R&D

Hypersonic weapons and experimental versions share something in common: They must be boosted up to high speeds so that tests can begin or hypersonic weapons can be released. Keith Button spoke to aerospace engineers who think they have a better motor for these jobs.

How close are researchers to building quantum computers that are practical outside the lab and can reliably perform their promised calculation miracles? Jon Kelvey looks at the state of the technology and potential applications that have engineers and scientists excited.

Ken Plaks, director of DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office

NASA may be years away from taking up a mission to explore the subsurface oceans of the icy moons Enceladus or Europa, but it continues to fund research into promising technologies for getting under the ice. Engineers at a Texas engineering firm last year made a breakthrough on one of the biggest challenges. Keith Button takes us inside the laboratory and field tests.

A substantial portion of the agency’s aviation budget over the next four fiscal years will be dedicated to building and flying demonstration aircraft, including some with X-plane designations. NASA is staying with that plan, despite setbacks since the initiative was announced in 2016. Why is the agency so determined to continue, and when will the first of the experimental planes fly? Pat Host and Ben Iannotta set out to find out.

In recent months, airline passengers have been injured by encounters with clear air turbulence that, at the moment, crews have no way to detect. A solution could be at hand through a collaboration between NASA and the National Research Council Canada. Keith Button tells the story.

Lithium-air batteries have intrigued futurists with their promise of storing vastly more electricity than today’s lithium-ion versions. But they have always suffered from an Achilles’ heel: They couldn't be charged and discharged over and over again, as required for commercial applications, including air travel. Keith Button spoke to researchers who have made a breakthrough in that part of the lithium-air equation.

Hollywood loves its comets, but many of those in the planetary defense field are more focused on the threat of an asteroid strike, given the long odds of a comet smashing into Earth. Who is right? Here’s what Jon Kelvey found out.