NASA is working with industry to advance the next phase of cislunar infrastructure for the agency’s Artemis program and Moon Base, including orbital assets and demonstrations. Under a contract awarded to Advanced Space, the agency’s CAPSTONE 02 mission will demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations, autonomous navigation, and cislunar communication capabilities while continuing to characterize the […]
Category: Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
NASA Pushes New Wing Design to Find Structural Limits
NASA researchers recently put a new wing design, appearing long and thin with a lightweight structural design, through a series of grueling tests to find its structural limits. What they found left them encouraged about the wing’s potential, even when they pushed it past its intended limits. The 15-foot Structural Wing Experiment Evaluating Truss-bracing (SWEET-15) […]
New Material Could Help NASA Melt Moon Rocks, Harness Lunar Resources
A material recently discovered and tested at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland could help astronauts pack lighter for future missions to the Moon. NASA is researching ways explorers could “live off the land” by harnessing lunar resources, including melting Moon rocks to extract metals for building infrastructure and oxygen for fuel and life support. […]
NASA Announces Winners in University Aeronautics Competition
The South Dakota State University team took first place at NASA’s fifth annual Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, which challenged student teams to address a critical element of U.S. aviation: aircraft maintenance. This year’s competition, RepAir: Advancing Aircraft Maintenance, asked teams of postsecondary students to develop innovative systems and practices that could advance commercial aircraft […]
NASA Announces Winners in University Aeronautics Competition
The South Dakota State University team took first place at NASA’s fifth annual Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, which challenged student teams to address a critical element of U.S. aviation: aircraft maintenance. This year’s competition, RepAir: Advancing Aircraft Maintenance, asked teams of postsecondary students to develop innovative systems and practices that could advance commercial aircraft […]
NASA Explores Prioritizing First Response Drones in Crowded Skies
Our streets are crowded with commuters and delivery vehicles, but when a police car or fire engine approaches with its lights and sirens on, drivers clear the way. In the coming years, drones for deliveries and other commercial tasks will become common in the skies over our communities, and NASA is working to ensure first […]
There’s No Place Like NASA’s New X-59 Hangar Home
There’s no sign reading “home sweet home” in the hangar where the X‑59 now sits, but the sentiment is unmistakable among those tending to the quiet supersonic aircraft. Located at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, the X-59 hangar was built in 1968 but looks like new thanks to a full renovation and […]
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NASA Releases Powerful LAVA Software to US Aerospace Industry
For years, NASA engineers have turned to a tool called the Launch, Ascent, and Vehicle Aerodynamics (LAVA) framework to solve airflow challenges that could mean the difference between mission success or failure. When engineers need to know how a spacecraft will navigate re-entry or whether a new aircraft wing design will create enough lift, they […]
NASA Simulations Improve Artemis II Launch Environment
Airflow around rockets as they travel from Earth into space can have a dramatic impact on a mission, which is why NASA used advanced simulations to provide the best possible launch conditions for the Artemis II test flight around the Moon. To better understand the Artemis Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s flight environment, engineers turned to a NASA-developed tool called the Launch, Ascent, and Vehicle Aerodynamics […]
- Advanced Air Vehicles Program
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- Quesst (X-59)
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NASA’s X-59 Prepares for Second Flight
NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft is preparing for its second flight, a step that will set the pace for more flight testing in 2026. Over the coming months, NASA will take the quiet supersonic jet faster and higher, while validating safety and performance, a process known as envelope expansion. NASA test pilot Jim “Clue” Less will be at the X-59’s […]