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TRANSITION 14 GENERAL AVIATION 28 MISSILE DEFENSE 40 Decisions for Trump Reviving a market Deterring North Korea 1 ★ ★ ★ A E R O S P A C E A M E R I C A CO WWWWaaaattttcccchhhhddddooooggggssss ★ ★ ★ JA N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 2 Monitoring carbon dioxide emissions from orbit could someday hold polluters accountable. Will the US participate? PAGE 22 aerospaceam erica.org JANUARY 2017 | A publication of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics | www.aerospaceamerica.org C1_January_Cover_v3.indd 3 12/19/16 2:37 PM FC.indd 1 12/20/16 2:04 PM 25–27 APRIL 2017 LAUREL, MD Strengthening National Defense and Security through Innovative Collaboration Join us for AIAA Defense and Security Forum (AIAA DEFENSE Forum). We are bringing together a diverse spectrum of experts to cover a broad range of defense and security topics, including several who are first-time speakers at AIAA DEFENSE Forum. AIAA DEFENSE will provide you an opportunity to learn about developments in the field, and discuss your findings to the community at-large in a SECRET/ U.S. ONLY forum. Advanced Threats - hear briefings from: • Marc Bernstein, Associate Director, MIT Lincoln Laboratory • Keith Englander, Director of Engineering, Missile Defense Agency • Conrad Grant, Chief Engineer, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory Contested Space and the DoD Space Policy - hear briefings from: • Todd Master, Program Manager, Tactical Technology Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency • Jeremy Raley, Program Manager, Tactical Technology Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Counter UAS Technologies and Operations - a policy panel discussion between • Greg Coleman, United States Central Command • Terence Haran, Senior Research Engineer, Georgia Tech Research Institute • David “John” Rathke, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, United States Air Force LEARN MORE: • Mark Rosenberg, Program Analyst, Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization aiaa-defense.org UAS Operations - a discussion lead by Steven Pennington, Executive Director, Policy Board on Federal Aviation, Department of Defense Federal Government employees and AIAA members receive significant 4 discounts on early forum registration – $500 off standard pricing. 7 4 1 * 7 1 FEATURES | January 2017 MORE AT aerospaceamerica.org 25–27 APRIL 2017 LAUREL, MD Strengthening National Defense and Security through Innovative Collaboration Join us for AIAA Defense and Security Forum (AIAA DEFENSE Forum). We are bringing together a diverse spectrum of experts to cover a broad range of defense and security topics, including several who are first-time speakers at AIAA DEFENSE Forum. AIAA DEFENSE will provide you an opportunity to learn about developments in the field, and discuss your findings to the community at-large in a SECRET/ U.S. ONLY forum. Advanced Threats - hear briefings from: • Marc Bernstein, Associate Director, MIT Lincoln Laboratory • Keith Englander, Director of Engineering, Missile Defense Agency • Conrad Grant, Chief Engineer, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory 22 28 34 40 Contested Space and the DoD Space Policy - hear briefings from: Decision time Revitalizing Deterring • Todd Master, Program Manager, Tactical Technology Office, for Trump Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency general aviation North Korea CO watchdogs 2 • Jeremy Raley, Program Manager, Tactical Technology Office, Two leading Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency The FAA doesn’t like it’s aerospace journalists The U.S. Missile Defense Counter UAS Technologies and Operations - a policy Climate scientists are mapping regulations for certifying analyze the most Agency wants 2017 to panel discussion between the global distribution of carbon the airworthiness of important decisions be a turning-point year aircraft and equipment, facing the incoming for an anti-missile • Greg Coleman, United States Central Command dioxide from orbit. Should the so it has revamped them. administration. system the Pentagon • Terence Haran, Senior Research Engineer, Georgia Tech Trump administration and the knowingly deployed Research Institute By Joe Stumpe By Henry Canaday before it was fully new Congress continue U.S. developed. and Warren Ferster • David “John” Rathke, National Air and Space Intelligence investment in this effort? Center, United States Air Force By Michael Peck LEARN MORE: • Mark Rosenberg, Program Analyst, Joint Improvised-Threat By Tom Risen Defeat Organization aiaa-defense.org UAS Operations - a discussion lead by Steven Pennington, Executive Director, Policy Board on Federal Aviation, Department of Defense Federal Government employees and AIAA members receive significant 4 discounts on early forum registration – $500 off standard pricing. 47 aerospaceamerica.org | JANUARY 2017 | 1 1 * 7 1 01-03_January_TOC_v1.indd 1 12/20/16 3:34 PM 5–9 JUNE 2017 DENVER, CO AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum More than 2,000 expected participants and Exposition—2017 AIAA AVIATION from around the world, the consolidated Forum—is the only aviation event that 18 individual technical conferences, plus covers the entire integrated spectrum three new events, make AIAA AVIATION of aviation business and technology. Forum the must-attend aviation event in 2017! FEATURING 24th AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator 9th AIAA Atmospheric and Space AIAA Balloon Systems Conference Systems Technology Conference Environments Conference 23rd AIAA Lighter-Than-Air Systems NEW! Electric Flight Workshop 17th AIAA Aviation Technology, Technology Conference Integration, and Operations NEW! Cybersecurity Symposium 23rd AIAA/CEAS Aeroacoustics Conference Conference NEW! DEMAND for UNMANNED® AIAA Flight Testing Conference 8th AIAA Theoretical Fluid Mechanics 33rd AIAA Aerodynamic Measurement 47th AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference Conference Technology and Ground Testing Conference 18th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary AIAA Complex Aerospace Systems Analysis and Optimization Exchange 35th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference Conference 23rd AIAA Computational Fluid AIAA Modeling and Simulation Dynamics Conference AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Technologies Conference Conference 47th Thermophysics Conference 48th Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference REGISTER TODAY! Organized by www.aiaa-aviation.org #aiaaAviation 17-1464 AEROSPACE ★ ★ ★ A M E R I CA ★ ★ ★ IN THIS ISSUE JANUARY 2017, VOL. 55, NO. 1 Tom Risen EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ben Iannotta is a journalist and researcher whose reporting on policy, science, and tech [email protected] business has appeared in US News & World Report, Slate, and The Atlantic. PAGE 22 PRODUCTION EDITOR Greg Wilson [email protected] Joe Stumpe 5–9 JUNE 2017 DENVER, CO EDITOR, AIAA BULLETIN Christine Williams is a freelance writer based in Wichita, Kansas. He wrote about [email protected] the AAIA’s Design/Build/Fly contest for college students in the June issue of Aerospace America. AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum More than 2,000 expected participants EDITOR EMERITUS Jerry Grey PAGE 28 and Exposition—2017 AIAA AVIATION from around the world, the consolidated Forum—is the only aviation event that 18 individual technical conferences, plus CONTRIBUTING WRITERS covers the entire integrated spectrum three new events, make AIAA AVIATION Henry Canaday Keith Button, Henry Canaday, Warren Ferster, of aviation business and technology. Forum the must-attend aviation event Tom Jones, Rick Krontz, Michael Peck, is a former energy economist who has written for Air Transport World, Aviation in 2017! Robert Rashford, Tom Risen, Joe Stumpe, Week and other aviation publications for more than two decades. Robert van der Linden, PAGE 34 Debra Werner, Frank H. Winter James “Jim” Maser AIAA PRESIDENT Warren Ferster Sandra H. Magnus PUBLISHER Rodger S. Williams DEPUTY PUBLISHER is a senior analyst with the space consulting practice of The Tauri Group Craig Byl MANUFACTURING in Alexandria, Virginia. He was editor-in-chief of Space News, where he worked for 21 years, starting as the national affairs and policy reporter. AND DISTRIBUTION PAGE 34 ADVERTISING Joan Daly, 703-938-5907 [email protected] Michael Peck Pat Walker, 415-387-7593 FEATURING [email protected] writes about defense and space technology. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy Magazine, The National Interest and C4ISRNet magazine. 24th AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator 9th AIAA Atmospheric and Space AIAA Balloon Systems Conference ADVERTISING MATERIALS PAGE 40 Craig Byl, [email protected] Systems Technology Conference Environments Conference 23rd AIAA Lighter-Than-Air Systems NEW! Electric Flight Workshop 17th AIAA Aviation Technology, Technology Conference ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN Integration, and Operations DEPARTMENTS NEW! Cybersecurity Symposium 23rd AIAA/CEAS Aeroacoustics THOR Design Studio | thor.design Conference Conference NEW! DEMAND for UNMANNED® AIAA Flight Testing Conference 4 Editor’s Notebook 6 8 8th AIAA Theoretical Fluid Mechanics 33rd AIAA Aerodynamic Measurement 47th AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference Conference Technology and Ground Testing Conference 18th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary AIAA Complex Aerospace Systems 5 From the Corner Office Trending Engineering Aerospace America (ISSN 0740-722X) is published Analysis and Optimization Exchange Space Resources Notebook 35th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics monthly by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Conference Conference 23rd AIAA Computational Fluid Astronautics, Inc., at 12700 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 200 47 AIAA Bulletin and Legal Aspects Lockheed Martin’s AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics AIAA Modeling and Simulation Dynamics Conference Rise 5s0to%n o, Vf Ad u20e1s 9fo1-r5 A8I0A7A [ 7m0e3m/2b6e4r-s7 5(a0n0]d. Sisu nbosct rdipetdiuonct ribatlee Year-in-Review articles* supersonic X-plane Technologies Conference 58 Career Opportunities Conference 47th Thermophysics Conference therefrom). Nonmember subscription price: U.S., $200; 12 14 48th Plasmadynamics and Lasers foreign, $220. Single copies $20 each. Postmaster: Send Conference address changes and subscription orders to address above, 62 Looking Back attention AIAA Customer Service, 703/264-7500. Periodical Q&A postage paid at Reston, Virginia, and at additional mailing Astronaut’s View offices. Copyright 2017 by the American Institute of NASA’s Correcting NASA’s course Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., all rights reserved. William H. Gerstenmaier The name Aerospace America is registered by the AIAA in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 18 REGISTER TODAY! 64 Organized by This is Volume 55, No. 1. Case Study Trajectories www.aiaa-aviation.org James Webb Space Nadia Zerelli from MTU Telescope Aero Engines #aiaaAviation *Editor’s Note: These articles were accidentaly omitted from the December Year-in-Review issue. aerospaceamerica.org | JANUARY 2017 | 3 17-1464 01-03_January_TOC_v1.indd 3 12/20/16 9:59 AM EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK | AERONAUTICS L o ckh eed M artin The other 4 percent Lockheed Martin’s Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) concept Here’s something worth remembering during any presidential transition: The first A in NASA stands for aeronautics. Research in that area accounts for only 4 percent of NASA’s budget, but those dollars have an outsized impact on the daily lives of taxpayers. Many of us would love to fly from point A to B faster (See “Flying fast, flying quiet” on page 8), on the most efficient route possible, with fewer delays, propelled by engines that won’t choke on ice and that fly with the least possible environmental impact. NASA is working with the aviation industry and in some cases the FAA to achieve all those objectives. Some of what’s been accomplished so far is visible when looking out the terminal window. Many airliners now have drag-reducing winglets. Damage-tolerant fan casings protect fuselages in the unlikely event an engine’s blades fly apart. NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate has assembled a diagram depicting “decades of contributions to commercial aviation.” Depending on how one measures fuel efficiency, a Boeing 787 or Airbus A350 today is 50 to 70 percent more efficient than a Boeing 707, according to the forward to the forthcoming book, “Green Aviation: Reduction of Environmental Impact Through Aircraft Technology and Alternative Fuels.” My purpose in pointing this out is not to cry poor on behalf of aeronautics. My fear is that there is a risk of forgetting about this kind of work amid all the exhilaration that will come from peering back toward the origins of the universe with the James Webb Space Telescope; or making a space station near the moon; or mining asteroids for commerce; or walking on Mars or maybe even looking out a spacecraft’s window someday and seeing Jupiter’s Great Red Spot or the icy surface of Europa. We are becoming extraterrestrials, and it is exciting. But it is also resource intensive. Forty-four percent of NASA’s budget goes to Human Exploration Operations, including the International Space Station, Orion and the Space Launch System rocket; 29 percent goes to a long list of science projects, from assembly of Webb to developing the Mars 2020 rover to planning a robotic mission to Europa. What is the right balance between aeronautics and space? Opinions will no doubt vary, but here’s an argument for why today’s balance might be about right. NASA maintains a separate Space Technology research category, and it makes up 4.3 percent of the budget. That’s not much more than the 4 percent that goes to aeronautics research. In that sense, there is parity and perhaps one that should be maintained. ★ Ben Iannotta, editor-in-chief, [email protected] 4 | JANUARY 2017 | aerospaceamerica.org 04-January_Editor's Notebook_v1.indd 4 12/20/16 3:34 PM FROM THE CORNER OFFICE | Annalisa Weigel, AIAA Vice President, Member Services The Section of the Future The role of associations has changed information is disseminated; provide a Sections are financially stable enormously in the 21st century, clear understanding of the awards. A financially stable Section has the and AIAA is one of many societies majority of resources, financial and that need to make sure that we continue Sections have a reliable set of IT non-financial, needed to accomplish its to support our members in the most tools for all Section activities activities and programs. (Sample Actions: effective ways possible. Over the past 18 Tools should enable the Section complete Define criteria and guidelines for months, the Region and Section Activities management anytime, anywhere to help acceptable financially stable conditions; Committee (RSAC), which governs the Section function more efficiently. create and disseminate guidelines on Section activities, has worked with the (Sample Actions: Survey Sections’ needs financial best practices and positive AIAA’s Sections to define the Section for IT tools, and create a functional financial controls. of the Future. In this way, Sections will requirements list; demonstrate the continue to support you, our members, benefits of the IT tools for Sections.) Section leadership rotates right in your neighborhood. frequently, giving new volunteers The work, which I presented to the Members see clear value in AIAA new leadership opportunities Board of Directors in September, resulted membership and can state the Members should be aware of new in nine important attributes that all value proposition leadership and volunteer opportunities; Sections should strive for, with actions to Different members perceive different volunteers should reflect various help in fulfilling each attribute. types of value from their membership experiences, skill sets, interests, ages, based on varying ways of engagement, genders, and employers. (Sample Sections enjoy support from local and all are important. (Sample Actions: Actions: Announce open volunteer corporate members and industry Mentor members active in the local and leadership positions to all Section Support may involve providing financial Sections and Regions on the value of members and provide a list of current support, use of facilities, publicity, and membership at the Institute level AND filled and vacant positions monthly to overhead hours for employees to support vice versa; continue to evolve the Institute- the membership; make personal contact the Section’s operation. (Sample Actions: level activities to include events in which to identify and encourage candidates.) Map the Corporate Member locations to Section members will find value.) Regions and Sections; create a tip sheet Many Sections already are successful of how companies can help Sections.) Diverse, well-rounded, well- in these areas—among others—and organized programs their members and volunteer leaders Sections are closely linked to Programs should allow for the entire have been crucial in suggesting actions. Student Branches in the same membership to participate in Section Incoming RSAC Chair Laura Richard geographic area, with active events, including a variety of topics such and committee members will continue involvement of university as arts in aeronautics/aerospace, history, this important work with headquarters students in Section council and financial planning, and related technical staff, Institute leadership, and within Section activities areas in other industries. (Sample Actions: the new governance structure, to modify The Section of the Future should offer Survey Section members for their interests these attributes and actions as member channels of communication and means to make them part of the decision process; and Section needs evolve. But most of collaboration to the students in their find energized leadership to organize of all Sections need your support and Section. (Sample Actions: Establish activities and have a solid succession plan.) participation! We encourage you to means of collaboration at Section attend an event, network with colleagues, activities as well as Student Branch Diverse, inclusive, growing exchange ideas, hear a great lecture, or events; visit students at their schools for membership join a Student Branch. The Section of the a presentation/demonstration.) Aim for a diverse representation of Future depends on all of us! Participation technical fields, interests, businesses iiss ppoowweerr!! ★ Recognize and honor members for and affiliations, gender, generations service and technical innovations, and ethnicity. (Sample Actions: Enlist and put them forward for regional local aerospace companies to encourage or national recognition employees to join AIAA; empower young Sample Actions: Provide an easily members and students by including them accessible list of awards and see that the in Section activities and leadership.) aerospaceamerica.org | JANUARY 2017 | 5 05_January_CornerOffice_v1.indd 5 12/19/16 10:07 AM ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT N approximately two years, during which time NASA A S A/E will collect data from internal sensors monitoring S A radiation, temperature and micrometeorite impacts. In September, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held hearings with experts to discuss the issues with NOAA’s licensing of proposed remote-sensing satellites. Reports of licensing deni- als, unprocessed license applications and licensing changes due to national security concerns in contra- vention to current law and policy have frustrated the commercial remote-sensing industry. Witnesses noted the need for reduced regulatory burden, adherence to current law and reform of the interagency process that governs NOAA licensing decisions. NOAA is expected to release its mandated study on its licensing process- es soon, and some type of policy or statutory reform is anticipated in the near future. A year of milestones It was also an interesting year for law and policy at the international level. The United Nations Com- mittee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, or and changes in aerospace UNCOPUOS, took two significant steps. In June, the committee reached consensus on 12 guidelines for the long-term sustainability of space. These broad BY P.J. BLOUNT AND CHRISTOPHER M. HEARSEY guidelines are intended to give states a framework for engaging in space activities while ensuring the space The Legal Aspects Technical Committee fosters an understanding of legal areas unique to aerospace. environment is protected. These initial guidelines are the first of many and are slated to be presented to the The crew of the Calendar year 2016 proved to be another eventful U.N. General Assembly in 2018. Then, complement- International Space one for the aerospace industry. The Commercial ing the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitive- Station poses in the Space Launch Competitiveness Act, signed by ness Act, the Legal Subcommittee of UNCOPUOS Bigelow Expandable President Barack Obama in late 2015, energized and adopted an agenda item on space resources. This Activity Module, or BEAM, after it was provided much-needed legal clarity for the commer- means that in 2017, discussions will begin to heat up filled with air in May. cial space industry. The act provides for statutory rights on what the U.S. act means at the international level. to obtain space resources for exploration and utiliza- Drones remained a hot topic in aerospace law in tion, adds a new category, “government astronauts,” 2016, specifically the FAA’s adoption of small drone for future commercial launches of NASA crew; estab- rules for non-hobbyists. This rule requires drone oper- lishes exclusive federal jurisdiction for third-party and ators to obtain a remote pilot certificate before operat- spaceflight-participant lawsuits for injuries; and man- ing a small drone. In addition to showing aeronautical dates a dozen reports and studies on a variety of top- knowledge, potential drone operators must also pass ics in advance of future policy discussions, includ- a background check administered by the Transporta- ing space traffic management, voluntary consensus tion Security Administration. While these rules will standards and the status of remote-sensing licenses. lead to safer drone operations, privacy questions still After a difficult period in the launch sector, a swirl around drones, which were highlighted by nu- SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a Dragon cargo capsule to merous incidents where individuals shot down drones the International Space Station in April. The mission, over their property or in public places. In April, the FAA Commercial Resupply Services-8, was an important issued a statement that it was a federal crime to shoot milestone for SpaceX, which for the first time landed any aircraft, including drones. a Falcon 9 first stage on a drone ship, the Of Course In both space and aviation, the Brexit vote has I Love You stationed off Florida, and also for Bigelow caused lots of consternation. As the United Kingdom Aerospace, whose unique cargo was secured in the removes itself from the European Union, governments trunk of the Dragon. The capsule delivered the Bige- and private industry will need to untangle how Brexit low Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, the first will affect international coordination of aerospace ac- privately owned, commercial expandable habitat tivities. Specifically, the effects of the U.K. leaving the Editor’s Note: designed for human use. On May 28, NASA astronaut single EU market is likely to have ripple effects across These articles were accidentally Jeff Williams managed the expansion of BEAM from regulatory issues and bilateral cooperation. Going into omitted from the December its original packed configuration. BEAM will stay 2017, the implications of Brexit will become clearer for Year-in-Review issue. berthed to the aft port of the Tranquility module for the aerospace industry. ★ 6 | JANUARY 2017 | aerospaceamerica.org 06-07_January_Trending_v2.indd 6 12/20/16 12:13 PM SPACE AND MISSILES Testing resource utilization NASA’s exploration plans are increasingly in- cluding ISRU. NASA’s Human Architecture Team conducted system level studies to examine the BY JULIE KLEINHENZ impact of incorporating full-scale ISRU systems The Space Resources Technical Committee advocates affordable, into human missions (namely the Evolvable Mars sustainable human space exploration using non-terrestrial natural and Campaign) using atmospheric and ground water discarded resources to supply propulsion, power, life-support consumables resources. Likewise, the Mars Water In-Situ Re- and manufacturing materials. source Utilization Planning study led by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate leveraged university, Growing interest in in-situ resource utilization, NASA, and commercial partners to identify po- spurred activity in the space resources com- tential Mars resources and the instruments and munity in 2016. Lunar and Martian resourc- data still needed to fully characterize them for es are of continued interest for human missions ISRU use. The NASA Capability Leadership Team and outposts, and there is a growing focus on as- continues to assess and plan for facilities and re- teroid resources. sources needed for future ISRU efforts, and a po- On the moon, the target resource is the water-ice tential ISRU technology development program is that has been detected in permanently shadowed in formulation under NASA’s Advanced Explora- craters at the polar regions. Characterizing these tion Systems. resources is the focus of NASA’s Resource Pros- NASA’s Mars 2020 mission will include the pector, RP, rover mission and the European Space Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment, or MOXIE, pay- Prospect drilling and sampling package Tech- load that will demonstrate ISRU technologies to nology development continues for these potential convert Mars atmospheric carbon dioxide into ox- missions. In May, RP was put through its fourth ygen. Led by MIT, MOXIE completed instrument thermal vacuum test at the NASA Glenn Research preliminary design review in January and is now Center’s Planetary Surface Simulation Facility. The working toward delivery in May 2018. Mars 2020 drill (from Honeybee Robotics), the spectrometer is the first mission that will fly an ISRU payload. (NASA’s Ames Research Center), and sample cru- Asteroid resources are the focus of three uni- cibles (NASA’s Kennedy Space Center) were tested versity-led projects under NASA Early Stage Initia- with water-doped, frozen, lunar regolith simulant. tive awards, now in their second year. The Robotic These tests continue to refine hardware develop- In-situ Surface Exploration System (RISES) proj- ment, concepts of operations, and volatiles-de- ect at the University of West Virginia is looking at The Canadian Space tection methods. Meanwhile, the Canadian Space robotic systems and non-destructive tests for the Agency’s Lunar Rover Agency accepted delivery of two lunar rover proto- strength of asteroid materials. At Missouri Univer- Drivetrain Prototype, types from contractor Ontario Drive and Gear. The sity of Science and Technology and the Colorado foreground, and Small Planetary Rover Platform larger one measures 1.6 meters X 1.6 m, has a mass School of Mines, work is focused on volatiles ex- were driven across the of 112 kilograms, and a 1G payload of 160 kg, while traction and capture, while Stanford University is agency’s Mars yard near the smaller 90 kg rover has a footprint of 1.2 m X 1.2 examining characterization of asteroids using im- Montreal in 2016 to m and a 50 kg payload. Both platforms have a drive- pact plasma detection. simulate conditions on train that was subjected to dusty thermal vacuum On the commercial side, several companies the moon. Ontario Drive and Gear delivered the testing at NASA’s Glenn Research Center to achieve are pursuing asteroid resources. Planetary Re- vehicles in April. Technology Readiness Level-6. sources, Inc., PRI, has shipped their A6 satellite, a 6-unit cubesat that will demonstrate technolo- gies to measure resources on water-rich asteroids, to Vandenberg Air Force Base with a scheduled launch date of late 2016. PRI also announced a partnership with the government of Luxembourg to advance technologies and businesses related to exploration and utilization of asteroid resources. Honeybee Robotics and the University of Central Florida developed a concept for a 6-unit cubesat that could extract water from hydrated asteroid regolith and use it to “hop” between asteroids via steam propulsion. In 2016, the extraction hard- ware for this cubesat recovered water from as- teroid simulants during laboratory tests under a Small Business Technology Transfer project with Kennedy Space Center. ★ aerospaceamerica.org | JANUARY 2017 | 7 06-07_January_Trending_v2.indd 7 12/20/16 12:13 PM ENGINEERING NOTEBOOK | SUPERSONIC FLIGHT Flying fast, The path to the potential return of super- sonic passenger flights travels through an artificial living room, specifically the Interior Effects Room at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, better known as the flying quiet boom room. It’s furnished like a typical suburban American living room, with bookshelves, a flat screen TV and stereo, curtains, paintings on the wall, a coffee table, and a chair and couch. Here, starting in 2011, NASA engineers sat down test The curves and features of Lockheed Martin’s subjects to listen to and rate their annoyance from recorded and simulated airplane noise. supersonic X-plane model have specific Speakers pointed at the walls from the outside purposes in the quest to show the feasibility emitted a range of sounds based on recordings of supersonic F/A-18s, from muted thumps to of Mach 1-plus passenger jets. Keith Button sonic booms that rattled the fake windows. spoke to the engineers who hope to fly this, This testing and other experiments dating to the 1980s helped engineers from NASA’s Com- or a similar X-plane, by 2020. mercial Supersonic Technology Program decide just how quiet a future supersonic jet would probably need to fly to be accepted by the public By Keith Button and the FAA. [email protected] The FAA banned supersonic flights over land even before the supersonic Concordes began 8 | JANUARY 2017 | aerospaceamerica.org 8-11_January_EngineeringNotebook_v1.indd 8 12/19/16 2:49 PM

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