of the James
[email protected] 8 Webb Space Telescope: its cost, delays and why
scientists say it’s all worth it.
ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN
THOR Design Studio | thor.design
MANUFACTURING AND DISTRIBUTION
Association Vision | associationvision.com
FORUM HIGHLIGHTS
4,258 people attended the 2018 AIAA SciTech
LETTERS AND CORRESPONDENCE 12 Forum, representing 39 countries. We couldn’t
Ben Iannotta, [email protected] cover every session, but here’s a sample.
Aerospace America (ISSN 0740-722X) is published
monthly by the American Institute of Aeronautics and 4 Editor’s Notebook 18 20
Astronautics, Inc., at 12700 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 200
Reston, VA 20191-5807 [703-264-7500]. Subscription rate
is 50% of dues for AIAA members (and is not deductible 6 From the Corner Offi ce Q & A Engineering
therefrom). Nonmember subscription price: U.S., $200;
Boeing CEO Dennis Notebook
foreign, $220. Single copies $20 each. Postmaster: Send
address changes and subscription orders to Aerospace 49 AIAA Bulletin Muilenburg A computational tool to
America, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, predict the performance
at 12700 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA, 20191-5807, of fl exible aircraft wings
Attn: A.I.A.A. Customer Service. Periodical postage 62 Looking Back
paid at Reston, Virginia, and at additional mailing 46
offi ces. Copyright 2018 by the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., all rights reserved.
The name Aerospace America is registered by the AIAA Opinion 64
in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Offi ce. The case for a nuclear
solution when a meteoroid Trajectories
is on a collision course
Made in Space project
with Earth
manager Eric Joyce
aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | FEBRUARY 2018 | 3
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK IN THIS ISSUE
R
o
ss S
keeg
an
Bowles Dumbacher Muilenburg
Hearing directly from
the experts
If I had to label this issue of the magazine with a single word I would say: “Brainpower.” We always aim for a
single Q & A with a prominent aerospace personality, but in this issue we provide three, plus a feature with
insights from members of the millennial generation who are involved in groundbreaking aerospace work.
I can’t say this coverage was our vision from the start, but we took our opportunities and ran
with them. There’s something uniquely powerful about hearing from leaders in their own words.
Tom Risen’s interview with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg (Page 18) is timely given the company’s
acquisition last year of Aurora Flight Sciences, its reported interest in regional jet maker Embraer of Brazil,
and the industry’s growing determination to make personal aerial vehicles and urban air mobility a reality.
My interview with our new executive director, Dan Dumbacher, was a treat because I knew of Dan
mainly from his management roles in the 1990s on the DC-XA and X-33 experimental vehicle projects,
when I was writing for Space News. We discussed everything from his management philosophy to the
future of AIAA to one of the top issues of the day: the attraction of the moon as an exploration target
before heading to Mars. I would encourage readers to also check out the longer verions of our discussion
at https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/departments/aiaa-dan-dumbacher/. We present a compressed
version in this print edition (Page 6).
For this issue, I also interviewed Dave Bowles, the director of NASA’s Langley Research Center in
Virginia (Page 16). Our discussion captured the diversity of work at Langley, and touched on some of the
big decisions coming up for the center. The interview was unusual, because we conducted it live in the
HUB area of the SciTech exposition hall. I appreciate Dave’s willingness to help us try something new.
Regarding millennials, we here at Aerospace America are always mindful of the perils of using a single
word to describe a generation consisting of millions of people. Single words can sometimes subsume
stereotypes. Our feature (Page 38) does a nice job of exploding those stereotypes and putting the remaining
grains of truth into context. Millennials are doing serious aerospace work, as demonstrated by this issue’s
Engineering Notebook article (Page 20) about a computational tool for predicting the performance of
★
aircraft with long, narrow wings.
Ben Iannotta, editor-in-chief, [email protected]
4 | FEBRUARY 2018 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org
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FROM THE CORNER OFFICE
A MESSAGE FROM SANDY MAGNUS I will leave AIAA in a few short weeks knowing DAN DUMBACHER
that you will be in the capable hands of Daniel L. Dumbacher. Dan has extensive
PAST POSITIONS: Professor of
experience at NASA, where he was an integral part of the human space flight engineering practice, specializing
in systems and systems of
program. In addition, Dan spent some time as a professor of practice at systems, at Purdue University in
Indiana, August 2014 to December
Purdue University working to inspire and educate the next generation of
2017; NASA’s deputy associate
administrator for exploration
aerospace professionals. To welcome Dan, we invited him to sit down
systems development, October
for an interview with Ben Iannotta, 2010 to July 2014; director of
engineering, NASA’s Marshall
editor-in-chief of Aerospace America. Space Flight Center, Alabama,
May 2007 to October 2011
NOTABLE: NASA program
manager (2003-04) for the X-37,
a precursor to the Boeing X-37B
design fl own today by the U.S.
Air Force; assigned by Marshall
as deputy program manager in
Palmdale, California (1996-
99) for the X-33 experimental
single-stage spacecraft;
assistant manager for the Space
Shuttle Main Engine Project
(1993-95); program manager
(1994-96) for the DC-XA, an
experimental vertical takeoff and
landing rocket inducted into the
AIAA Executive Director International Space Hall of Fame
Dan Dumbacher has decades in 2013; began his NASA career
of experience at NASA and in 1979 and 1980 as a summer
in academia. engineering aide at Marshall
while an undergraduate student
A
IA at Purdue. Hired by Marshall in
A
1981.
Welcoming
AGE: 59
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree
in mechanical engineering from
Dan Dumbacher Purdue University (1981); Master’s
in business administration
from University of Alabama in
Huntsville (1984); completed

Senior Managers in Government
Ben Iannotta: You’ve been involved with cutting-edge NASA program at Harvard University
projects. Why did you choose that line of work? (2001).
Dan Dumbacher: I couldn’t be an astronaut. I was too tall: 6-foot-4. I
RESIDES: In process of
always wanted to work at NASA, so I was lucky enough to end up there.
relocating to Washington, D.C.,
More online area from Indianapolis.
What’s satisfying about being in management?
This interview was Being able to help facilitate and get the roadblocks out of the way so FAVORITE QUOTE: “The credit
compressed for the that the whole team can achieve the mission. belongs to the man who is
print edition. actually in the arena ... if he fails,
For more, see: https:// People sometimes poke fun at us here in or near the Beltway in at least he fails while daring
aerospaceamerica. Washington, D.C. greatly, so that his place shall
aiaa.org/departments/ It’s a 17-mile-wide logic-free zone, I’ve been quoted as saying. never be with those cold and timid
souls who knew neither victory nor
aiaa-dan-dumbacher/
[Laughs] Why come back here? defeat.”
At Purdue, I was working with students in the next generation, and that was — Theodore Roosevelt
(Source: www.theodoreroosevelt.
very rewarding, but a smaller subset. The AIAA allows infl uence on a broader
org)
scale. Item number two was: In our system of government, the decisions
for funding are made by the 536 investors in Washington, D.C., that’s the
6 | FEBRUARY 2018 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org
Congress and the White House. You have to be in the game to affect it. So, a team can actually work quickly.
A team can work much more quickly than a highly constrained
In terms of AIAA membership, how do we retain members and
decision authority chain up and down an org chart.
maybe even grow? How big a priority should that be?
It should be a really big priority. Over the last few years, the AIAA Are there unique things about working with engineers?
membership has been on a small decline. Whether that’s retirements Certainly. We all have our biases and we’re subjective to some
or what not, I’m not smart enough to know yet. I do think growing the degree, but engineers in particular want to see the data. So, when
membership for the future is important to allow people to build their you are trying to work through changes and innovation, one of the
networks, and also to facilitate the learning and the competition, best things to do with engineers is to run a couple of examples, see
frankly, as technologies move forward. what the data tells you. Because I’m an engineer, I’m open to the
new ideas. The fail-fast kind of mentality that you hear out of Silicon
What do you see as some of AIAA’s recent successes?
Valley is somewhat applicable. I don’t want to fail too fast on some
The big one is getting the governance structure simplifi ed, and we’re
things, but you also don’t want to have analysis paralysis, where you
going to have to learn what that means and how we implement that, and
can sit back and make very little progress because you’re trying to
get our behaviors set up so that we make the best use of that governance
answer all the questions before you do anything.
improvement. I know Sandy [Magnus] and the team have been working
hard on getting more involvement at the section and regional level, and How do you see AIAA’s relationship evolving with the space
I think we’ll continue to work on that and improve that. The Forum 360s startups, the urban mobility people, Silicon Valley?
and the plenary sessions help provide the context in which those Our heart and soul is aerospace, and we have to evolve with that industry.
technical discussions need to occur, which provides a more holistic Commercial aviation has evolved through key technology enhancements
view, a more connected view, so that the technical is connected to the in terms of the turbofan engine and other things that have led us to where
context, and the context is informed by the technical. we are today. That’s a continuing effort to get more effi cient, to get safer,
to provide more and better services, and quicker services. The space
Being a 31-year member, what have you gained, either career-
world today is comparable in maturity to commercial aviation in the
wise or just personally?
1930s and ’40s. We are learning how to come out of all government,
The personal part was the contacts and the networking that was
all the time. How can we accelerate and enhance private enterprise
facilitated through the different conferences and now the forums,
development just like we helped facilitate commercial aviation?
along with the ability and the opportunity to go see what other
One of the reasons we got commercial aviation off and running was
people were doing in other fi elds. Aerospace America gives more
because the government funded the initial airmail contracts. Well,
depth that I normally wouldn’t go look at, but it puts it in front of
that’s not a whole lot different than private enterprise delivering
me and makes it easier for me to learn. The Daily Launch has been
cargo and crew to space station.
standard reading every morning. I spent all of my career, basically,
at NASA, but it gave me the opportunity to look at what’s going on in Do relatively new players like SpaceX or Blue Origin benefi t from
the aviation world. research that NASA and others have funded?
They have benefi ted from research in the past, and even recently. For
What do you see as some of the interesting work or trends
example, the Orion parachute data was provided to private industry
underway in the aviation area?
for the parachutes that they need to bring their capsules back to
Electric propulsion, hypersonics. I’m somewhat motivated for fl ying
Earth. Propulsion investments gave SpaceX the ability to put the
cars because one of these days, my kids are going to take my driver’s
Merlin engine together. Vertical-landing capability that was invested
license away ’cause I’m too old, and I need to be able to punch a
in by the government back in the mid-’90s provides some of the
button and just have it take me wherever I want to go.
heritage for Blue Origin and SpaceX to do vertical landing.
How would you describe your management style? That’s one of the things that AIAA can help do: Make everyone aware
I tend to work in a very collaborative style, very team-oriented. The of that linkage.
biggest thing that’s important to me is the trust and the integrity
Right. So, footsteps on the moon or Mars?
among the team. You can’t have good teamwork unless you have trust
We still have the far side of the moon and the poles to deeply explore.
among the team members, and that’s built on integrity. So, those
The moon will provide us the learning that we need to be able to go out
are my important points. I’m very open-door, very collaborative, as
to Mars.
transparent as I can possibly be, is the way I like to approach things.
Would that be done robotically or by people?
How do you deal with the need to move at the speed of the market
Both. I don’t buy into this “us versus them” between robots and
and the need to work as a team?
humans or government and private industry. It is a continuum, and all
You have to have the environment such that the teams are trusted to
the capabilities are needed for the complexities of space exploration.
go work on issues and to be innovative and to try new things. Some will
work, some won’t. We’ll have some failures. But you have to allow the Well, I’ve enjoyed this. Is there any message you want to get
teams to innovate. For example, Google and Apple work in teams, and through that maybe you haven’t gotten to do?
they are very successful at keeping up and even driving the market. I really should have said right up front that it’s an honor and a
Fundamentally, they allow the teams to innovate with leadership in privilege to be part of this team. I am thrilled to be here. I look
terms of the direction and the constraints. forward to being a part of the future. ★
aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | FEBRUARY 2018 | 7
TRENDING SPACE SCIENCE
The long wait for Webb
BY ADAM HADHAZY | [email protected]
As development of astronomical instruments refer to as “14 days of ter-
goes, the James Webb Space Telescope has ror,” as the telescope is
been decidedly — pun intended — star- deployed one step at a
crossed. NASA managers are doing their best time, with ground com-
to make sure the bad luck does not extend mands rather than
into the home stretch. The spacecraft must be shipped through an automated
from Northrop Grumman in California, through the Pan- sequence. For the sun-
ama Canal and to the Ariane 5 launch site in French Gui- shield to unfurl in space
ana for launch sometime between March and June 2019. to its full tennis-court size,
NASA is even accounting for “potential threats from though, 107 membrane
pirates” during the shipping, NASA’s Mike Menzel, the release devices will have
mission systems engineer for Webb, told an audience to actuate. These devices
at the 2018 AIAA SciTech Forum in January. A U.S. Navy contain a metal wire that melts due to an electrical The sunshield for
escort is being planned. current, releasing a pin that pulls through the sun- NASA’s James Webb
Space Telescope in a
Last September, NASA announced that Webb’s shield’s fi ve layers and then allows them to expand.
cleanroom at Northrop
launch date would slip from October 2018 into 2019. Test deployments of the sunshield at Northrop Grum-
Grumman Aerospace
The delay stems from a routine schedule assessment, man will require replacement of the actuators and Systems in Redondo
which identifi ed the need for additional time to wrap those swap-ins have taken more time than predicted. Beach, California.
up integration and environmental testing of elements Additional vibration and acoustics tests, mimick- N orthrop Grumman
of the spacecraft. ing the launch conditions Webb will experience, still
The delay is the latest in a string of cost and sched- loom for when the telescope’s science instruments
ule overruns since Webb’s development began in the — currently at NASA’s Johnson Space Center — are
1990s, originally slated for a 2007 launch and a $500 wedded to its bus and sunshield. And with some reserve
million price. Due to underfunding at times and con- funds now allocated, there is less wiggle room for
struction snags, the budget has increased to $8.8 billion. problems that could pop up. That said, fears of Webb
Though unwelcome news, this new delay might being derailed are not founded, Smith says. “At this
not be all that signifi cant given the scale of the project. point, you’re testing largely workmanship — have
NASA estimates the costs of keeping Webb’s corps of things been put together correctly?” he says.
scientists and engineers around an extra fi ve to eight Alan Boss, a staff scientist at the Carnegie Institu-
months at less than 2 percent of the project’s overall tion of Washington and a longtime follower of Webb’s
development costs, so around $160 million. Critically, development, sees a bright side in the recent delay.
those funds are already available within the existing Having plenty of time for I&T to “get it right” ultimate-
budget, explains Eric Smith, the Webb program direc- ly “trumps everything else,” says Boss, who is also a
tor at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. When member of NASA’s Astrophysics Advisory Committee.
crafting Webb’s major budget replan in 2011, manag- The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS,
ers set aside reserve funds to deal with the all-but-in- pegged for a March 2018 launch, will also have addi-
evitable issues that arise whenever large, complex tional time to gather promising, nearby, newfound
projects near the fi nish line. “History would say there’s exoplanets for Webb to scrutinize. Webb will have the
going to be something that bites you,” says Smith. light-gathering power to identify cocktails of gases in
In Webb’s case, the holdup centers on the space- these worlds’ atmospheres that might indicate the
craft’s bus and sunshield, now undergoing integration presence of alien life, an ability largely beyond the
and testing at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, current generation of telescopes.
California. The sunshield will shade Webb from the When Webb launches, its backers say the telescope
heat and light of the sun, Earth and moon, so that will be worth the extra wait. “Webb is going to teach
infrared light emitted by faint, cold, distant phenom- us things that no other science facility or instrument
ena stand out in its observations. During Webb’s launch can,” says Smith. For instance, by peering 13.5 billion
on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana, the sun- years back in cosmic time, Webb should also help fi -
shield will be folded up, origami-style, to fi t within the nally reveal how the fi rst stars and galaxies formed.
fairing — as will the telescope’s 6.5-meter-diameter “We’re coming along with this fantastic facility,” Smith
★
primary mirror, composed of 18 hexagonal segments. says. “We’re almost there.”
Then comes what NASA’s Sandra Irish and others Ben Iannotta contributed from AIAA SciTech.
8 | FEBRUARY 2018 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org