Aerospace Design and Structures
Multidisciplinary Design Optimization: Developers unveil new optimization tools and system designs
Structural Dynamics: Flapping flight breakthrough and other advances
Adaptive Structures: Materials that remember show promise for aircraft and space applications
Design Engineering: Novel designs and NASA’s moon-to-Mars goals inspire next generation
Systems Engineering: Progress made on U.S. acquisition policy and technical fronts
Survivability: Reducing laser damage, acquiring aircraft crashworthiness data
Non-deterministic Approaches: Researchers advance probabilistic analysis for greater efficiency and safety
Structures: Structures tested; modeling developed
Materials: Unique material innovations reduce costs in manufacturing
Aerospace Outreach
Aerospace Sciences
Astrodynamics: A year of exploration and commercialization of space
Meshing, Visualization and Computational Environments: Achieving advanced CFD capabilities with high-performance computers
Thermophysics: Advances in thermal management for hypersonic flight and Titan exploration
Guidance, Navigation and Control: AI advances military drone effectiveness, lunar exploration
Aerodynamic Measurement Technology: Enabling diagnostics for opaque flows, complex surfaces and nonintrusive flow measurements
Fluid Dynamics: Experimental-numerical campaigns give insight into complex fluid phenomena
Ground Testing: Facility improvements make progress amid heavy year of ground testing
Aeroacoustics: Increasing power, speed and mobility without the negative impacts of noise
Atmospheric Flight Mechanics: Paving the way for autonomous weapons, hypersonics, human spaceflight
Plasmadynamics and Lasers: Promising technologies from plasmas, lasers, directed energy
Applied Aerodynamics: Testing designs to increase aircraft fuel efficiency
Modeling and Simulation: Training pilots to handle the worst with realistic simulators
Aircraft Technology, Integration and Operations
Air Transportation Systems: Adapting air traffic control for drones and urban air mobility
Aircraft Operations: Aviation automation in spotlight; new-entrant evolution continues
Aircraft Design: Busy year for advancing emergent flight vehicle technology
Balloon Systems: Demonstrating navigation, persistence; carrying out spacecraft tests
Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems: Developing parachute systems for space and military
VSTOL Aircraft Systems: Future vertical lift competition intensifies; eVTOL designs proliferate
Hypersonic Technologies and Aerospace Planes: Hypersonics research accelerates across 3 continents
Lighter-Than-Air Systems: No “flight shaming” here: Airships leverage eco-friendliness
Flight Testing: Space vehicle, automation testing prevalent
Information Systems
Sensor Systems and Information Fusion: Artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons drive sensing, fusion research
Communications Systems: Industry disruption, transformation continue into fifth year
Software: New focus on safety in software
Intelligent Systems: Testing autonomy for lunar Gateway, Robonaut 2 and aviation
Computer Systems: Transformations in computer architecture enable advances in exploration autonomy
Integration
Aerospace Traffic Management: 737 MAX grounding and ADS-B lead eventful year
Transformational Flight: Flight testing begins for new urban air mobility, electric propulsion aircraft
Energy Optimized Aircraft: Hybrid electric concepts move toward demonstration
CFD Vision 2030: Progress toward the 2030 vision of CFD
Space Exploration: Space exploration focuses on asteroids
Propulsion and Energy
Inlets, Nozzles and Propulsion Systems Integration: 2 supersonic aircraft programs reach testing milestones
Hybrid Rockets: Advanced manufacturing extends operational boundaries of hybrids
Pressure Gain Combustion: Advances in science and technology of pressure gain combustion
Liquid Propulsion: Commercial Crew, engine tests mark an active year
Propellants and Combustion: Expanding ignition and combustion limits and alternative fuels for the future
Electric Propulsion: Explosive growth in electric propulsion
Energetic Components and Systems: Innovations made on NASA initiator, 3D printing of propellants, cool gas generators
High-Speed Air-Breathing Propulsion: Lighting fires that can’t be extinguished
Nuclear and Future Flight Propulsion: Nuclear propulsion planning focuses on modular, sustainable designs
Terrestrial Energy Systems: Progress made toward hydrogen-powered aircraft and biofuels
Aerospace Power Systems: Radioisotope and solar-powered missions to Mars, moon, GEO
Gas Turbine Engines: Record-setting engine technologies pave way for third era of aviation
Solid Rockets: Solid rocket motor waves from around the world
Space and Missiles