NASA engineers are using one of the world’s lightest solid materials to construct an antenna that could be embedded into the skin of an aircraft, creating a more aerodynamic and reliable communication solution for drones and other future air transportation options. Developed by NASA, this ultra-lightweight aerogel antenna is designed to enable satellite communications where […]
Category: Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
NASA Calibrates Second Shock-Sensing Probe for X-59 Testing
When you’re testing a cutting-edge NASA aircraft, you need specialized tools to conduct tests and capture data –but if those tools need maintenance, you need to wait until they’re fixed. Unless you have a backup. That’s why NASA recently calibrated a new shock-sensing probe to capture shock wave data when the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic […]
NASA Makes Progress on Advanced Drone Safety Management System
From agriculture and law enforcement to entertainment and disaster response, industries are increasingly turning to drones for help, but the growing volume of these aircraft will require trusted safety management systems to maintain safe operations. NASA is testing a new software system to create an improved warning system – one that can predict hazards to drones before […]
ARMD Research Solicitations (Updated June 6)
THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED ON JUNE 6, 2025(Updated Advanced Air Vehicles Program Fellowship Opportunities.) This Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) solicitations page compiles the opportunities to collaborate with NASA’s aeronautical innovators and/or contribute to their research to enable new and improved air transportation systems. Most opportunities to participate in research are officially announced through the […]
NASA Boosts Efficiency with Custom X-66 Flooring
NASA designed temporary floorboards for the MD-90 aircraft to use while it is transformed into the X-66 experimental demonstrator aircraft. These floorboards will protect the original flooring and streamline the modification process. Supporting the agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, a small team in the Experimental Fabrication Shop at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, […]
NASA’s X-59 Completes ‘Cruise Control’ Engine Speed Hold Test
The team behind NASA’s X-59 completed another critical ground test in March, ensuring the quiet supersonic aircraft will be able to maintain a specific speed during operation. The test, known as engine speed hold, is the latest marker of progress as the X-59 nears first flight this year. “Engine speed hold is essentially the aircraft’s […]
NASA Invites Media to View Wildland Fire Technology Flight Test
NASA will conduct a live flight test of aircraft performing simulated wildland fire response operations using a newly developed airspace management system at 9 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, March 25, in Salinas, California. NASA’s new portable airspace management system, part of the agency’s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project, aims to significantly expand […]
Finalists Selected in NASA Aeronautics Agriculture-Themed Competition
Eight finalist teams participating in the 2025 NASA Gateways to Blue Skies Competition have been selected to present to a panel of judges their design concepts for aviation solutions that can help the agriculture industry. Sponsored by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, this year’s competition asked teams of university students to research new or improved […]
NASA’s Chevron Technology Quiets the Skies
Shortly after dawn on March 27, 2001, NASA pilot Bill Rieke took off from an airfield just outside of Phoenix in NASA’s blue-and-white Learjet 25 and flew low over a series of microphones for the first flight test of a groundbreaking NASA technology. On one of the plane’s engines was an experimental jagged-edged nozzle that […]