NASA and its partners recently tested a tool for remotely piloted operations that could enable operators to transport people and goods more efficiently within urban areas. The team’s goal is to ensure that when these remotely piloted aircraft – including electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) – take to the skies, air traffic controllers […]
Category: Advanced Air Mobility
NASA Tests Tools to Assess Drone Safety Over Cities
A future with advanced air mobility aircraft populating the skies will require the U.S. to implement enhanced preflight planning that can mitigate potential risks well before takeoff – and NASA is working to develop the tools to make that happen. Preflight planning is critical to ensuring safety in the complex, high-risk environments of the future […]
NASA Tests Research Aircraft to Improve Air Taxi Flight Controls
Flying the friendly skies may one day include time-saving trips in air taxis to get from point A to point B – and NASA researchers are currently working to make that future a reality. They are using wind tunnel and flight tests to gather data on an electric Vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) scaled-down small […]
NASA Uses Wind Tunnel to Test Advanced Air Mobility Aircraft Wing
The advanced air mobility industry is currently working to produce novel aircraft ranging from air taxis to autonomous cargo drones, and all of those designs will require extensive testing – which is why NASA is working to give them a head-start by studying a special kind of model wing. The wing is a scale model […]
NASA Drop Test Supports Safer Air Taxi Design and Certification
As the aviation industry works to develop new air taxis and other electric aircraft made from innovative, lightweight materials, there’s a growing need to understand how those materials behave under impact. That’s why NASA is investigating potential air taxi materials and designs that could best protect passengers in the event of a crash. On June […]
NASA Drop Test Supports Safer Air Taxi Design and Certification
As the aviation industry works to develop new air taxis and other electric aircraft made from innovative, lightweight materials, there’s a growing need to understand how those materials behave under impact. That’s why NASA is investigating potential air taxi materials and designs that could best protect passengers in the event of a crash. On June […]
NASA Air Taxi Passenger Comfort Studies Move Forward
NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility vision involves the skies above the U.S. filled with new types of aircraft, including air taxis. But making that vision a reality involves ensuring that people will actually want to ride these aircraft – which is why NASA has been working to evaluate comfort, to see what passengers will and won’t […]
NASA Tests Ultralight Antennas to Benefit Future National Airspace
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 […]
NASA Studies Wind Effects and Aircraft Tracking with Joby Aircraft
NASA engineers began using a network of ground sensors in March to collect data from an experimental air taxi to evaluate how to safely integrate such vehicles into airspace above cities – in all kinds of weather. Researchers will use the campaign to help improve tools to assist with collision avoidance and landing operations and […]
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 […]