Aerospace Design and Structures
Adaptive Structures: Active materials, adaptive structures combine to enhance performance of aerospace systems
Materials: Computation and AI unlock detailed studies of materials
Structural Dynamics: Groundbreaking structural dynamics and aeroelastic tests
Structures: Lighter-weight structures for aircraft and spacecraft continue to proliferate
Multidisciplinary Design Optimization: New software and frameworks for optimizing design and development
Non-deterministic Approaches: Rapid aeroelastic testing, metamaterials, and design and analysis headline the year’s activities
Survivability: U.S. Defense Department researchers improve survivability in the air and in space
Aerospace Outreach
Aerospace Sciences
Aeroacoustics: Achieving quieter environments in air and space transport
Guidance, Navigation and Control: Autonomous systems adapting to uncertain and contested operating conditions
Applied Aerodynamics: Cooperation, perseverance yield progress in aerodynamic prediction reliability
Plasmadynamics and Lasers: Diagnostics, simulations and advanced facilities drive breakthroughs in plasma technology
Atmospheric Flight Mechanics: First flights, launches and reentries mark an eventful year
Thermophysics: Growing demand for flight data and plasma wind tunnels in Europe, U.S. to study reentry conditions
Ground Testing: Increased ground testing and testing capability
Atmospheric and Space Environments: Machine learning, flight experiments highlight progress in aerospace environments
Aerodynamic Measurement Technology: New measurement capabilities demonstrated for 3D flow properties, high-speed facilities and combustion research
Meshing, Visualization and Computational Environments: Powerful new capabilities emerge across the community
Modeling and Simulation: Simulations underpin progress in advanced air mobility planning, standards for aerial refueling
Astrodynamics: The challenge of access to space
Fluid Dynamics: Understanding and controlling fluid behavior in flight-relevant environments
Aircraft Technology, Integration and Operations
Aircraft Operations: Aircraft operations welcomes new Concept of Operations and focus on sustainability
Air Transportation Systems: Airline profitability on the horizon after three turbulent years despite air traffic controller shortages
Lighter-Than-Air Systems: Buyers commit to ordering up to 35 hybrid airships for passenger and freight operations
Flight Testing: First flights and diverse applications headline 2023 activity
Electrified Aircraft Technology: Flight milestones and lessons learned from X-plane programs
VSTOL Aircraft Systems: Future long-range assault aircraft and advanced air mobility leading the way
General Aviation: General aviation community advancing toward a sustainable future
Aircraft Design: Hydrogen and electric aircraft make their mark
Hypersonic Technologies and Aerospace Planes: Hypersonics manufacturing scales up and international allies engage
Balloon Systems: Preparing for passenger balloon flights to the stratosphere and scientific flights to Venus
Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems: U.S. Army tests gravity airdrop, high-altitude parachutes and powered paragliders
Information Systems
Intelligent Systems: A year of machine learning demonstrations and validations for aerospace applications
Human-Machine Teaming: Artificial intelligence begins to demonstrate the potential to revolutionize aviation
Communications Systems: Communications satellites proliferate into an expanding multi-orbit domain
Sensor Systems and Information Fusion: Expansion of sensor networks continues to improve military security and civilian mobility
Information Command and Control Systems: Information and command and control systems play pivotal role in modern warfare
Computer Systems: Innovations in spaceflight computing tempered by semiconductor manufacturing
Software: New software technology released for advanced air mobility, spaceflight and artificial intelligence
Digital Avionics: Powered by Moore’s Law, AI-enabled automation makes headway toward certification
Aerospace Cybersecurity: Space and aviation sectors invest in community awareness, training and education to ward off increasing cyberattacks
Integration
Transformational Flight: Advanced air mobility aircraft developers prepare for passenger service
Aerospace Traffic Management: Aviation management challenges increase
CFD Vision 2030: Pieces are coming together for CFD Vision 2030
Supersonics: Pushing the boundaries of high-speed commercial travel
Space Exploration: U.S. and Indian lunar missions headline the year’s events
Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: U.S. government studies, hearings highlight increasing awareness of UAP as an aerospace safety concern
Unmanned Systems: Uncrewed and remotely piloted vehicles set records in civil and military worlds
Propulsion and Energy
Electric Propulsion: A year of firsts for electric propulsion
High-Speed Air-Breathing Propulsion: Accelerating toward hypersonic civilian flight
Pressure Gain Combustion: Advancements continue in rotating detonation engines
Propellants and Combustion: Advances in simulations and experimentation for clean and high-speed combustion systems
Terrestrial Energy Systems: Cryogenic fuels in aviation
Aerospace Power Systems: Exploration endeavors beyond Earth’s orbit
Gas Turbine Engines: Gas turbine engines gear up for advanced architectures and measurements
Inlets, Nozzles and Propulsion Systems Integration: New design and analysis tools, plus collaboration on hydrogen fuel systems
Liquid Propulsion: New engine development on the rise, with liquid methane taking center stage
Hybrid Rockets: New hybrid rockets prepare for inaugural flights
Solid Rockets: Solid rocket boosters enable solid progress in space exploration
Nuclear and Future Flight Propulsion: Space nuclear propulsion collaborations prepare to take flight
Energetic Components and Systems: University experiments lead to breakthroughs in combustion, development of customized propellants
Space and Missiles