“Revolutionizing Aviation: The Need for a Research Renaissance”

The outlook for aviation does not resemble how it appeared merely five years prior. In actuality, it appears more thrilling and promising than ever.

Throughout that period, companies not typically linked with the aviation sector have entered the market, the need for new air services has increased, and technologies have progressed to transform long-desired aspirations into actuality.

To keep up with these transformations and ensure that the United States remains the global frontrunner in aviation, NASA’s aeronautical pioneers must regularly reevaluate the research they are conducting and the relevance of such work to the industry and the advantages it brings to the flying public.

NASA’s strategic vision – formulated in collaboration and consultation with government bodies, industry representatives, and academic institutions – was initially revealed in 2013. This resulted in the first Strategic Implementation Plan being published in 2015.

Informed by fresh insights from industry and others, the plan underwent revisions in 2017. Today, NASA announces the 2019 revision of the plan, detailing how various research domains were adapted to mirror recent trends.

“With this revised plan, we are ready to facilitate the dawn of a new aviation era, with innovations as revolutionary as those witnessed during the inception of the jet age in commercial air travel over fifty years ago,” stated Robert Pearce, NASA’s associate administrator for aeronautics.

The 2019 edition of the Strategic Implementation Plan reinforces a vision for the future in which:

• A novel commercial sector for supersonic air travel is emerging owing to a regulatory adjustment made viable by data produced from the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology aircraft, designed to travel faster than sound while generating sonic booms no louder than a soft thud.
• Cutting-edge, eco-friendly subsonic aircraft, characterized by varied designs and constructed from lighter, advanced composite materials, consume significantly less fuel and emit considerably fewer pollutants.
• Aircraft of varying sizes and categories, particularly those capable of vertical takeoff and landing, utilize propulsion powered by electric motors driving propellers or large fans.
• Innovations in technologies and advancements in airspace management facilitate a secure and economically viable Urban Air Mobility (UAM) transportation framework where semi- and fully autonomous vehicles provide numerous new services in urban areas, both large and small.

“Our plan serves as a dynamic document,” Pearce remarked. “While we have not yet needed to alter the global trends that shaped our original 2013 vision, the continual feedback from the broader community encourages us to revisit and frequently modify the strategies that dictate our research portfolio.”

In the 2019 revision, NASA revised its six guiding principles, referred to as “strategic thrusts” in the plan.

1. Support the Federal Aviation Administration and collaborate with others to modernize the management of the nation’s airspace, enhancing safety and making operations more robust and predictable. This research area is evolving to accommodate the new and varied aviation business models that have emerged over recent years, such as UAM.
2. Advance revolutionary technologies and gather data that assists in overcoming obstacles to establishing a commercial supersonic transport market capable of safely operating over land with minimal environmental impact.
3. Investigate innovative design concepts for subsonic aircraft that achieve significantly greater environmental sustainability via propulsion systems that integrate electricity with alternative fuels. This research focus is evolving to address the challenges of incorporating new propulsion technologies into an aircraft.
4. Examine advanced technologies linked to vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to enhance their safety and reduce noise. This research focus has evolved in response to the growing demand for expertise about the design, construction, and operation of these vehicles within a fully integrated and functional UAM transportation framework.
5. Create and evaluate new operational capabilities wherein aircraft of all sizes and varieties, including drones, are outfitted with systems capable of accurately predicting or identifying safety-related issues and preventing them before they occur.
6. Develop systems to cater to the ever-growing demand for reliable automation and autonomy in aviation, emphasizing intelligent machine systems that can safely manage complex scenarios, particularly regarding UAM.

“We’re on the precipice of a new phase of aeronautical innovation where aircraft will not resemble their current forms, their propulsion will not operate in the same manner, and the world will continue to become smaller as commercial supersonic flight over land transitions into reality,” Pearce mentioned.

“As air travel seeks to reinvent itself in ways previously unimaginable even just five years ago, we are assured that this updated plan keeps us progressing toward making that future attainable.”