Aerospace Research Central

2019

By Ketan AjaniNovember 27, 2019

November 27, 2019

2019 Year In Review

Aerospace Sciences

Atmospheric Flight Mechanics

Paving the way for autonomous weapons, hypersonics, human spaceflight

Facility improvements make progress amid heavy year of ground testing

Guidance, Navigation and Control

AI advances military drone effectiveness, lunar exploration

Plasmadynamics and Lasers

Promising technologies from plasmas, lasers, directed energy

Meshing, Visualization and Computational Environments

Achieving advanced CFD capabilities with high-performance computers

A year of exploration and commercialization of space

Advances in thermal management for hypersonic flight and Titan exploration

Modeling and Simulation

Training pilots to handle the worst with realistic simulators

Experimental-numerical campaigns give insight into complex fluid phenomena

Applied Aerodynamics

Testing designs to increase aircraft fuel efficiency

Aerodynamic Measurement Technology

Enabling diagnostics for opaque flows, complex surfaces and nonintrusive flow measurements

Increasing power, speed and mobility without the negative impacts of noise

Information Systems

New focus on safety in software

Sensor Systems and Information Fusion

Artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons drive sensing, fusion research

Intelligent Systems

Testing autonomy for lunar Gateway, Robonaut 2 and aviation

Computer Systems

Transformations in computer architecture enable advances in exploration autonomy

Communications Systems

Industry disruption, transformation continue into fifth year

Propulsion and Energy

Inlets, Nozzles and Propulsion Systems Integration

2 supersonic aircraft programs reach testing milestones

Aerospace Power Systems

Radioisotope and solar-powered missions to Mars, moon, GEO

Propellants and Combustion

Expanding ignition and combustion limits and alternative fuels for the future

Energetic Components and Systems

Innovations made on NASA initiator, 3D printing of propellants, cool gas generators

Terrestrial Energy Systems

Progress made toward hydrogen-powered aircraft and biofuels

Solid rocket motor waves from around the world

Pressure Gain Combustion

Advances in science and technology of pressure gain combustion

Nuclear and Future Flight Propulsion

Nuclear propulsion planning focuses on modular, sustainable designs

Liquid Propulsion

Commercial Crew, engine tests mark an active year

Advanced manufacturing extends operational boundaries of hybrids

High-Speed Air-Breathing Propulsion

Lighting fires that can’t be extinguished

Gas Turbine Engines

Record-setting engine technologies pave way for third era of aviation

Electric Propulsion

Explosive growth in electric propulsion

Space and Missiles

Space Automation and Robotics

Robots assisting astronauts, servicing ISS and assembling

Weapon System Effectiveness

U.S. military awards contracts for wide-ranging hypersonics projects

Microgravity and Space Processes

Microgravity research advances physical, biological and material sciences

Space Transportation

Private space companies strive for crewed flights, lunar exploration

Space tethers to demonstrate propellantless propulsion, deorbiting satellites

Space systems deliver progress toward space economy

Space Resources

International momentum for space resources ramps up

Space Logistics

Supplying the space station, preparing to put humans back on the moon

Space Architecture

Portals to lunar exploration take shape

Small Satellite

Small satellites deliver science, communications, commercial missions

Life Sciences and Systems

Kelly twins’ year-in-space study yields data

Integration

CFD Vision 2030

Progress toward the 2030 vision of CFD

Transformational Flight

Flight testing begins for new urban air mobility, electric propulsion aircraft

Space Exploration

Space exploration focuses on asteroids

Energy Optimized Aircraft

Hybrid electric concepts move toward demonstration

Aerospace Traffic Management

737 MAX grounding and ADS-B lead eventful year

Aerospace Outreach

Society and Aerospace Technology

Apollo anniversary inspires more exploration and milestones

50 years after Apollo 11, the world took note

Demo