GENERAL AVIATION 34 CLIMATE CHANGE 26 COMMERCIAL CREW 12 Keeping the joy of fl ying Why scientists trust temp records Sizing up the differences

VIRTUAL TRAVEL Why immersive techs could now be part of air travel forever PAGE 18

JULY/AUGUST 2020 | A publication of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org NEWAWARDS$500K UP TO INNOVATE TRANSFORM OUR FUTURE

R&D FUNDING PROGRAM The National Reconnaissance Offi ce Director’s Innovation Initiative (DII) Program funds cutting-edge scientifi c research in a high-risk, high-payoff environment to discover innovative concepts and creative ideas that transform overhead intelligence capabilities and systems for future national security intelligence needs. The program seeks the brightest minds and breakthrough technologies from industry, academia, national laboratories, and U.S. government agencies.

Visit the website for Broad Agency Announcement and Government Sources Sought Announcement requirements. 703.808.2769

www.nro.gov/Business-Innovation-Opportunities FEATURES | July/August 2020 MORE AT aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org

Kirstin Vang/visitfaroeislands.com 12 26 34 18 Choosing a ride Taking Earth’s Technology vs. Gauging how far to space joy of fl ying The Boeing and Climate scientists Digital pilot aids virtual reality can go SpaceX approaches rely on different can make general to delivering crews to types of sensors aviation fl ying safer, The pandemic may motivate travelers the space station and and data reaching but some argue that to experiment with immersive home offer a study in back to the 1800s requirements can technologies. The question is contrasts. before determining squeeze the fun out whether a headset can quench one’s a year’s place in of a beautiful day in wanderlust. By Cat Hofacker environmental history. the sky.

By Sarah Wells By Adam Hadhazy By Jan Tegler

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 1 24–26 AUGUST 2020 | VIRTUAL EVENT

TRUMPETING THE FUTURE OF PROPULSION AND ENERGY NEW VIRTUAL FORMAT

The 2020 AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum will bring together the community in a fully virtual setting. Leaders from our industry will discuss advances in spacecraft electric propulsion, gas turbine engines, hybrid rockets, electric technologies, high-speed air- propulsion, and more. Access on-demand technical presentations, attend live panels, and network with attendees—all from the comfort of your home!

FEATURED SPEAKERS

ROBERT LIGHTFOOT PEARCE MARLA PÉREZ-DAVIS Lockheed Martin Space NASA NASA

REGISTRATION OPENS 13 JULY aiaa.org/propulsionenergy IN THIS ISSUE AEROSPACE★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ AMERICA JULY/AUGUST 2020, VOL. 58, NO. 7 Adam Hadhazy EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ben Iannotta Adam reports on astrophysics and technology. His work has appeared in [email protected] Discover and New Scientist magazines. PAGE 26 ASSOCIATE EDITOR Karen Small [email protected] STAFF REPORTER Cat Hofacker Cat Hofacker [email protected] Cat joined Aerospace America as staff reporter in 2019 after an internship at USA Today, where she covered the 2018 midterm elections. EDITOR, AIAA BULLETIN Christine Williams PAGE 12 [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Moriba Jah Adam Hadhazy, Moriba Jah, Before becoming an associate professor at the University of Texas at Robert van der Linden, Austin, Moriba helped navigate the Mars Odyssey spacecraft and the Mars Jan Tegler, Sarah Wells, Debra Werner, Reconnaissance Orbiter from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and worked on space Frank H. Winter situational awareness issues with the U.S. Air Research Laboratory. PAGE 64 Basil Hassan AIAA PRESIDENT Daniel L. Dumbacher PUBLISHER Katie Taplett DEPUTY PUBLISHER Jan Tegler Jan covers a variety of subjects, including defense. He’s a frequent contributor to ADVERTISING Defense Media Network/Faircount Media Group and is the author of the book “B-47 [email protected] Stratojet: Boeing’s Brilliant Bomber,” as well as a general aviation pilot. PAGE 34 ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN THOR Design Studio | thor.design Sarah Wells MANUFACTURING AND DISTRIBUTION Association Vision | associationvision.com Sarah is a science and technology journalist based in Boston interested in how innovation and research intersect with our daily lives. She has written for LETTERS AND CORRESPONDENCE a number of national publications and covers innovation news at Inverse. Ben Iannotta, [email protected] PAGE 18

Debra Werner A frequent contributor to Aerospace America, Debra is also a West Coast correspondent for Space News. Aerospace America (ISSN 0740-722X) is published monthly PAGES 9, 11 except in August by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., at 12700 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 200 Reston, VA 20191-5807 [703-264-7500]. Subscription rate is 50% of dues for AIAA members (and is not deductible therefrom). Nonmember subscription price: U.S., $200; DEPARTMENTS foreign, $220. Single copies $20 each. Postmaster: Send address changes and subscription orders to Aerospace America, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, at 12700 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA, 20191-5807, 4 Editor’s Notebook Attn: A.I.A.A. Customer Service. Periodical postage 9 42, 44 paid at Reston, Virginia, and at additional mailing offi ces. Copyright 2020 by the American Institute of 7 Flight Path Aerospace in Opinion Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., all rights reserved. Action Urban air mobility; Commerce Department and The name Aerospace America is registered by the AIAA 8 AeroPuzzler An unusual broadband in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Offi ce. strategy for Alaskans space traffi c rules 11 Trajectories 47 AIAA Bulletin 62 Career Opportunities

12 Analysis 60 Looking Back 64 Jahniverse

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 3 EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK SPACE SCIENCE

Meet our new columnist

ere in the , school children learn about Manifest Destiny, the 19th-century belief of many Americans that they were destined, by God in some interpretations, to expand westward. The reality is that this destiny did not unfold as smoothly, fairly or peacefully as it might have. There were technical innovations, but also snake oil salesmen. There was Sacagawea, but also genocide. There were international but also war; there was environmental Hwaste, but also awakening. So, here we are at a similar junction. This time the United States and a host of space-faring societies are eyeing expansion into space, and no longer just for exploration. Plans call for factories, mining oper- ations, outposts for scientists and tourists, even colonies in the boldest visions. We still have a chance to avoid carrying our darkest sides into this vacuum, but that’s going to take ideas, insights and lots of frank discussion. Some matters to be sorted will be weighty; others will be wonkish. Taken together, they can add up to something large: Humanity’s peaceful expansion into space. Aerospace America wants to be part of the search for . As a starting point, we invite you to open the back cover of this issue, where you’ll fi nd the inaugural column by astrodynamicist and space environmentalist Moriba Jah, who will explore topics related to humanity’s expansion into space. Moriba’s columns will spring from his life and career experiences. He was born in to a mother from and a father from Sierra Leone. He spent his formative years in Venezuela, and moved back to the United States, earning a doctorate in aerospace science from the University of Colorado in Boulder. At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in , Moriba helped navigate the Mars Odyssey spacecraft and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. At the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory sites in Maui and New Mexico, he helped elevate issues of space situational awareness to a major research focus and chaired a NATO discussion about the topic. He now lives in Texas, where he is an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin and is an AIAA fellow. We expect Moriba’s columns to serve as a catalyst for commentary articles from other authors and to inspire enterprising reporting. The net result will be a rich variety of views and information in this magazine, all grounded fi rmly in facts and science as humanity examines whether and how to become extraterrestrials. ★

Ben Iannotta, editor-in-chief, [email protected]

4 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org Nominate Your Peers and Colleagues! NOW ACCEPTING AWARDS AND LECTURESHIPS NOMINATIONS

PREMIER AWARDS TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS › Distinguished Service Award › Aeroacoustics Award › Losey Atmospheric › Goddard Astronautics Award › Aerodynamics Award Sciences Award › International Cooperation Award › Aerospace Communications › Missile Systems Award › Public Service Award Award › Otto C. Winzen Lifetime Achievement Award › Reed Aeronautics Award › Aircraft Design Award › Chanute Flight Test Award › Plasmadynamics and Lasers Award LECTURESHIPS › Engineer of the Year Award › Theodor W. Knacke › › Fluid Dynamics Award David W. Thompson Lecture in Aerodynamic Decelerator Space Commerce › Ground Testing Award Systems Award › von Kármán Lecture in Astronautics › Hap Arnold Award for › Thermophysics Award › Wright Brothers Lecture in Aeronautics Excellence in Aeronautical Program Management PARTNER AWARD › Jefries Aerospace Medicine Award Nominations Due: 1 November 2020 and Life Sciences Research › AIAA/AAAE/AAC Jay Hollingsworth Award Speas Airport Award › Lawrence Sperry Award

Please submit the four-page nomination form and endorsement letters to [email protected] by 1 October 2020.

For nomination forms or more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards Program and a complete listing of all AIAA awards, please visit aiaa.org/AwardsNominations.

DISCOVERERS OF ELUSIVE SOLUTIONS.

PURVEYORS OF FINE DESIGN.

Print, web, and e-commerce design and development for the aerospace industry. Contact us to discuss your project. www.thor.design

202.841.9476 | [email protected] ONLINE COURSES AIAA online short courses help you stay sharp while strengthening your knowledge base. Enroll in a summer course.

SUMMER & FALL COURSES Design of Electrified Propulsion Aircraft 8–31 July | 8 Lectures | 16 Total Hours

OpenFOAM® CFD Foundations 9–10 July | 2 Immersive Days | 16 Total Hours

Introduction to Multiscale Modeling of Composite Structures and Materials with MSG/SwiftComp 5–28 August | 8 Lectures | 20 Total Hours

Hypersonic Flight Vehicle Design and Performance Analysis 9 September – 9 October | 10 Lectures | 20 Total Hours

Fundamentals of Python Programming with Libraries for Aerospace Engineers 12, 19, 26 September | 3 Immersive Days | 21 Total Hours

Liquid Rocket Engines: Emerging Technologies in Liquid Propulsion 15 September – 15 October | 10 Lectures | 20 Total Hours

Design and Operation of Composite Overwrapped Vessels (COPV) 24 September – 12 November | 8 Lectures | 16 Total Hours

Can’t attend the live online lectures? All courses will be available on demand.

REGISTER NOW aiaa.org/onlinelearning FLIGHT PATH

Aerospace Industry Responds to COVID-19

he past few months have tested our will in ways most items to frontline healthcare professionals and fi rst responders of us could never have imagined. These challenges globally, and more than 500,000 component parts to ventilator have affected our personal lives, our economic stability, manufacturers. These are big companies responding to the call the health of our loved ones, and the very fabric of the of duty on a massive scale. world that we know. Our industry has certainly faced It has not only been the large corporations that have stepped Tboth tragedies and complex challenges in the past, but without up to the plate during the crisis. Additive manufacturing company a doubt, nothing has ever looked like this. Right now, it is hard Made in Space (MIS) has leveraged their innovative thinking and to even imagine exactly what normal will look like in the years to unique assets to help local communities in and California. come. However, in challenging times we often see ourselves more In their “on-planet-Earth” facilities, they have reconfi gured 3D clearly. What has always motivated me about our work is that at printers to help in the fi ght against COVID-19, providing frontline its very core, our industry solves big problems, our people take healthcare workers with much-needed supplies and equipment. on grand challenges. We analyze, debate, plan, test, and repeat Their 3D-printed face shields are being distributed directly to — creating innovation cycles that tackle head-on the profound local hospitals to augment the shortage of critical PPE supplies. diffi culty of creating spacecraft that can escape the bounds of Additionally, MIS engineers have developed a rapid response Earth, aircraft that travel at hypersonic speeds, and technology ventilator adapter to enable a single ventilator to safely support that can reimagine our world. While this is where we choose multiple patients in extreme situations. to apply our skills, I believe there is even more that we can do. Finally, in an amazing innovation story, NASA Jet Propulsion Leaders lead. Engineers solve. Laboratory (JPL) devoted teams of engineers to design a I have been overwhelmed and incredibly proud of the compa- custom built for the COVID-19 crisis in record time. The JPL teams nies and organizations that have stepped up to apply their human designed a right-sized ventilator system, called VITAL (Ventilator ingenuity, caring, and resources to create human-centered solu- Intervention Technology Accessible Locally), that in a matter of tions for the public health crisis of our time. In this issue’s Flight weeks received Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Path, I want to share some of these powerful examples. From the Drug Administration. The ventilator uses a fraction of the parts onset of the crisis, Lockheed Martin has led with compassion on of a traditional ventilator and is both low cost and can be easily a global scale — providing more than $18 million in charitable deployed in fi eld hospitals. I cannot think of a more fi tting example relief, producing more than 61,000 protective gowns and 30,000 of how our community’s brilliant minds have applied their talent face shields, and donating personal protective equipment (PPE) and shown their humanity during this crisis. at more than 125 locations where frontline medical workers are On behalf of AIAA, I want to thank and celebrate these caring for COVID-19 patients and those at risk, including medi- amazing organizations — and the many others not mentioned cally vulnerable seniors. Additionally, they have invested in the in this article. These organizations have looked beyond their own essential ecosystem of our industry, providing more than $400 personal challenges in this unprecedented time and sought ways million in accelerated supply chain payments to support the they could help others. Our industry continues to face signifi cant needs of smaller businesses disrupted during this unprecedented challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; applying our time. Likewise, Boeing has devoted signifi cant assets to respond innovation, community focus, and commitment to addressing to COVID-19. In April, Boeing completed a historic transport mis- global challenges head-on will be essential to our success in the sion, using a Boeing Dreamlifter aircraft, to bring more than 1.5 post-COVID world. As we have seen time and again, history favors million medical-grade face masks from Hong Kong to healthcare the bold. And bold is who we are. professionals in South Carolina. Raytheon Technologies has led a tremendous global response, donating more than 50 million meals to Feeding America to address the emerging threat of Dan Dumbacher food insecurity. Additionally, they have donated 1.2 million PPE AIAA Executive Director

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 7 Do you have a puzzler to suggest? Email us at [email protected].

stollingsl/Flickr

FROM THE JUNE ISSUE Gliding like a FLAPPING FLYER: We asked you what pocket-sized aircraft you might bring back in time to help convince Otto Lilienthal that his frigate bird apparatus won’t work. There was no winner this month, so we asked Haithem Tata of the University of California, Irvine, to answer: Q. A magnif cent frigate bird is gliding in calm air with a ground speed of just a few RESPONSE: I would take with me either the Aerovironment knots. Normally, such a low ground speed Nano Hummingbird or the Harvard Robofl y, and also point him would be impossible for a U-2 spy plane. to the work of his contemporary, Charles Renard. In “Nouvelles experiences sur la resistance de l’air” (1889), Renard showed But the pilot, looking at the tropical fore- that power loading is proportional to the square root of the cast, predicts that later in the day he can wing loading, W/S, where W is the of the aircraft and match the frigate bird’s low ground speed. pilot and S is the wing area. So, in order to reduce the power How might that be possible? requirement to a value that could conceivably be generated by human muscles, the area of his wings, S, would have to be large — so large, in fact, that while he could glide, he could not fl ap or oscillate his wings. I would then let him marvel at Draft a response of no more than 250 words and email it by midnight Eastern Aug. 4 to aeropuzzler@ how the fl apping wings of the Nano Hummingbird and Robofl y aiaa.org for a chance to have it published in the easily support their weight. September issue.

For a head start ... f nd the AeroPuzzler online on the f rst of each month at https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/ and on @AeroAmMag .

8 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org AEROSPACE IN ACTION COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES

Astranis engineers prepare the NTS vacuum An unusual broadband strategy chamber in Los Angeles for tests on a qualifi cation model of their edges toward reality geosynchronous satellite. Astranis

BY DEBRA WERNER | [email protected]

elp could be on the way for Alaskans “We put the spacecraft through the full range who lack broadband internet, and it’s of you expect it to see on and in the form of a kitchen-range-sized then some,” said John Gedmark, Astranis CEO and satellite called MicroGEO whose design co-founder. has almost been cleared by engineers Engineers subjected the model to as Hfor manufacturing. low as one-hundred-millionth the density of Earth’s The San Francisco startup Astranis wants to atmosphere and temperatures ranging from minus position the fi rst MicroGEO over the equator in line 120 to 65 degrees Celsius. with Alaska, which means that from the vantage The model passed thermal vacuum testing, point of the customer it will orbit higher over the one in a series of steps to clear the way to start horizon than other geosynchronous satellites. This building the fi rst of the 350-kilogram satellites. will create line-of-sight to the maximum number The fi rst one will serve Alaska, and plans call for of satellite dishes. Astranis plans to apply the launching it next year on a SpaceX rocket to be $100 million it has raised to implement this determined. approach in other regions of the world with dozens Alaskan telecommunications company Pacifi c of satellites. Dataport Inc. of Anchorage signed a long-term First, though, engineers had to make sure that agreement last year to lease capacity on this fi rst the Alaskan MicroGEO and those to come could MicroGEO. survive years of alternating between hot sunlight Many of Alaska’s remote communities are not and cold, dark space. well served by fi ber-optic communications networks, Astranis engineers turned to NTS, a testing, in- and Astranis believes that existing GEO satellites are spection and certifi cation company headquartered of little help either. in California. Wearing masks to prevent the spread “Alaska gets a smidgen of capacity on the edge of covid-19, they loaded a qualifi cation model of of the area the satellites can cover,” Gedmark said. MicroGEO into the thermal vacuum test chamber in “People in Alaska putting a satellite dish on their Los Angeles operated by NTS and ran some tests that roof for MicroGEO will not be pointing it as close concluded in June. to the horizon as they do today.” ★

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 9 REGISTER FOR AIAA’s Hypersonic Flight Vehicle Design and Performance Analysis ONLINE SHORT COURSE

OVERVIEW OUTLINE A wide range of flight conditions and the › Introduction/Historical Review importance of maintaining acceptable fuel mass › Design Challenges fractions pose considerable challenges for the › Mission Performance Requirements design and performance analysis of hypersonic › Design Methodology flight vehicles. Learn how innovative component › Vehicle Aerodynamics designs and careful integration of the various › Air Breathing Hypersonic Propulsion Systems components can achieve an efcient flight vehicle. › Mixing Problems in Supersonic Combustion › Structures & Materials DETAILS › Vehicle Aerothermodynamic Environment › Wednesdays and Fridays, › Vehicle Stability/Control 9 September – 9 October 2020 › Design Convergence › 1300–1500 hrs ET USA › The Role of CFD Simulation, Ground & Flight › All sessions will be recorded Testing and available on demand › Review of Ongoing International Programs › Cost: $995 USD Members $495 USD Student Members REGISTER NOW $1,295 USD Nonmembers aiaa.org/onlinelearning TRAJECTORIES CAREER TURNING POINTS AND FUTURE VISIONS

JONATHAN FENTZKE, 37 Managing director at Techstars Allied Space Accelerator

Growing up in Hamburg, New York, a small town near Buffalo, no one told Jonathan Fentzke he could become a scientist. He planned to study indus- trial psychology until an aptitude test redirected him toward bachelor’s and master’s degrees in at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Fentzke went on to earn a doctorate in at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He became senior space scientist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Laboratory before co-founding a suburban Washington, D.C., startup offering satellite imagery analysis. Now as the leader of the Techstars Allied Space Accelerator, Fentzke works with startups developing products or services to sell in the United States, Scandinavia and Western Europe.

Scientist to entrepreneur I’ve always believed that both experience and rote learning are paths to intuition. As a result, I’ve spent the major- ity of my adult life pursing world travel and applying the math and phys- ics I learn to developing what I hope are useful capabilities for space applications. My scientifi c career spanned about 15 years before I became an entrepreneur out of frustration. I continued to get more and more frustrated with how slowly the government was adopting new technolo- gies and commercial off-the-shelf components. That led to starting a company called InSpace that turned into OmniEarth. After OmniEarth was acquired in 2017, I got much deeper into investing and mentoring other founders.

Highs and lows Having 10 companies to mentor and a program team working tirelessly to support them means lots of adventures. It’s a pleasure to cheer when a company develops a new capability, gains a new customer or raises fi nancing. In addition, when something goes wrong or not as expected, I’m there to offer advice or a shoulder to cry on.

Space in 2050 I think it would be awesome if we had legitimate diversity inclusion, if we had a meritocracy of ideas and people had access to opportunity. To get there, we need to start creating access to opportunity now. I would submit to you that in the next three solar cycles there will be no quantum technological leap. Things will be smarter, faster and more ubiquitous. There will be more satellites in space, providing more connectivity. While many hope for deep-space exploration by people, I hope for increased robotic exploration and a focus on improving life here on Earth. For if you were anywhere else in the known universe, I suspect Earth would be the most interesting planet with a very dynamic star (our sun) that one could fi nd. … but maybe that will change by 2050.

BY DEBRA WERNER | [email protected]

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 11 ANALYSIS COMMERCIAL SPACEFLIGHT Shopping for a spaceship

12 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org Now that SpaceX has proven it can launch NASA to the International Space Station, Boeing is preparing for its turn, likely early next year. When astronauts climb inside Star- liner, space enthusiasts and casual viewers alike will notice some differences that could help future passengers decide which capsule they’d rather book for a trip to space.

BY CAT HOFACKER | [email protected]

or those accustomed to erected. NASA’s goal has been to spark creation of a launches and those of the Apollo era, the competitive human launch market, and that can’t fi rst SpaceX crewed mission was simulta- happen unless Boeing establishes its CST-100 Starliner neously familiar and totally new. capsules as a viable competitor to the Crew Dragons. NASA astronauts and To do that, Boeing must try again to dock an FDoug Hurley walked out of uncrewed Starliner to the station, after the first in Florida on the way to the launch pad on May 30 demonstration attempt in December, called OFT for through the same doorway as the Apollo and space orbital fl ight test, was aborted in orbit. A software shuttle crews before them, but did so donned in coding error caused the Mission Elapsed Time clock sleek white and black suits instead of the puffy white to start too early, which threw out of sync the planned suits of Apollo or the neon orange ascent suits of orbital insertion burn needed to put Starliner on the the shuttle era. They were the latest in a long line of path to intersect with the space station. Boeing had astronauts to traverse to Launch Complex 39A, but no choice but to order the capsule home without the fi rst to make the 14-kilometer trek in a zippy Tesla doing the burn. NASA and Boeing have said only Model X. And when they stepped into the SpaceX that the second uncrewed fl ight will be later this Crew Dragon capsule, they were greeted by three year, which likely pushes the fi rst Starliner crewed glossy touch screens, a sharp contrast to the array fl ight to 2021. of buttons and switches on the shuttle fl ight deck. “This really does illustrate the advantage of These technology choices exemplify the begin- having two partners,” Phil McAlister, NASA’s di- ning of what NASA Administrator rector of commercial spacefl ight, told the Human called a “new era in human spacefl ight.” Design Exploration and Operations Committee of NASA’s decisions were entirely up to SpaceX, as long as they Advisory Council in May. “Knowing there is another met NASA’s requirements for crew safety. SpaceX owns partner there to take up the slack allows for both the Crew Dragon that’s docked at station and due to companies to focus on crew safety.” carry Behnken and Hurley home in August; it built Both designs must prove their safety, so analysts the that boosted them; and it leases Pad 39A and former astronauts suspect that other factors, from NASA. Over the course of NASA’s $8.2 billion such as the capsule interior and spacesuit designs, Commercial Crew development program ($3.14 will be powerful determinants for the kinds of billion of which went to SpaceX), NASA astronauts customers who are likely to choose each of the An artist’s rendering were invited to sit in a mockup of Crew Dragon and competing capsules. of the SpaceX Crew give feedback, but neither they nor NASA had veto “People will sign up with SpaceX who are more Dragon and fl ying toward authority. SpaceX did have to convince NASA that on the ‘showy’ side of things because that’s more the International all safety risks were acceptable from the pad to the of a headliner,” predicts Laura Forczyk, founder of Space Station. station. This was accomplished through extensive space consulting fi rm Astralytical in Georgia. “Boe- NASA testing of the capsule, including parachutes; the ing has the more traditional [customer set], other addition of launch abort engines that could whisk government agencies who want to fl y astronauts.” the astronauts away from a fi zzling or exploding Boeing declined to discuss this or other issues, launch vehicle provided further assurance, as did a citing the need to focus on preparations for the sec- 2019 uncrewed fl ight in which Dragon autonomously ond uncrewed fl ight, dubbed OFT-2. A spokesman fl ew and docked with the International Space Station. directed me to previous comments by Jim Chilton, Soon, if all goes as planned, NASA, the space head of Boeing’s Space and Launch division. agencies of other governments and someday private “Boeing stands ready to repeat an OFT,” Chilton customers will choose how they want to ride to ISS told reporters during a March press conference. “We or any of the proposed private stations still to be just want to make sure that whatever we fl y next is

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 13 aligned with NASA’s preferences. And of course, for Starliner crews will don for launch and landing all of us, crew safety is No. 1.” exemplify these approaches. Along with meeting NASA’s requirements for a Different philosophies fl ame-resistant suit that would also protect crew in The Crew Dragon and Starliner designs are signifi cant the event of a cabin depressurization, SpaceX founder upgrades from that of the Apollo-era capsules and wanted a garment that looked stylish. space shuttle orbiters in terms of safety, software “He’s trying to get the entire world excited about a and reusability. Both vehicles are designed to fly hopeful, promising future in space for all of humanity, autonomously from launch to docking, although and to do that, it’s got to look good,” Reisman says. the spacecraft commander can intervene if there’s a “People are going to get excited about a future that technical failure. Boeing will alternate between two not only is cool but also looks cool.” Starliner capsules, each intended to fl y up to 10 times To meet this goal, Musk enlisted Hollywood cos- after refurbishment. The size of the Crew Dragon fl eet tume designer José Fernández in 2016 to create the is still unclear because until May, NASA had required fi rst prototypes. From there, SpaceX designers tweaked that SpaceX use a new capsule for every fl ight. the suits to balance aesthetics and functionality. Where these spacecraft diverge is the underlying The Boeing suits, by contrast, were made by David philosophy guiding their development. Clark Co. of Massachusetts, the same company that “I think the big difference is that SpaceX paid made the Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle suits. attention to the look of the design as part of the Boeing set out to create a lighter, more compact engineering process,” says , a former garment than those earlier suits. Designers relied NASA who worked at SpaceX from 2011 on feedback from former NASA astronaut Chris to 2018 and was in charge of Crew Dragon design Ferguson, hired by Boeing in 2012 as director of crew Boeing, NASA and and development. He remains a senior adviser on and mission systems for Starliner. Ferguson will join U.S. Army personnel tend topics relating to human spacefl ight. NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Mike Fincke for to the Boeing CST-100 In contrast, Boeing opted for upgrades, not an the capsule’s crewed demonstration. Starliner spacecraft after overhaul, of “fl ight proven and heritage” technol- The Crew Dragon and Starliner suits, each of it landed in New Mexico in December following an ogies where possible, to cut down on schedule and which will be custom-made for crew members, uncrewed Orbital Flight risk to the crew, according to the Boeing website. both weigh in at 9 kilograms, compared to the Test that was cut short. The two distinct pressure suits that Dragon and 13.6-kilogram shuttle suit. The weight reduction NASA/Bill Ingalls

14 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org Choose your ride Boeing and SpaceX aren’t just competing to liberate NASA from relying on Russian capsules. They’re vying against each other for future customers. Here are some differences, large and small.

BOEING CST-100 STARLINER

Launch vehicle: Atlas Spacesuits: Designed by Transport to launch pad: Flight deck displays: Two Getting home: Descend V from United Launch David Clark Co., maker Astronauts will ride aboard iPad-sized screens that under three parachutes to , a joint venture of the Gemini, Apollo and the Astrovan II, a custom display fl ight information; one of fi ve ranges in the of Boeing and Lockheed space shuttle suits. NASA vehicle manufactured by about 70 buttons and southwestern U.S.; Martin. astronaut Chris Ferguson Airstream, the company that switches for inputting com- cushioned by airbags. Launch pad: Space Launch was hired in part to give built the original Astrovan mands, though spacecraft Complex 41, leased by ULA input. that took shuttle crews to can fl y autonomously. from the U.S. Air Force. Special features: Soft-shell the launch pad. Manual fl ying: Steering two helmet that zips instead of joysticks. latches; touch-screen gloves.

SPACEX CREW DRAGON

Launch vehicle: SpaceX Spacesuits: Made in-house Transport to launch pad: Flight deck displays: Three Getting home: Descend Falcon 9. by SpaceX with input from Astronauts ride in a custom touch screens that display under four parachutes for a Launch pad: Launch founder Elon Musk and Telsa Model X, equipped fl ight information and on splashdown in the Atlantic Complex 39A, leased by Hollywood costumer José with tubes to pump cooling which astronauts input Ocean off the Florida coast. SpaceX from NASA. Fernández, whose credits air into their spacesuits. commands, though space- include the X-Men movies. craft can fl y autonomously. Special features: Hard- Manual fl ying: Tapping the shell helmet that latches; touch screen. touch-screen gloves.

“ People will sign up with SpaceX who are more on the ‘showy’ side of things because that’s more of a headliner. Boeing has the more traditional [customer set], other government

agencies who want to fly astronauts.” — Space consultant Laura Forczyk

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 15 The SpaceX Crew comes partially from the fact that neither design has 19 hours later in near-real time. Most astronauts Dragon (right center) the bubble-shaped helmets of the shuttle era that pride themselves on valuing function over form in approaches the locked onto the suits via heavy, metal neck rings. such matters. International Space Station with NASA Instead, Boeing opted for a soft, hood-like helmet that “I do think we have the obvious reaction: ‘Wow, astronauts Bob Behnken astronauts can zip shut, whereas SpaceX 3D-prints isn’t that slick,’” says former astronaut Tom Jones, and on its suit helmets out of an undisclosed material. who fl ew on four shuttle missions between 1994 and board. Once seated in their Starliner capsule, astronauts 2001. “But whether or not you touch the screen or NASA can adjust horizontal zippers on the suit torso for press a button at the edge of the screen, I don’t think comfort and pull off their gloves if need be, a contrast it makes much difference to you as an operator.” to the one-piece Crew Dragon suit with attached Boeing’s Ferguson will get to test Starliner’s version gloves. The only adjusting those crews can make is of the controls on orbit. The capsule is designed to fl y fl ipping up their helmet visor. and dock with ISS autonomously, but Ferguson and “We like to think this represents the future of future crew members must be ready to manually what protective space gear will be,” Ferguson said steer the spacecraft if the need arises by maneuvering during a 2017 Facebook Live of the suit’s unveiling. joysticks on both sides of the screens. During the Crew Dragon fl ight, spacecraft commander Hurley overrode Getting to the launch pad the automated fl ight software with a few taps of the In another nod to the shuttle program, Starliner touch screen to inch Dragon within 100 meters of ISS. crews will make the 14-kilometer ride to Pad 41 in As different as the Crew Dragon and Starliner a customized silver motor coach dubbed the As- fl ights will look almost from the start, the biggest trovan II, built by Ohio trailer company Airstream, technical difference won’t come until the end of the which crafted the original Astrovan to ferry shuttle mission. Instead of the parachute splashdown in astronauts to the launch pad. the Atlantic Ocean favored by the Apollo and Crew The fl ight decks through which the astronauts Dragon capsules, Boeing decided to bring Starliner will monitor the status of their Starliner is another down to one of fi ve ranges in the Southwest United notable differentiator. Instead of the three large touch States, based on where the space station is in its orbit screens in Crew Dragon, the Starliner console has two when Starliner crews depart. iPad-sized screens surrounded by about 70 physical Starliner’s return will start out much like Behnk- switches and knobs. en and Hurley’s planned trip home in Dragon. The Dragon’s touch screens gave the fl ight deck a capsules will undock and jettison their service futuristic look for the estimated 10 million people modules, revealing heat shields that will plow into who watched the capsule rise from the pad and dock the atmosphere and ablate to protect the capsules

16 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org from the searing 1,600 degrees Celsius of entry. A simulated spacecraft Boeing is advertising a fifth open seat on its That’s where the architectures diverge. Starliner fl oats to the desert in NASA flights to outside customers, and both has three parachutes to slow it upon entry, while Arizona during a test of companies are brokering private flights on their SpaceX’s equipment that the heavier Crew Dragon needs four. To cushion capsules through space tourism company Space will bring its Crew Dragon the landing, Starliner will inflate air bags with spacecraft back to Earth. Adventures. compressed nitrogen and gas. The mass simulator and So far, only SpaceX has had any luck. Space “One of the main benefi ts is the stability and the four main parachutes were Adventures earlier this year announced it will ability for the landing system to absorb the loads released from a C-130 launch four private citizens aboard a Crew Dragon cargo aircraft. on the crew and on the spacecraft,” said John Mul- for a fi ve-day orbital trip, tentatively scheduled for SpaceX holland, then Boeing’s 2021. Dragon garnered a second private customer manager, during a December press conference. in March, when Texas startup Axiom Space signed Boeing says coming down on land will also make a contract to launch a crew of three tourists and an refurbishment easier because recovery teams won’t Axiom astronaut on a Crew Dragon for an eight-day have to fi sh the capsule out of the sea and take it stay at ISS, also targeted for 2021. back to a port as SpaceX does. If all goes as planned, Axiom could blossom into a lucrative customer. Under a NASA contract, the Come fl y with me company is building a commercial habitat module, The NASA test fl ights of Crew Dragon and Starlin- scheduled to be installed on ISS by 2024. This is the er will serve as benchmarks for attracting future fi rst of several private nodes Axiom aims to build customers, without which Boeing and SpaceX and eventually detach into a separate space station. can’t close their business cases. Forczyk of Astra- Boeing’s path forward commercially is more lytical and other analysts remain uncertain there is challenging. The company must address the coding enough demand to merit two crew transportation errors and other recommendations laid out by an systems. The NASA contracts cover only six routine independent review panel earlier this year before fl ights to ISS in the coming years, each with four it launches the next crewless mission, all of which astronauts. is paid for through a $410 million charge on 2019 “That can’t be your only market,” says Marco earnings that Boeing set aside in 2020. Cáceres, space analyst for aerospace consulting The stakes are high for the next attempt. fi rm Teal Group of Virginia. “If you’re going to do “Boeing probably needs to prove itself because if something in terms of human space exploration, they can’t, if they experience more signifi cant delays it’s got to be much broader than sending astronauts and setbacks, they run the risk of being completely one, two or three times a year to the space station.” overshadowed by SpaceX,” Forczyk says. ★

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 17 COVER STORY

VIRTUAL TRAVEL

18 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org Technology that gives a person the sights, sounds and feeling of visiting a far-off destination may take a more prominent role because of the pandemic. But even those in the fi eld of immersive technologies don’t expect a straight line to a world in which their wares satisfy our zest for travel the way VIRTUAL an airline fl ight can. Sarah Wells fi nds out why.

BY SARAH WELLS TRAVEL [email protected]

19 ith your afternoon or computer, these visitors could take 1-minute turns coffee in hand, controlling where the tour guide went and what they you set out for a saw. The game-like interface even let visitors make stroll among the the tour guides jump or run. Faroe Islands’ This embrace should not be surprising. Even pristine land- before the pandemic, “things were accelerating” in scape of gently the immersive fi eld, says Cathy Hackl, a futurist and Wrolling hills and deep blue water. The lilting Danish author specializing in augmented and virtual reality. accent of your just-out-of-sight tour guide follows Far from seeing a threat, airlines were exploring you as you explore quaint villages and listen to the how they might incorporate virtual experiences into history of this rugged archipelago. Next, you decide the travel market. Japan Airlines last year introduced to try something a little more exciting. You can almost “co-presence” robots from a company called Newme. feel the bracing cold air against your skin as you These robots — resembling a moving pole with a climb hand over hand up the steep face of Everest’s tablet stuck on top — could serve as surrogates for Hillary Step. Steadying your breath, you start to sick or elderly family members who would, in a sense, move up the mountain face — but the familiar travel with their families even if they could not do so knocking sound of a Slack notifi cation interrupts in person. The tablet “faces” of these robots can tilt the blowing wind. to get better views of tourist sites and can be driven With a sigh, you release your virtual reality gog- by the remote family member for up to three hours gles and end this session of Everest VR. at a little over 1.5 kph. Virtual reality, augmented reality and holograms Of course, immersive technologies based on VR have long been dismissed as frivolous gaming de- and AR were already seeing success in the tourism vices or obscure medical tools, but for decades this industry at places like Universal Studios. But, says technology has, in fact, been lying in wait for its Hackl, these uses were more of a sales tool than a chance to change our lives in a more substantial way. true alternative to travel. This begs the question: Could the pandemic become the catalyst that launches immersive tech- The challenges nology toward becoming a signifi cant substitute for Funding: As with other kinds of research and devel- in-person air travel? The pandemic has certainly cut opment, progress on immersive technologies has deeply into the airline industry and placed these not been unscathed by the pandemic. With few two industries — air travel and immersive technol- people traveling, “marketing budgets are getting cut ogy — at possible infl ection points. left and right,” and that means less funding for “[There is] a loss of trust and confi dence in the improving immersive technology, Hackl says. ability to travel without being exposed to either a virus or some other affl iction,” says Bob Mann, an aviation Health: Then there is the issue of sanitation for shared industry expert who runs R.W. Mann & Co., an airline devices, something that could stand in the way of Guides with GoPros management analysis and consulting service. “That’s large-scale adoption in the tourist industry any time give tours of the Faroe something which has not in my 40 years of being soon. At the moment, goggles like Oculus or HTC Vive Islands to viewers logged involved with the industry ever occurred.” typically cost between $500 and $1,000 — cheap on to a tourism board’s What had been projected to be on-par travel enough to be purchased by gaming enthusiasts but website. visitfaroeislands.com records in January and February 2020 took a sharp still prohibitively expensive for many. As a result, VR turn in March, plunging 95% in just 30 days. Some headsets have yet to become a must-have in home airlines began expanding schedules in June, but entertainment. While it’s possible to rent VR headsets Mann does not expect a rapid turnaround. or use them communally at indoor recreation centers “This summer in the Northern Hemisphere may like arcades, many consumers simply go without. But, be the winter of tourism,” he says. for those who do choose to share headsets, this can create a major sanitation issue that Monika Bielskyte, Enter VR and AR a futurist specializing in immersive technologies and Creative tourism groups are beginning to embrace the design of non-dystopian futures, says could spell virtual reality as an economic bridge to an era beyond trouble for future, widespread adoption. the pandemic. Take the Faroe Islands: After the small “One of the major issues [is] the way the headsets Danish archipelago had to close its borders to visitors, would press on your face like ski goggles with a Virtual reality travel the islands’ tourism board decided to offer immer- nasty petroleum foam that is kind of impossible to may seem like an easy sive, at-home experiences to curb the tourism slump. disinfect,” says Bielskyte. “What you need is a rede- alternative to traditional travel, but questions of Tour guides on the island donned GoPro-equipped sign of the devices themselves using materials that sanitation and virtual safety helmets and began hosting virtual tours for can be very easily disinfected.” fatigue show that it too is visitors from around the world. Using only a phone But, in lieu of a full redesign, Hackl notes that more riddled with problems.

20 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org consumers buying individual headsets could negate the need to share dirty, communal headsets in travel and tourism settings. With this pull toward virtual realities and push away from communal products, Hackl predicts we could see a purchasing spike in personal headsets this year if covid-19 cases continue. If that happens, the resulting virtual travel expe- riences may be something like what Megan Epler Wood, director of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s International Sustainable Tourism Initiative, experienced when she visited ’s historic cave painting sites. “[VR] will be a tool to lower impacts [to fragile sites] and some of that can be seen already, say, in France or other really cutting-edge tourism desti- nations,” says Epler Wood. “I myself was in France two years ago … and they were already using that in fragile historical cave sites. They were not taking you into those; [instead] you were going into other areas that were beautifully done.” Epler Wood says that through projections and aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 21 VR goggles she was able to better learn how these Airline passengers cognitive weight of having exerted ourselves without drawings were made and how the ancient artists are looking at their having gone anywhere. surroundings in a whole lived. Whatever the reason, Hackl says that this cog- new way. nitive dissonance is enough to make total virtual Virtual fatigue: Even playful virtual experiences, immersion an impossibility — for now at least. Hackl improved sanitation and personal headsets will not says these technologies are not going to shake avi- solve this obstacle, says Hackl. ation’s grasp on the travel industry anytime soon. If you have taken any number of calls over video chat during this pandemic, you are well aware of the The destination physical and emotional drain that can come after “Are we never going to travel?” Hackl ponders. She ending a call. In some cases, this fatigue could stem doesn’t have to think long: “I think we’re still going from video lag or low-quality microphones inter- to travel; it’s human nature for us to want to go ex- rupting us midsentence and making us repeat plore places.” ourselves. Others have postulated it may be that She expects that tourists will begin thinking more virtual experiences lack a kind of feedback we expect carefully about where and how often they travel, from physical interactions, like an actor performing passing on hour-and-a-half flights to prioritize for an unmoved crowd. Or maybe it is because the bucket list getaways like a family vacation abroad moment we take off our headset or hang up our call or Disney World. In the meantime, virtual experi- we are exactly back where we were and have the ences could help people better decide where they

“ [There is] a loss of trust and confi dence in the ability to travel without being exposed to either a virus or some other affl iction.” — Bob Mann, an aviation industry consultant

22 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org and better educate them on the history and culture of the place they’re visiting. While this kind of learn- ing could be experienced through VR alone, Day says that combining physical experiences with these augmented details could help tourists better connect with the communities they visit while still contrib- uting to their economies. Day and Epler Wood think immersive technol- ogy could take the pressure off fragile sites such as Epler Wood described in France. Solutions like this may become more common not only for sanitation and social distancing purposes but to better main- tain these sites for antiquity as well. In Bielskyte’s view, moving virtual and augment- ed reality devices in this direction would begin to shift the market away from gratuitous devices donned simply for distraction. Immersive technology would become an empathetic tool to help us better connect with our global community — something that feels particularly important now. Echoing Hackl’s thoughts from before, Day says that the barrier standing between immersive tech- nology and the tourism industry is not one of tech- nology but rather one of creativity. “The issue at the moment is a lack of our imag- ination,” says Day. “As we get more and more creative about how we can apply these things in ways that want to go and how to make the most of their trip Augmented reality are both enriching and entertaining, I think we’ll see when they get there. could help airlines tell that being adopted more and more.” customers about the This increased thoughtfulness could also help A similar problem faces the aviation industry ways they are trying combat the strain of overtourism that can negative- to make the passenger itself, says Mann. As airlines work to overcome ly impact local communities at big tourist hubs. areas safe. passengers’ safety concerns and get them flying “The concept of sustainable tourism is really Southwest Airlines again to their semi-virtual vacations, augmented thinking about creating tourism at a destination that reality along the way could play a big role. AR could is going to ultimately have a benefi t to the commu- display airflow maps of the cabin to ensure the nity,” says Jonathon Day, an associate professor in passengers of clean air circulation, and hands-free Purdue University’s School of Hospitality and Tour- fl ight information could be projected from fl ight ism Management. “Quite often tourism just happens apps on passengers’ smartphones, says Mann. to communities [and] often the community feels as This intuitive use of data visualization could help though they aren’t in control of the growth that’s peel back the curtain on how these airlines are happening around them.” working to keep passengers safe and help regain Communities such as those in getaway destina- their trust. tions like Hawaii are driven by tourism and have felt “These apps turn out to be useful well beyond a sharp impact as the number of tourists dried up the intended purpose,” says Mann. “You can break during during the pandemic, but Day says an infl ux down these issues one by one. Are the surfaces of the of travel back to these locations isn’t necessarily the aircraft where I sit going to be clean? Yeah, they are, solution. Instead, Day says that this could be a perfect and here’s how. … These are things that can just be opportunity to fi nally change the on how tour- eroded one by one, the things that might be causing ists interact with these communities. people to have concern or a lack of confi dence that “It’s really hard to change the wheel on a racing they can book a leisure vacation or a business trip.” car when it’s going,” says Day. “But right now there Restoring trust in the safety of airlines is likely is a moment in time when some of these destinations to be a slow process won by centimeters not by ki- can be thinking ‘How can we prepare for demand lometers. But, in the meantime, our immersive es- to increase? How can we fi nd the right balance be- capes to Danish islands and the steep heights of tween the benefi ts and the costs of tourism?’” Everest can help us choose our next travel destina- Day argues that VR and AR technology could tion a little more wisely. Or, at least, keep us enter- enrich the experience tourists have when traveling tained during our lunch breaks. ★

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 23 Join the future of space in cyberspace

ASCEND—the new, global platform for innovation that’s accelerating space commerce and new discoveries—will be 100% virtual this year. Join online to hear what it will take to build our off-world future, explore the intersection of science and the economy, and network with thousands of people who are as passionate and curious as you about exploring our galaxy.

James Bridenstine NASA’s 13th Administrator Ellen Stofan John and Adrienne Mars Director, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

Andy Weir Kari Byron Author of The Martian Producer and and Artemis Television Personality Dhani Jones Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, NFL Linebacker, Author and Host Deputy Director, Engineering Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; Former NASA Astronaut

Steve Jurvetson Venture Capitalist and Co-Founder, Future Ventures

General John W. Raymond Chief, Space Operations, US Space Force, and Commander, US Space Command

16–18 November 2020 | Online

Register today. Take advantage of big savings and a money-back guarantee.

ascend.events/virtual

View offer details online. 26 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org TAKING THE TEMPERATURE ON TEMPERATURE Why are climate scientists so sure that our planet is in fact getting warmer? Adam Hadhazy went looking for answers.

BY ADAM HADHAZY | [email protected]

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 27 ith an alarming frequency, the public keeps hear- ing that this or that year was “the hot- test on record.” Almost true to form, NOAA and NASA in January announced that 2019 was the sec- ond-warmest year ever measured. In fact, nine out of the 10 hottest years in the era of instrument-recorded global tem- Wperatures dating back to the late 1800s occurred in the past decade. The drumbeat continues, with 2020 on its way to dethroning 2016 as the warmest yet on average across our planet’s surface. For climate change doubters, the intricacies of attempting to take the global temperature are one reason to doubt the drumbeat, but for climate sci- entists, those intricacies are exactly why they speak of the annual records with such confi dence. To produce those headline-grabbing declarations, NOAA, NASA and equivalent agencies in other countries rely on datasets of global surface tempera- ture measurements taken by electric thermistors and conventional thermometers on land and at sea. A focus on the planet’s surface is understandable, given that is, of course, where humans live, our crops grow, sea ice melts or freezes, and so on. Yet this ground- and sea-level record is hardly compiled in isolation. This data is just part of a cascade of millions of measurements gathered by sensors scattered around our planet, in its skies and in orbit. Tempera- tures are measured below the ocean’s swells, as well as throughout the atmosphere by airplanes and Every kind of measurement comes with its own weather balloons. Satellites, meanwhile, also provide set of caveats, limitations, potential biases and so planetwide remote measurements of both surface on. But the strength in numbers helps weed out and atmospheric temperatures. The result is over- inevitable instrument-error outliers and smooths lapping and interweaving datasets, for both short- out gaps in temporal and geographical coverage. term weather forecasting and long-term climate “There is obviously no individual sensor any- monitoring and modeling. As it turns out, all these where in any context that is perfect,” says Swain. independent, deep repositories of temperature and “But as you aggregate up from individual locations, related meteorological information agree with each accuracy grows and errors decline because you’re other, buttressing each other’s validity. using more data points.” “The strength of the systems, both for weather and climate, is that we’re not overly relying on any Assessing year-in, year-out one sensor or a small number of sensors,” says Numerous countries and research groups maintain Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University their own global surface temperature datasets. The of California, Los Angeles. “Data is aggregated across three most prominent are HadCRUT4, compiled by many different types of sensors.” The upshot is that the United Kingdom’s Met Offi ce Hadley Centre and researchers are extremely confident about their the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research fi ndings. “It’s important to realize that in the climate Unit; the Goddard Institute for Space Studies Surface community,” says Swain, “there really isn’t any dis- Temperature Analysis, or GISTEMP, from NASA; and agreement on the overall reliability of the global NOAA’s closely related dataset, the NOAA Merged temperature record.” Land Ocean Global Surface Temperature Analysis,

28 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org can use this large-scale coherence to put together a clear picture of how everywhere is deviating from their standard.” Particularly challenging areas are the Arctic and Africa, “where there’s pretty sparse coverage,” explains Zeke Hausfather, director of climate and energy for The Breakthrough Institute, an Oakland, Califor- nia-based environmental research center. From these voluminous anomalies, scientists derive a single anomaly that describes the global temperature for the year compared to a past baseline. Overall, the three sets have borne out that average global temperature has gone up about 1 degree Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) over the past century-plus, with the majority of that warming having taken place over the past 50 years. Specifi - cally, for 2019, the NOAAGlobalTemp dataset showed an anomaly of 0.93 degree C (1.67 degrees F), GIS- TEMP showed 0.98 degree C (1.76 degrees F), and HadCRUT4 showed 1.05 ± 0.1 degrees C (1.89 degrees F), from each dataset’s baseline. Such fi ndings form a key part of the climate change projections and impact assessments conducted by the Intergovern- mental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, the United Nations body that publishes authoritative reports representing the combined work of thousands of climatologists around the world. The IPCC has warned that policymakers must try to constrain warming to less than 2 degrees C over pre-industri- al levels to avert some of the consequences of glob- al warming including sea-level rise, altered precip- itation patterns, and food and water scarcity.

Data quality and quantity The global surface temperature datasets are merged datasets of land and ocean temperatures. Those known as NOAAGlobalTemp. These datasets consist An Argo fl oat, underlying land and ocean datasets change over of tables of temperature anomalies for specifi c lo- one of 4,000 that time as new temperature measurement sources are cations compared to the average for those locations measure water added, for instance, or researchers hone their data temperatures around the over a reference era. For instance, NOAAGlobalTemp’s world, is deployed by analysis methods. As an example, the latest version baseline period is 1971 to 2000, while GISTEMP’s is New Zealand’s National of the land station dataset relied on by NOAA and 1951 to 1980, and HadCRUT4’s is the pre-industrial Institute of Water and NASA offers improved geospatial coverage by com- period of 1850 to 1900. Researchers can’t simply Atmospheric Research. piling measurements from 26,000 weather stations average the temperature readings to produce these NIWA around the world, versus around 7,200 stations for tables, because a host of factors could skew the the previous version. As an indication of the sort of average. Some weather stations are at higher, cool- honing researchers employ as they aim to improve er elevations, for instance, and there are also clus- the accuracy of such a dataset, only land stations tering biases where there is oversampling in one that have records spanning at least 10 years are region and undersampling in another. Statistical counted. Having multiyear records enables research- methods are applied to account for these potential ers to account for potential data-skewing changes biases and extrapolate from the individual data that can occur at a given station, such as upgrades points. “So if it’s a little bit hotter in Montreal” than in instrumentation that could shift temperature usual, “it’s also a little bit hotter in New York,” says readings, or land use changes around a station, like Gavin Schmidt, director of the New York City-based the swapping of cooling tree cover for a tempera- Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which compiles ture-raising asphalt parking lot, and so on. The GISTEMP. In fact, these anomalies “are very coherent oceanic temperature dataset likewise undergoes over quite large areas of the planet,” he says. “You changes. For instance, its latest version builds in

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 29 The 10 hottest years on record The 10 hottest years have occurred since 2005, according to this chart, which shows the amount of warming for each of those years relative to a reference era of 1881 to 1910.

+1.25°C (2.25˚F)

+1.0°C

2005 2009 2010 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Source: ClimateCentral.org based on data from NASA and NOAA.

new data releases from a database of records gath- matic variables, such as , ered daily by merchant, fi shing, research and navy humidity and cloud cover, are taken into analytical ships. There is also new data regarding near-surface consideration. Because these variables correlate, if temperature measurements provided by fl oats, along temperature data is missing for a certain area but with a new estimate of sea ice , im- there is, say, pressure data, a demonstratively accu- portant for reconstructing temperatures where rate weather model that had gotten the forecast right measurements are not directly taken. can backfi ll in the missing temperature data with These various underlying observational and high confi dence. Supercomputers crunch the volu- collection methods are just a sampling of the many minous data to churn out these predictive models global temperature models compiled worldwide by for not just next week’s weather forecast, but also governments, universities and research organizations. for reproducing old climate records, as well as prog- Small differences naturally emerge among the mul- nosticating the climate yet to come. tifaceted and heterogeneous datasets, but across Over the years, temperature collection methods the board, the story they tell is the same: The plan- have become more precise. In some cases, records et is warming. “Different methods are tested every go back to the mid-19th century, although the ear- which way, all around the world independently, ly measurements are very sparse and far less reliable using different measurement systems, and they all than today’s. Thermistors have become the modern give you the same answer,” says Schmidt. standard, though mercury-based thermometers The small differences depend partly on how can still be found at some ground stations, which analysts deal with geographic limitations. Some in the U.S. can be volunteer operations run out of groups leave out remote regions where weather someone’s backyard. Oceangoing vessels are now stations are in short supply or nonexistent and instead also equipped with more sophisticated instruments. offer a global temperature average for, say, 85% of “We’ve come a long way from throwing buckets off the planet. Other groups interpolate to fi ll those gap of the side of a ship and then sticking a thermom- areas, based often on the nearest weather stations, eter in,” says Hausfather. to produce full-planet maps. In plugging those gaps, as well as crosschecking Degrees at sea weather station temperature reports, Hausfather Compared to ships, which offer data quantity but says that numerous other meteorological and cli- tend to cluster in commercial sea lanes and closer-

30 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org to-shore fi sheries, buoys have vastly expanded the compared to the vagaries of daily temperature. reach of quality temperature data across the world’s “Climate variability is weaker than weather variabil- oceans since their deployment began in the 1980s. ity,” says oceanographer Michael McPhaden, senior One such buoy network is the Global Tropical scientist at NOAA’s Pacifi c Marine Environmental Moored Buoy Array, consisting of about 100 moorings Lab in Seattle and director of the Global Tropical deployed as three separate arrays in the equatorial Moored Buoy Array. “To pull out the climate signal oceans. These arrays gather data for short-term, from this highly energetic background of weather big-impact meteorological phenomena, such as El noise, you need highly accurate measurements.” Niño warming events in the Pacifi c, hurricanes in Powering the individual buoys’ meteorological the Atlantic and the rise of the Indian Ocean monsoon, sensors, plus data logging and transmission, are as well as longer-term data for climate modeling. anywhere from 120 to 265 1.5V alkaline D-cell bat- The buoys are tethered to the ocean fl oor and teries like those in fl ashlights. Data transmission stick about 5 meters above the waves, atop an inner- previously relied on the seven, polar-orbiting Argos tube-like fl otation ring. The temperature sensors on satellites, operated originally by NOAA, NASA and NOAA deploys one of the buoys in the the buoys are tried-and-true devices called plati- CNES, the French space agency, deployed in the equatorial oceans that num-100 resistance temperature recorders, with late 1970s. The data was forwarded to weather and collect data for climate error ranges of plus or minus 0.2 degree C from climate modelers on land when the satellites came modeling. actual. This sort of precision is needed for distin- into view, between six and eight times a day. Now- Elizabeth Crapo/NOAA guishing long-term climate trends, which are subtle adays, as a boon for forecasters, most of the buoys

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 31 A NOAA weather transmit data hourly through the 66-satellite Iridi- to stay at the surface for minutes instead of hours, outpost in Tennessee um NEXT constellation. which reduces their exposure to surface currents is among the tens of thousands of ground A similar switchover from Argos to Iridium has and provides less opportunity for barnacles and stations around the taken place for a separate network of ocean ther- phytoplankton to grow. The Argo network provides world. mometers aboard the 4,000 Argo fl oats, so named coverage down to thousands of meters and from the Jacob Ian Wall/Flickr because they gather data concurrently with sea- Arctic to the Southern Ocean. Data for the top 5 surface-height readings from the NASA-European meters is fed into the newest version of the oceanic Jason satellites, named for the character in Greek surface temperature dataset incorporated into mythology whose ship was Argo. Scientists came up GISTEMP and NOAAGlobalTemp for annual Earth with the Argo concept over lunch about two decades surface temperature calculations, significantly ago during a Jason planning meeting at the Nation- boosting comprehensiveness. “They’re awesome al Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, little robots,” says Hausfather. recalls Argo Director Breck Owens of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. Where Taking the heat on high Jason-1 found rising seas, it would be important to Satellites, of course, can do far more than just ferry know how much of that effect was due to warmer climatic data gathered by sensors. They’ve emerged water below the surface. To fi nd out, each meter-long themselves as powerful tools for climate monitoring, cylinder drifts below the surface and ascends at providing crucial crosschecks on the ground- and intervals by pumping oil from an internal reservoir ocean-based databases of record, as well as compil- into an exterior bladder. Once at the surface, each ing their own growing and increasingly calibrated fl oat uploads data to satellites. The switch to Iridium trend lines. The two most common temperature-mea- has been a boon, because now the fl oats only have suring methods from orbit involve radiometers that

32 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org “ Different methods are tested every which way, all around the world independently, using different measurement systems, and they all give you the same answer.” — NASA’s Gavin Schmidt

measure infrared radiation emitted by sea and land An ever-fuller picture surfaces, or microwaves emitted by gases in the Commercial aircraft serve as another critical data lower atmosphere. source for local and regional weather forecasting The Joint Polar Satellite System, or JPSS, the models, which aid in further honing the numerical latest in a long line of NOAA polar-orbiting weather models likewise developed for longer-term climate satellites dating back to 1960, carries both kinds of modeling. All fl ight long, passenger and cargo jets instruments and others on the two satellites deployed send temperature, pressure, humidity and other to date. The JPSS satellites follow a sun-synchronous meteorological readings of interest to the Nation- orbit so that they cross northward over the equator al Weather Service. Takeoffs and landings in par- always in the early afternoon (about 1:30 p.m. local ticular offer detailed data on the vertical structure time) a total of 14 times during the span of 24 hours. of the atmosphere, which in turn assists with In these early afternoon , they accumulate gauging thunderstorm likelihood, among other readings for the full planet twice a day. NOAA’s Mitch payoffs. “Ascent and descent are the most valuable,” Goldberg, chief program scientist for JPSS, says the says Swain. trick to accessing the collected data promptly to With the novel coronavirus pandemic having inform weather forecasting models is for the satellites grounded about 75% of domestic flights in the to perform downlinks to antenna farms near the United States for weeks on end, according to NOAA, poles, where the sats cross over with every orbit. One and upward of 90% of fl ights elsewhere in the world, such station is in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, meteorologists have been concerned these sudden some 1,050 kilometers away from the North Pole, holes in local data might negatively impact weath- while the other is at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, er forecasting. NOAA has started launching more about 1,360 km from the South Pole. weather balloons, bringing the daily total closer The fact that the two JPSS satellites are in iden- to 200, but their measurement sets pale in com- tical orbits just 15 minutes apart and carry the same parison to those provided by the full fl eet of 3,500 generation of sensors helps deal with orbital drift, equipped domestic aircraft. Into this breach can a major calibration challenge with sensitive climate step satellites, both those satellites intended for monitoring. As a satellite’s orbit decays, its crossing short-term weather grabs and longer-term climate times over specific locations change, potentially record keeping, shoring up the data stores on hand. scrambling long-term record keeping. “Say right “One observing system compensates for the other,” after launch, a satellite starts fl ying over San Fran- says Goldberg. cisco at noon,” says Hausfather. “Then in a few years, Overall, it is both this independence and in- the satellite’s now fl ying over San Francisco at 1, 2, ter-dependability of the mosaic of temperature 3 or even 4 p.m. You measure the temperature at measurements that assures the broad community noon versus 4 p.m., you’re going to get a fairly dif- of scientists they have a solid handle on an ferent reading.” ever-changing but tractable phenomenon. That goes Goldberg says that the JPSS satellites can cross- both for the 10-day forecast — uplifting or depress- check against each other, “giving us confi dence that ing, depending on one’s weather preferences — as the instruments are behaving well” and validating well as the 100-year climatic outlook, which is other accumulating logs of temperature trends. squarely dire. “When satellite data is not really used in climate “The trends are becoming ever more clear and models, it can be used to verify those climate mod- obvious to everybody that looks,” says NASA’s Schmidt. els,” says Goldberg. “We’re in a very, very strange place climatically.” ★

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 33 joy(less) RIDE

34 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org Modern-day avionics may be making general aviation aircraft safer, but for traditionalists, this progress has also wrung some of the joy out of fl ying. Jan Tegler discovered that not all pilots see matters this way, and some are learning to hold onto their joy.

BY JAN TEGLER | [email protected]

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 35 evin Thornton fl ies his 1973 His partially glass-cockpit-equipped airplane Cessna 310 regularly, cap- exemplifi es a two-decade trickle-down of digital turing his adventures on his pilot aids fi rst developed for military and commer- very popular “310 Pilot” You- cial aircraft to the general aviation airplanes private Tube channel. Sold between pilots fl y. Last year, the Aircraft Electronics Asso- 1954 and 1980, the six-pas- ciation reported that business and general aviation YouTube personality senger twin-engine plane is avionics manufacturers surpassed $3 billion in Kevin Thornton, shown a classic general aviation sales with over half of sales generated by fi tting fl ying his Cessna 310 aircraft. But if you took a seat in Thornton’s 310, you’d digital avionics to airplanes originally produced over Lake Michigan notice that many of the round dials and gauges it with analog electro-mechanical fl ight instruments. of Chicago, captures the adventure and Kcame out of the factory with nearly 50 years ago have Some of the technologies are automating tasks sometimes frustrations been replaced with fl at display screens featuring the once performed manually. of modern general latest in computerized pilot aids. Among those who fl y because they choose to, aviation.

“Right now I could push a button and send a not because it’s a career, opinions vary about wheth- Courtesy of Kevin Thornton fl ight plan from my iPad to my airplane,” Thornton er all the new technology adds to or detracts from

says. “I could take off, push the autopilot on as soon the joy of fl ying. The pilot aids inside as I get to 200 feet above ground level and then not For now, avionics such as those that monitor Thornton's cockpit.

touch another thing until I fl are to land.” weather and alert pilots to the presence of aircraft Kevin Thornton

36 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org nearby that may pose a risk of collision remain Garmin’s Olathe, Kansas, headquarters, says mod- optional, but some aviators worry that FAA could ern pilot aids like ADS-B add to the enjoyment of issue new requirements on top of the 2020 mandate fl ying, giving aviators situational awareness they’ve that nearly all aircraft must carry Automatic Depen- never had before. dent Surveillance-Broadcast radios to transmit their Remembering two near midair collisions he was GPS locations and identities. lucky to escape during his years as a fl ight instructor, “We can’t ever get to the point where technol- Straub says he’d prefer not to fl y without traffi c in- ogy is dominant and becoming a requirement for formation in the cockpit. “I’m never going to fond- all fl ying,” cautions Sean Elliott, the vice president ly remember the days of saying, ‘Man, I don’t know in charge of advocacy and safety for the Experi- where those airplanes are but it’s sure fun feeling mental Aircraft Association, whose members often lucky and missing them!’” pride themselves on fl ying simple aircraft just for Indeed, there were 173,080 active private pilots the joy of it. “You’ve got to still have the [Piper] in the United States at the end of 2019, according to Cubs and [Aeronca] Champs with no electrical FAA data. system and simple instruments and be able to operate freely about the national airspace system,” Flying for fun he adds. “Grassroots fl ying is a very important part Mike Goulian is a renowned air show performer, a of what aviation is.” U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Champion and an ex-Red If advanced avionics beyond ADS-B were to Bull Air Race pilot who owns and operates Mike become a requirement, he predicts, aviation will Goulian Aviation, a Cirrus Aircraft fl ight school in lose the fundamental elements that make it “truly Bedford, Massachusetts. special, enjoyable and attractive.” He’s among those who believe pilot aids should Elliot believes the technology should fit the fi t an airplane’s purpose. aircraft. For instance, he pilots “Doc,” one of only “Unfortunately, I think sometimes manufactur- two Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers currently ers are trying to sell airplanes as cross-country fl ying, but he also fl ies a Socata TBM 900 turboprop. platforms, even when that’s not what they were fi rst Aside from a few modern devices such as ADS-B, designed for,” Goulian says. “Doc” is equipped with restored versions of its orig- He’s referring to formerly basic single-engine inal fl ight instruments. The Socata has a state-of- general aviation aircraft like the Cessna 172, Cub- the-art Garmin G1000 glass cockpit. Crafters’ XCub (a descendant of the famed Piper Others see positives for just about any aircraft. Cub), the Diamond DA40 and others originally in- Phil Straub, managing director of aviation at tended for pilots looking to have fun fl ying near their

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 37 Jan Stefka

home airport, in back-country settings or as trainers sport and aerobatic fl ying or for getting airborne for student pilots. simply to enjoy the sensation of fl ight, he thinks Today, many of these aircraft can be purchased glass cockpits can be “overkill.” from the factory with glass cockpits. Ron Draper, “What’s wrong with buying an airplane to go the president and CEO of Textron Aviation, oversees bore holes in the sky?” Goulian asks. “So many three of the most iconic brands in aviation — Beech- people talk about an airplane needing to have a craft, Hawker and Cessna. An ex-Army mission these days, but guess what: The mission pilot who regularly fl ies a Cessna 172, Draper says can be fun. The avionics you choose shouldn’t the famed four-seater — the most popular single-en- complicate an airplane you fl y for stick and rudder gine aircraft in history with 44,000 built and count- enjoyment.” ing — is now offered with Garmin’s G1000 NXi in- Nevertheless, for some pilots, the call of technol- tegrated glass cockpit “because it’s what our ogy is irresistible. Tom Haines of the Aircraft Owners customers want.” and Pilots Association, says many private pilots are In Draper’s opinion, the 172 remains the “best choosing to “option up” the avionics packages they fl ight training aircraft in the world.” The design is purchase in new general aviation aircraft, even for now certifi ed by the FAA for poor visibility instru- planes that will mostly be fl own locally. ment-fl ight-rule conditions, which means instructors “They’re opting for glass cockpits with IFR can train beginners and also experienced pilots who [all-weather] capabilities, which in something like an want to earn their IFR rating. Cessna has a backlog Aviat Husky you might argue is crazy,” he says, referring of orders for new 172s with fl ight schools “lined up to the popular and rugged single-engine backcountry more than a year in advance to buy it and they ab- airplane. “But that’s what sells.” solutely demand a glass cockpit,” Draper says. Jens Hennig of the General Aviation Manufactur- “As long as pilots have proper training and don’t ers Association says pilots buying new aircraft with rely too much on the automation of modern pilot the latest pilot aids or upgrading older models are aids, I think they absolutely enhance the enjoyment fl ying their planes in different ways. “They’re fl ying of fl ying,” he says. longer fl ights, fl ying more often and fl ying in more As a sport aviator, Goulian is in favor of digital challenging conditions.” avionics and automation for airplanes designed for GAMA’s annual report for 2019 includes FAA travel. But when it comes to airplanes designed for activity survey data indicating that the average hours

38 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org “ So many people talk about an airplane needing to have a mission these days, but guess what — the mission can be fun.” — Mike Goulian, sport aviator

fl own by a general aviation aircraft in a year increased manufacturer records and also reviewed activity from 111 hours in 2010 to 121 in 2018. survey data and accident investigation records Straub of Garmin says the upward trend in sales between 2002 and 2008. The board concluded that of the company’s glass cockpit avionics, including the “light single-engine aircraft equipped with glass fi rm’s GFC 500 autopilot, indicates that some pilots cockpit displays experienced lower total accident are choosing to fl y light aircraft over longer distances. rates — but higher fatal accident rates — than the “Saying a Cessna 172 has an autopilot feels like same type of aircraft equipped with conventional an oxymoron but, it’s not too far away from being analog instrumentation.” our No. 1-selling GFC autopilot sales platform,” FAA told me that no additional studies of this Straub notes. type have been completed since the 2010 NTSB study He doesn’t think autopilots detract from “the fun but that the overall accident rate for general aviation or purity of fl ying,” reasoning that pilots can still has decreased over the past decade. The agency says hand fl y an airplane with an autopilot. “But if I want that “could be due” to the proliferation of glass to be able to look at a chart or something, I can fl ip cockpits and mobile devices — computer tablets that autopilot on, and I think a lot of people are and cellphones with fl ight planning, weather and appreciating that.” traffi c-monitoring software. Randy Bailey, a researcher with NASA’s crew Pilot aids equal safety and fun systems and operations branch, says that no com- General aviation aircraft manufacturers and avion- prehensive studies comparing traditional and glass ics makers say digital pilot aids ease the workload cockpits have been done recently for a good reason. for private pilots fl ying cross country, helping them The skills, training, attitudes and risk tolerance of navigate and communicate more effi ciently while general aviation pilots are so diverse that it’s diffi cult improving their understanding of the traffi c and to determine their “infl uence” on how pilots use weather they encounter. Glass cockpits, they reason, analog or digital fl ight instruments. should add to pilot safety. “Who’s the pilot?” Bailey asks, noting that the The newest study I could fi nd on this question general aviation population includes airline pilots In the cockpit of was one released in 2010 by the U.S. National with 20,000 fl ight hours who fl y on weekends for fun a Cessna 172. Transportation Safety Board, and the results were and beginners with fewer than 100 hours of experi-

Erik Brouwer/Flickr mixed. NTSB performed statistical analysis on ence.

Flying for transportation and adventure Cessna 310 pilot Thornton has been fl ying for more than 20 years privately. He says modern pilot aids have “absolutely increased the enjoyment” he gets fl ying his airplane. “I’m more relaxed because I’m safer.” Thornton says he’s safer in part because he upgraded his 310 with an Avidyne IFD550 digital touch-screen fl ight management/GPS navigation system. The Melbourne, Florida-based avionics maker’s IFD550 also has a built-in attitude reference system that detects changes in aircraft pitch, roll and yaw, replicating the function of the vacuum pump-driven attitude indicator common in analog cockpits. Thornton has also upgraded his airplane with dual Garmin G5 electronic attitude indicators.

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 39 On a fl ight from Aurora, Illinois, to Auburn, Ala- autopilot from fl ying an airplane too slow or too fast Flying a Cessna 150 bama — the fi rst leg of a Gulf Coast trip with multi- or banking too steeply. It also has emergency straight- Erik Brouwer/Flickr ple stops last October — the two vacuum pumps in and-level recovery software and servos that will his Cessna failed within 10 minutes of each other return the aircraft to wings-level fl ight with the push when a switch on his instrument panel short circuit- of a button should the pilot become disoriented in ed. Had he not upgraded to solid-state digital avion- clouds, for example. ics he would have had no attitude indicator, a neces- The new autopilot relieves Thornton of hours of sity for fl ying in bad weather. flying by hand “which can be exhausting” on a “I was able to continue in IMC,” he says referring cross-country trip. to instrument meteorological conditions, when bad Draper says a glass cockpit isn’t necessary for weather severely limits visibility. “I shot multiple most recreational fl ying or sightseeing but that these instrument approaches with no vacuum pumps days the 172 is a multimission airplane. “On your legally,” Thornton says. “If I had not upgraded to sightseeing day, don’t look at the avionics. Look out digital avionics that would have ended our trip on the window. But the next day, if you’re in the soup, the fi rst leg and potentially have been dangerous.” you might want all of that stuff.” Haines of AOPA notes that vacuum-driven an- Goulian fl ies a Cirrus SR22 with a Garmin glass alog instruments, which also include climb indica- cockpit to and from the air show performances where tors and turn coordinators, often fail. “Even if you’re he fl ies his Extra 330SC that is ferried to the show site fl ying a basic airplane in the backcountry, having a by another pilot on his team. He says the pilot aids more reliable solid-state digital attitude indicator in the SR22 make sense when “it’s Sunday night after gives a pilot more peace of mind,” he says. “Isn’t a show, the weather’s not that great, and I’m tired that more fun?” and I want to go home.” But he reiterates the need Thornton’s airplane came from the factory with for pilots to choose avionics that mesh with the type a Cessna-made “Nav-o-matic” autopilot, but he of fl ying they do. upgraded it to a modern digital autopilot from “Do I need three GPS and synthetic vision to Genesys Aerosystems of Mineral Wells, Texas. Thorn- go fl y in the backcountry?” he asks rhetorically. ton says it’s a great improvement and features “That kind of defeats the purpose of fl ying like that envelope protection, meaning it will prevent the to have fun.” ★

40 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org AIAA CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP

AIAA partners with top public and privately owned organizations, as well as FFRDCs and other institutions. Currently, we serve 100 Corporate Members.

JOIN TODAY!

Solve problems and drive innovation: › Join intimate leadership conversations with government, academia, and corporations

› Lead the way through purposeful collaboration

› Access recruiting and employee recognition workforce development tools

› Receive an allotment of corporate member professional registrations, with immediate Senior Member status

› Benefit from high-level branding through discounted advertising and sponsorship rates

LEARN MORE aiaa.org/corporatemembership

Let’s work together to unlock a unique opportunity to strengthen your brand! Contact us today at [email protected] to discuss how AIAA can assist your organization to overcome challenges that will help you achieve your business goals.

CONTACT US

Paul doCarmo Vickie Singer Chris Semon 703.264.7576 703.264.7509 703.264.7510 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] OPINION Patience will be key to urban air mobility Startups and their government allies are in the midst of birthing an entire new mode of commuting. It won’t be easy, despite some very optimistic timelines, but it will be worth it. Aviation attorney Erin I. Rivera predicts the path ahead for urban air mobility.

BY ERIN I. RIVERA

aircraft whizzing over major cities in the next few years? Not likely. What we can expect is a crawl- walk-run (fly?) approach toward autonomy as regulators and agencies fi gure out how to safely nurture this coming new mode of transportation into widespread operation. To carry passengers commercially in the United States, eVTOL aircraft will need an airworthiness type certifi cate from FAA. Once out of the vertical phase of fl ight, many aircraft designs will be capable of producing wing-borne lift like traditional aircraft, which means they will most likely be type certifi ed under Part 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Some eVTOL designs, such as the VoloCity eVTOL, do not incorporate wings and rely on powered-thrust to achieve lift through all phases of fl ight. These types of eVTOL designs would most likely be type certifi ed as a rotorcraft under Part 27. However, the majority of eVTOL designs in development incorporate some A pilot fl ies t’s often while stuck in rush-hour traffi c that form of wing-borne lift, which is more efficient Volocopter’s air I daydream of commuting by jetpack. The power-wise to operate during cruise fl ight. The Part taxi during a test in dream usually fades as traffi c clears and I 23 certifi cation regulations, which were amended Singapore. realize the impracticalities of commuting (Amendment 64) in 2017, also provide increased Nikolay Kazakov for Volocopter that way: How would I carry my coffee? fl exibility for certifying new technology in aircraft IJetpacks might not be realistic, but an airborne designs, making Part 23 the most favorable route commute with my coffee appears to be in reach. I’m for eVTOL certifi cation. As of March, there were at referring to the electric vertical takeoff and landing least 15 eVTOL aircraft undergoing type certifi ca- aircraft in development for air taxi service for the likes tion in the United States, said FAA Administrator of U.S.-based Uber Air and Volocopter of Germany. Steve Dickson in an address to the U.S. Chamber These companies have aggressive schedules for of Commerce Aviation Summit in Washington, D.C. this new mode of transportation. Uber Air thinks Likewise, technology and regulatory devel- it can start its air taxi service in 2023 by operating opments are underway outside the U.S. The piloted eVTOL vertiports in Australia and the United European Union Aviation Safety Agency has States, while Volocopter wants to do so in 2023, published certification standards that provide possibly in Singapore, and projects that before 2035 a pathway to type certification for small eVTOL it will have several “VoloPorts” in Singapore capable aircraft, such as the 18-rotor eVTOL VoloCity air of accommodating thousands of passengers a day. taxi design announced by Volocopter. Currently, These piloted services will be a start, but will there are some 200 electric and hybrid-electric there be thousands of fully autonomous, electric eVTOL concepts in various stages of develop-

42 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org ment, according to the eVTOL aircraft directory industry experts, regulators and stakeholders, that maintained by eVTOL.com. will share “input, information and opinions that What’s so great about eVTOLs? Today, conven- may help to accelerate the development of safe, tionally fueled and turboprop aircraft high-volume AAM fl ight operations in the existing carry passengers here and there, but these will never and anticipated future national airspace system,” give us the desired “Jetsons”-like services due to according to NASA. their operating complexity, costs and noise. For air The U.S. Air Force in April announced that it will taxis and aerial ride-sharing networks to be feasible, lead a new program, Agility Prime, that also involves eVTOL aircraft must be easier, safer, quieter and the U.S. Marine Corps, Navy and Army. The aim is more cost-effi cient to operate in comparison to the to accelerate the development of the commercial equivalent-size helicopter or turboprop aircraft. market for advanced air mobility vehicles. What the Swapping out conventional fuel-burning engines military expects to gain from its funding support are for electric motors and battery systems is a step eVTOL aircraft and related technologies that have in the right direction to reducing noise and costs, military applications, including cargo transport but alone it’s not enough. Growing the business and medical evacuation. The military will provide model beyond the initial startup services will mean prototype funding and fl ight-test resources, such as eventually transitioning from a pilot-on-board access to military ranges and facilities, to help test to some other form of control, such as a remote and evaluate promising eVTOL designs and related pilot on the ground or someday possibly fully technologies for military use across all branches. autonomous fl ight. For an air taxi that seats four The data produced during the military’s evaluation to fi ve occupants, gaining one additional seat by may also prove helpful to the FAA in evaluating the removing the pilot signifi cantly increases revenue same eVTOL design for FAA certifi cation. and reduces cost by eliminating the pilot’s salary As the industry matures, we may see air taxi and training expenses. operations expand in the type of operations and In the U.S., aerial ride-sharing networks will locations they serve. We may also see a shift toward start off with a small geographic service range and semi-autonomous operations in which the aircraft will be regulated according to FAA’s current 14 Code mainly fl ies itself, but a pilot on board initiates the of Federal Regulations Part 135 regulations, which takeoff and landing sequences, makes en route apply to most small private charter operators, such course adjustments and is responsible for the overall as helicopter charter companies. Air taxi operators aircraft performance and safety. may be limited to point-to-point daytime fl ights, With enough fl ight hours and a proven safety such as what Uber Air plans for its initial operations record, control of the aircraft may eventually recede in Dallas. Air taxis, even if capable of autonomous from on board the aircraft to an operational ground operations, will at fi rst be operated by an on-board station, where several air taxis would be remotely certifi cated pilot, largely due to the public’s prefer- piloted and monitored. Air taxi networks and air- ence to have a pilot aboard. craft may even be operated someday by artifi cial Addressing the operating costs will largely deter- intelligence algorithms, which enable fully auton- mine the success of the air taxi and aerial ride-sharing omous aircraft to make real-time aircraft course industry. According to Uber’s 2016 UAM white paper, adjustments in response to inclement weather, birds, its long-term plans assume achieving autonomous system errors or emergencies — all with minimal Erin I. Rivera is operations to decrease pilot operating expenses. or no human input. an aviation attorney in Fox Rothschild LLP’s Washington, Volocopter’s two-seater VoloCity eVTOL is capable The industry will need years, possibly decades, to D.C., offi ce. He is a former U.S. of either piloted or autonomous operations, but develop with its long-term success largely dependent Air Force combat search-and- Volocopter plans to fi rst cultivate consumer trust on gaining the public’s trust. There is no “Air Taxis rescue fl ight engineer aboard through piloted fl ights. That said, being limited to for Dummies” guidebook (at least not yet) for how HH-60G PaveHawks. He holds one paying passenger, piloted fl ights in a VoloCity to scale up a multibillion-dollar industry, so industry a private pilot’s license and interned as an air accident may not be sustainable for long. stakeholders and regulators must ensure the correct investigator with the National In the United States, research agencies are fi nding technological and regulatory decisions are made, Transportation Safety Board. ways to help U.S. companies through such issues. and that means with safety in mind. A fatal accident The future of this sector needs the right name, and caused by safety defi ciencies in vehicle design or NASA has adopted the term “advanced air mobility,” operations, especially during the crawl phase, may which encompasses a broader range of industry likely prove devastating to the industry’s success. developments and applications for eVTOL aircraft Indeed, industry stakeholders, regulators and the and related technologies, including military, emer- general public require “proof-of-concept” of the gency response, air-cargo and urban air mobility. industry’s utilitarian value before further industry To help accelerate industry developments, NASA developments can occur. As the saying goes, the established AAM working groups, comprised of proof is in the pudding. ★

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 43 OPINION

uter space is a strategic priority and an economic engine for communities around the world, on which we grow more Managing dependent every day. Yet outer space also lacks rules of the road to promote Osafe operations in space as a constantly expanding number of space-faring nations, companies and space traffic even universities have satellites orbiting above. And while people worldwide love to look at the stars, few have any idea that the Earth is increasingly Effective guidelines could protect the surrounded by debris that poses signifi cant risks to the satellites that enable essential everyday services. satellites that are so important in our Space policymakers and leaders must do more than just admire this issue in hearings and white papers; daily lives and prevent dangerous tangible plans and actions are required before space becomes even more crowded without clear on-orbit activities. Dean Bellamy says mitigation plans. a U.S. Department of Commerce The rapid increase of small satellites in low-Earth orbit, or LEO — a total expected to double in the early offi ce should receive the funding and 2020s — requires an agreed-upon code to deter bad behavior and preserve the space environment for all. authority to get the rules adopted. One critical fi rst step is space traffi c management, or STM, guidelines. BY DEAN BELLAMY STM guidelines are on-orbit rules of the road that will tell us what we should or should not do in space. Their purpose: eliminate reckless and provoc-

44 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org ative on-orbit activities and encourage responsible behaviors. With a shared code of conduct, space Just like road signs and lanes operators will have a better understanding of each other’s activity. This is critical as the popularity of provide drivers guidance for small satellites continues to grow and the possibility of collisions increases. operating a car on the road, During a March 5, 2020, U.S. Senate hearing on the Offi ce of Space Commerce’s budget, Secretary STM guidelines will do the same of Commerce Wilbur Ross explained that the expo- nential growth of commercial satellites is increasing for satellite operators. the signifi cant risk of catastrophic collisions. If a collision were to occur, its debris would threaten critical national security satellites and potentially put human spacefl ight onboard the International Space Station at greater risk. The Department of Commerce is the right home to manage STM so that the Department of Defense can remain focused on tions can benefi t from the continued growth of the its top priority of managing space as a war-fi ghting space economy. domain and deterring adversary aggression. While Existing international agreements and docu- the Offi ce of Space Commerce is relatively new and ments such as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the minimally funded, the offi ce and its director, Kevin United Nations Mitigation Guidelines O’Connell, have been terrifi c STM advocates despite do not provide practical STM guidelines for space limited resources up to this point. operations. The best approach to move toward in- Just like road signs and lanes provide drivers guid- ternationally accepted and observed STM guidelines ance for operating a car on the road, STM guidelines is for the U.S. to lead by example. Such guidelines will do the same for satellite operators. Without STM could then evolve into a collaborative framework for guidelines, space is a highway that lacks markings space safety data sharing on accidents, anomalies, to clearly indicate when you should yield or when close calls and other lessons learned. While the U.N. you have the right of way. Future STM guidelines Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space should lay out that if a satellite is already in orbit, reached agreement in 2018 on a set of voluntary it has the right of way and no other satellites can guidelines focused on enhancing space object perform a high-risk maneuver in its trajectory due registration and space situational awareness and to the risk of potential collision. Safety-focused STM promoting awareness of space sustainability, it did operational guidelines should also address issues not set standards for STM. To be clear, space safety like establishing safe operating distances between behavior is not keeping pace with space activity. There two non-cooperative satellites. are no internationally recognized STM guidelines, Another essential aspect of STM guidelines and even in the U.S., advocates disagree on what would be to preserve the long-term sustainability guidelines should be established. of the space environment by minimizing long-lived The Federal Communications Commission has debris. Debris generation has serious implications recently been discussing a number of rules related Dean Bellamy is a retired U.S. Air Force for satellite constellations. A piece of space debris in to space safety and STM, including a mandate that colonel and the senior LEO travels at velocities approaching 8 kilometers all future satellites orbiting above 400 kilometers director in charge of per second — roughly 29,000 kph — which gives must be maneuverable to avoid collision and reduce space strategies and even the tiniest piece of junk enormous destructive orbital debris. While this specifi c rule was not voted development at Peraton, a energy (the film “” had that correct). If a on during the FCC’s April 23 meeting, it will be a national security company established in 2017. 13-millimeter marble-sized aluminum sphere hits step in the right direction if eventually enacted. In a satellite in LEO, the impact is like a 180-kilogram the meantime it may be up to the Offi ce of Space safe traveling at 96 kph. If this occurred, it could Commerce to develop and then expand its STM disrupt the space-derived data such as navigation, guidelines into a collaborative framework that will weather, communications or intelligence data that not only advance space operations safety, but also is intertwined in the fabric of our daily lives. spawn additional breakthroughs. Since access to space and space-derived data The Department of Commerce needs congres- is vital to the national and economic security of sional authorization that provides the Office of the United States, STM guidelines should address Space Commerce with the authority, resources and operating practices for megaconstellations, debris immunity from lawsuits to drive STM. The guidelines generation, end-of-life procedures and other types must be both a federal and congressional priority of space operations — and ensure future genera- in the coming year. ★

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 45 Access the World’s Best Resource For Aerospace AEROSPACE RESEARCH CENTRAL Technical Information

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is Your Aerospace Publisher CHOICE’S › JOURNALS – New research published in eight OUTSTANDING current titles every month plus decades of ACADEMIC TITLE AWARD: historical content, all online for subscription or individual article purchase

› BOOKS AND EBOOKS – Hundreds of professional titles covering the state of the art, general-interest and reference works, and textbooks for students and continuing education

› CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS – Online collections and individual papers available from AIAA forums and events going back to 1963

› LATEST INDUSTRY STANDARDS – More than 70 electronic domestic and international guiding documents

Resources for authors, booksellers, companies, educators, librarians, researchers, standards contributors, and students who are involved with aerospace. AIAA member discounts are available.

LEARN MORE AT ARC.AIAA.ORG

RESEARCH | PURCHASE | CONTRIBUTE | PUBLISH JULY/AUGUST 2020 | AIAA NEWS AND EVENTS AIAA Bulletin

DIRECTORY

AIAA Headquarters / 12700 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 200 / Reston, VA 20191-5807 / aiaa.org To join AIAA; to submit address changes, member inquiries, or renewals; to request journal fulfi llment; or to register for an AIAA event. Customer Service: 800.639.AIAA (U.S. only. International callers should use 703.264.7500).

All AIAA staff can be reached by email. Use the formula fi rst name last [email protected]. Example: [email protected].

Addresses for Technical Committees and Section Chairs can be found on the AIAA website at aiaa.org.

Other Important Numbers: Aerospace America / Karen Small, ext. 7569 • AIAA Bulletin / Christine Williams, ext. 7575 • AIAA Foundation / Merrie Scott, ext. 7530 • Book Sales /

800.682.AIAA or 703.661.1595, Dept. 415 • Communications / Michele McDonald, ext. 7542 • Continuing Education / Jason Cole, ext. 7596 • Corporate Programs / Nancy Hilliard, ext.

7509 • Editorial, Books and Journals / Heather Brennan, ext. 7568 • Exhibits and Sponsorship / Chris Semon, ext. 7510 • Honors and Awards / Patricia Carr, ext. 7523 • Integration

and Outreach Committees / Nancy Hilliard, ext. 7509 • Journal Subscriptions, Member / 800.639.AIAA • Journal Subscriptions, Institutional / Online Archive Subscriptions / Michele

Dominiak, ext. 7531 • K–12 Programs / Sha’Niece Simmons, ext. 7590 • Media Relations / Michele McDonald, ext. 7542 • Engage Online Community / Luci Blodgett, ext. 7537 •

Public Policy / Steve Sidorek, ext. 7541 • Section Activities / Lindsay Mitchell, ext. 7502 • Standards, Domestic / Hilary Woehrle, ext. 7546 • Standards, International / Nick Tongson,

ext. 7515 • Technical Committees / Angie Lander, ext. 7577 • University Programs / Michael Lagana, ext. 7503 • Young Professionals Programs / Alex D’Imperio, ext. 7536

We are frequently asked how to submit articles about section events, member awards, and other special interest items in the AIAA Bulletin. Please contact the staff liaison listed above with Section, Committee, Honors and Awards, Event, or Education information. They will review and forward the information to the AIAA Bulletin Editor.

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 47 AIAA BULLETIN | AIAA NEWS AND EVENTS Calendar

FEATURED EVENT 24–26 AUGUST 2020 Virtual Event

The 2020 forum will bring together the aerospace community in a fully virtual setting. Access on-demand technical presentations, attend live panels, and network with attendees—all from the AIAA Propulsion comfort of your home! and Energy Forum aiaa.org/propulsionenergy

ABSTRACT DATE MEETING LOCATION DEADLINE

2020

8–31 Jul Design of Electrifi ed Propulsion Aircraft Course Online (aiaa.org/events-learning/online-education)

9–10 Jul OpenFOAM® CFD Foundations Course Online (aiaa.org/events-learning/online-education)

16 Jul CANCELLED: 2020 AIAA Fellows Dinner Crystal City, VA

17 Jul CANCELLED: 2020 AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala Washington, DC

5–28 Aug Introduction to Multiscale Modeling of Composite Structures and Materials Course Online (aiaa.org/events-learning/online-education)

9–13 Aug* 2020 AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference VIRTUAL EVENT 10 Apr 2020

24–26 Aug AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum VIRTUAL EVENT 11 Feb 20

9 Sep–9 Oct Hypersonic Flight Vehicle Design and Performance Analysis Course Online (aiaa.org/events-learning/online-education)

12 Sep–26 Sep Fundamentals of Python Programming with Libraries for Aerospace Engineers Online (aiaa.org/events-learning/online-education)

15 Sep–15 Oct Liquid Rocket Engines: Emerging Technologies in Liquid Propulsion Course Online (aiaa.org/events-learning/online-education)

24 Sep–12 Nov Design and Operation of Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels Course Online (aiaa.org/events-learning/online-education)

11–15 Oct* 39th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC) VIRTUAL EVENT (https://2020.dasconline.org/)

12–14 Oct* 71st International Astronautical Congress (The CyberSpace Edition) (iac2020.org)

16–18 Nov ASCEND Powered by AIAA VIRTUAL EVENT 31 Mar 20

25–26 Nov AIAA Region VII/Sydney Section Student Conference Sydney, NSW, Australia 6 Oct 20

48 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org For more information on meetings listed below, visit our website at aiaa.org/events or call 800.639.AIAA or 703.264.7500 (outside U.S.).

2021

9–10 Jan 1st AIAA CFD Transition Modeling Prediction Workshop Nashville, TN

9–10 Jan 5th AIAA Propulsion Aerodynamics Workshop (PAW05) Nashville, TN

9–10 Jan 2nd AIAA Workshop for Multifi delity Modeling in Support of Design & Uncertainty Quantifi cation Nashville, TN

9–10 Jan 1st AIAA Stability and Control Prediction Workshop Nashville, TN

11–15 Jan AIAA SciTech Forum Nashville, TN 8 Jun 20

28 Jan–4 Feb* 43rd Scientifi c Assembly of the Committee on Space Research and Associated Events Sydney, Australia (cospar2020.org) 14 Feb 20

31 Jan–4 Feb* 31st AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting Charlotte, NC (http://space-fl ight.org)

6–13 Mar* 2021 IEEE Aerospace Conference Big Sky, MT (www.aeroconf.org)

3–4 Apr AIAA Region VI Student Conference Long Beach, CA

8–9 Apr AIAA Region II Student Conference Tuscaloosa, AL

12–14 Apr* 55th 3AF Conference on Applied Aerodynamics (AERO2020+1) Poitiers, France (http://3af-aerodynamics2020.com)

20–22 Apr AIAA DEFENSE Forum Laurel, MD

5–7 May* 6th CEAS Conference on Guidance Navigation and Control (2021 EuroGNC) Berlin, Germany (https://eurognc2021.dglr.de)

31 May–2 Jun* 28th Saint Petersburg International Conference on Integrated Navigation Systems Saint Petersburg, Russia (elektropribor.spb.ru/en)

5–11 Jun AIAA AVIATION Forum Washington, DC

22–25 Jun* ICNPAA 2021: Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Aerospace and Sciences Prague, Czech Republic (icnpaa.com)

9–11 Aug AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum Denver, CO

POSTPONED FROM 2020: 32nd Congress of the International Council of the 6–10 Sep* Shanghai, China (icas.org) 15 Jul 19 Aeronautical Sciences

POSTPONED FROM 2020: 37th International Communications Satellite Systems 27–30 Sep* Okinawa, Japan (kaconf.org) 15 May 19 Conference (ICSSC 2020)

25–29 Oct* 72nd International Astronautical Congress Dubai, UAE

15–17 Nov ASCEND Powered by AIAA Las Vegas, NV

AIAA Continuing Education offerings *Meetings cosponsored by AIAA. Cosponsorship forms can be found at aiaa.org/Co-SponsorshipOpportunities.

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 49 AIAA BULLETIN | AIAA NEWS AND EVENTS Recognizing Top Achievements – An AIAA Tradition AIAA is committed to ensuring that aerospace professionals are recognized and celebrated for their achievements, innovations, and discoveries that make the world safer, more connected, more accessible, and more prosperous. From the major missions that reimagine how our nation utilizes air and space to the inventive new applications that enhance everyday living, aerospace profes- sionals leverage their knowledge for the benefi t of society. AIAA continues to celebrate that pioneering spirit showcasing the very best in the aerospace industry. AIAA acknowledges the following individuals who were recognized between February and June 2020.

Presented at the 2020 ACC/AAAE 56th Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala, standing contributions to aerodynamics Airport Planning, Design and Construc- 20 May 2020 (postponed to May 2021), through research, such as the identifi - tion Symposium, 19–21 February 2020, Washington, DC cation of the Widnall Instability, as well Reno, Nevada as through education and public service 2020 AIAA Distinguished including serving as Secretary of the U.S. Louisville Regional Airport Authority Service Award Air Force. Representative: L. Jane Hansen Brian J. Sinnwell, HRP Systems 2020 AIAA International Cooperation C.M. For over 30 years of passion Award Vice President/ for, and dedication to, the International Forum for Aviation CPO, Planning & innovative development and imple- Research (IFAR) Facilities mentation of educationally impactful Jaiwon Shin, For seeking to programs for AIAA. NASA Head- maintain opera- quarters tional capabilities 2020 AIAA Engineer of the (retired), and while enhancing community relations Year Joachim with neighborhoods and reducing Andrew T. Klesh Szodruch, environmental impacts of obstruction NASA Jet Propulsion Hamburg Aviation mitigation Laboratory For outstanding contributions to interna- For exceptional engineering tional aeronautics research cooperation 2020 International Space Planes and and technical leadership achievements through establishment and leadership Hypersonic Systems and Technologies in the development of MarCO, the fi rst of the International Forum for Aviation Conference, 10-12 March 2020 (can- interplanetary CubeSat pathfi nder, Research. celled), Montréal, Québec Canada enabling future NASA deep space small satellites. 2020 AIAA Lawrence Sperry 2020 AIAA Hypersonic Award Systems and Technologies 2020 AIAA Goddard Patrick Neumann Award Astronautics Award Neumann Space Allan Paull Robert D. Cabana For continued develop- University of Queensland NASA Kennedy Space ment of miniature electric For a career dedicated to Center spacecraft propulsion systems and the advancement of hypersonics through For signifi cant leadership ceaseless advocacy for the development of innovations in technology and ground/ and reinvention of the Kennedy Space Australian space capabilities. fl ight testing, helping Australia achieve Center into the world’s preeminent mul- global prominence in the fi eld. tiuser spaceport supporting government 2020 AIAA Public Service and commercial access to space. Award Steve T. Knight 2019 Daniel Guggenheim former U.S. Congress- Medal man (R-CA 25th District, Sheila E. Widnall 2015–2018) Massachusetts Institute of For sustained national leadership and Technology unmatched support as a champion of the In recognition of her out- aerospace industry and its workforce.

50 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org 2020 AIAA Reed Aeronau- 2020 AIAA Aerodynamics 2020 AIAA James A. Van tics Award Award Allen Space Environments Alan C. Brown Mark D. Maughmer Award Lockheed Martin Corpora- Pennsylvania State Louis J. Lanzerotti tion (retired) University New Jersey Institute of For his engineering leader- For foundational devel- Technology ship of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works opments in airfoil and wing design, For signifi cant contributions to our Team that designed and produced the advancement of novel airfoil confi gu- understanding of the space environment F-117, the fi rst stealth fi ghter/bomber rations, and contributions to rotorcraft of the Van Allen radiation belts and lead- aircraft. aeromechanics. ership in establishing societal awareness of space weather. 2020 AIAA Educator Achievement 2020 AIAA Aircraft Design Awards Award 2020 AIAA Losey Atmo- Elizabeth L. Bero Udo Juerss spheric Sciences Award Horizon Elementary School MicroDrones GmbH George C. Greene Madison, Alabama For being the “father of Federal Aviation Adminis- For instilling a sense of modern quadcopter” and for tration, retired wonder in students through working for more than 20 years design- For his outstanding curiosity-based learning and ing, testing, and improving the premier contributions and leadership applied to for her four-decade-long service to the aircraft of the aircraft design industry. fundamental understanding of aircraft community as an educator. wake turbulence. 2020 AIAA Fluid Dynamics Beth Meade Leavitt Award 2020 AIAA Multidisci- Wade Hampton High School Nadine Aubry plinary Design Optimiza- Greenville, South Carolina Tufts University tion Award For believing that with the For outstanding contribu- Raymond M. Kolonay right tools and mentors all tions to the reduced order Air Force Research Labora- students can become STEM modeling of turbulent fl ows and to tory (AFRL) literate with the confi dence they can solve microfl uidics. For visionary leadership in the MDO any problem encountered. community and development of nonlin- 2020 AIAA Ground Testing ear unsteady aeroelastic optimization Scott McComb Award methods and collaborative/distributed Raisbeck Aviation High Mark R. Melanson architectures enabling large scale multi- School Lockheed Martin Aeronau- disciplinary aircraft design. Seattle, Washington tics (retired) For implementing an For contributions to develop- 2020 AIAA Plasmadynamics outstanding program of ment/ground testing of F-35, for decades and Lasers Award aerospace education and creating a of wind tunnel testing, and for sustained Mikhail N. Shneider supportive classroom community of contributions to AIAA in multiple Princeton University learners. leadership roles. For seminal contributions to the theory and modeling of Recognized at AIAA AVIATION Forum, 2020 AIAA Hap Arnold electric discharges and theoretical foun- 15–19 June 2020 Award for Excellence in dations of diagnostics based on coherent Aeronautical Management microwave and laser scattering. 2020 AIAA Aeroacoustics Jay E. Dryer Award NASA Headquarters 2020 AIAA Thermophysics Robert P. Dougherty For outstanding strategic Award OptiNav, Inc. technical leadership of NASA’s Advanced Tom I-P. Shih For seminal contributions to Air Vehicles and Fundamental Aeronau- Purdue University experimental aeroacoustics tics Programs signifi cantly advancing For signifi cant contributions through development and use of phased a wide range of aircraft – vertical fl ight in the development and array technology and for development through hypersonics. application of computational design and use of optimal nacelle design tools for the thermal management of analytical tools. gas turbines to improve effi ciency and service life.

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 51 AIAA BULLETIN | AIAA NEWS AND EVENTS

AIAA deeply values the time and efort of our professional members who evaluated student projects, papers, and scholarship applications in 2019–2020. Each submission takes from 30 minutes to 2 hours to review, with some projects needing multiple reviewers.

Without our members’ help, the following programs would not be possible:

› AIAA Design/Build/Fly Sponsored by AIAA, Textron Aviation, and Raytheon Missile Systems

› Regional Student Conferences Sponsored by Lockheed Martin Corporation

› AIAA Scholarships and Graduate Awards

To volunteer with one of our university programs, contact Michael Lagana at [email protected]. 52 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org Nominations for AIAA Board of Trustees Members-at-Large and for Board of Trustees Treasurer are Being Accepted Through 14 August

The AIAA Executive Nominating Commit- shared vision, obtain participation and Demographic diversity: In addition tee (ENC) will compile lists of potential buy-in, and achieve successful results. to refl ecting the membership’s diversity in nominees for the Board of Trustees – AIAA Leadership and Participation: the industry and volunteer involvement, Members-at-Large and for the Board of Board membership refl ects experience it is important that the new Board mem- Trustees Treasurer. These lists will include in successful participation in a wide bership be seen as refl ecting demographic nominees who will be selected to go variety of leadership positions within diversity (e.g., gender, ethnicity, age, etc.) to the next step of competency review AIAA, as well as knowledge of the new as well. and interview held by the nominating governance model. AIAA members may nominate qual- committee. The ENC will select specifi c Experience in adjacent aerospace ifi ed individuals for the AIAA Board of candidates for the Institute’s Board of areas: As the Institute broadens its Trustees – Members-at-Large or for the Trustees – Members-at-Large and for reach beyond the traditional “Breguet Board of Trustees Treasurer by submit- Board of Trustees Treasurer in September Equation” disciplines, Board members ting the following (in 3 pages max): 2020. The Board of Trustees – Members- who have experience in and strategic at-Large will be voted on by the Council perspectives in these adjacent areas will i Nominee’s Bio and/or CV and history of Directors and the Board of Trustees broaden the Board’s view on new and of AIAA activities and/or engagement Treasurer will be voted on by the Board of emerging areas. with other professional societies Trustees. Elections will be held in March Contacts with new or developing i Statement from the nominee of 2021 and announced soon thereafter. leaders: As the Board evolves it is willingness and ability to serve if elected The skills and competencies being important that its membership be viewed i Statement from the nominee sought for this election of Board of as experiencing change as well. Board addressing how he/she meets the sought Trustees – Members-at-Large and the members who have knowledge of emerg- competencies Board of Trustees Treasurer are: ing leaders will be able to effectively assist in that endeavor. Please submit nominations directly Vision: Persons who have the ability Experience with organizational to Christopher Horton, AIAA Governance to understand present states, clearly growth: Persons with experience in Secretary, [email protected], no later than defi ne what they should be in the future, signifi cantly growing organizations will 1800 hrs EDT, 14 August 2020. and identify steps to achieve those ends. serve as a resource to the Board as the Diverse Business Acumen: Persons Institute seeks to grow. who have the knowledge and under- Experience with change or transition standing of the fi nancial, accounting, management: Board members with prior marketing, communications, human experience in organizational change or resources, policy, and operational transition will serve as a vital resource to functions of an organization as well as the Board as it seeks to execute its role. the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions. Domestic and International Aerospace Knowledge and Experience: Reminder: Nominations for AIAA President-Elect and AIAA Board membership refl ects: a) the Directors are Being Accepted Through 17 July breadth of the various major sectors of For nomination criteria, please go to: aiaa.org/about/Gover- aerospace both domestic and interna- tional; b) all levels of technology and nance/nominations-and-elections. systems development from basic research through all technology readiness levels Please submit all nominations directly to Christopher to product development and deploy- ment; and c) from different disciplines Horton, AIAA Governance Secretary, [email protected], no within aerospace. later than 1800 hrs EDT, 17 July 2020. Leadership/Strategy/Execution: Persons who have the ability to create a

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 53 AIAA BULLETIN | AIAA NEWS AND EVENTS 2020 Regional Student Conference AIAA is pleased to announce the 2020 Team Category: University of South Alabama (Mobile, AL). Regional Student Conference winners. 1st Place – “Sharp-edge Handheld 2nd Place – “Development of an Exca- AIAA sponsors student conferences Identifi er and Remover in Low-gravity vation and Transportation System for in each AIAA region for student mem- Extravehicular Environments.” Natasha Sub-Lunar ISRU Applications.” Archit bers at both the undergraduate and Dada, Kalpana Ganeshan, Matthew Groll, Srivastava and Lobna Mahmoud, Florida graduate levels. In typical years, students Sophia Kolak, Swati Ravi, Adrien Stein, Institute of Technology (Melbourne, FL). present their research in-person and are and Di Wang, Columbia University (New 3rd Place – “Development and Test of a judged on technical content and clarity York, NY ). 3500 N Liquid Rocket Engine and Feed of communication by professional mem- 2nd Place – “Experimental and Theo- System for Future Sounding Rocket bers from industry. This year students retical Analysis of Fin Design Impact on Applications.” Patrick Palmetshofer, Adele were judged solely on the merits of Rocket Performance.” Yogesh Baloda, Payman, Benjamin Zabback, Amalique their papers because the in-person Atharv Datye, and Sohail Zaidi, San Jose Acuna, Kyle Lundberg, Mackinnon Poul- conferences were cancelled due to the State University (San Jose, CA). son, Aliya Mahmud, Jacob Zhong, and coronavirus pandemic. Emily Ku, Georgia Institute of Technology The fi rst-place winners in each Region II (Atlanta, GA). category (listed below) are invited to attend and present their papers at the Undergraduate Category: Freshman/Sophomore Open Topic AIAA International Student Conference 1st Place – “Discrete Vortex Method for Category*: held in conjunction with the 2021 AIAA Modeling Effects of External Flow Distur- 1st Place – “The Obstruction of Lunar SciTech Forum in Nashville, Tennessee, bances on Airfoils.” Andrew Mistele and Exploration: Properties and Mitigation 11–15 January. Arunvishnu Sureshbabu, North Carolina of Lunar Dust.” Esha Shah, University of State University (Raleigh, NC). Florida (Gainesville, FL). Region I 2nd Place – “Simulation and Optimiza- 2nd Place – “A Survey of the ’s tion of Aerogel Packaging Solutions for Gravitational Field and its Effects on Undergraduate Category: Cold-Chain Biologistics.” Elijah Gasmen, Lunar Satellites.” Madeline Stophel and 1st Place – “Multi-vehicle Control and University of Memphis (Memphis, TN). Benjamin Jones, University of Florida Autonomy for Swarming Quadrotors.” 3rd Place – “Store separation trajectory (Gainesville, FL). Charles Flanagan and Norman Wereley, clusters using machine learning.” William 3rd Place – “Sustained Space Missions— University of Maryland – College Park Gothard and Kenneth Granlund, North The Microbiome and Health of Passen- (College Park, MD). Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC). gers Aboard Spacecraft.” Tegla Jones and 2nd Place – “Computational Model of Mackenzie Wiles, Florida Institute of the Mean Flow and Turbulence in a Masters Category: Technology (Melbourne, FL). Heated Supersonic Jet.” William Perez 1st Place – “Utilizing Topology Data *Additional category sponsored by Region and Mayuresh Patil, Virginia Polytechnic to Facilitate Geometric Control of a II only. Institute and State University (Blacks- Spacecraft During Lunar Landing.” burg, VA). Brennan McCann and Morad Nazari, Region III 3rd Place – “Venus Atmosphere and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Regolith Earth Delivery System.” Nicholas (Daytona Beach, FL). Undergraduate Category: Dietrich and Laura Garcia Insa, Univer- 2nd Place – “Active Subspace Investiga- 1st Place – “Genetic Optimization sity at Buffalo – The State University of tion of Commercial Supersonic Design Algorithms for Supersonic Heat Addi- New York (Buffalo, NY). Space.” Nathan Crane and Dimitri tion.” Louis Villa, Purdue University (West Mavris, Georgia Institute of Technology Lafayette, IN). Masters Category: (Atlanta, GA). 2nd Place – “Evolution of Particle 1st Place – “3-D Large Eddy Simulation of 3rd Place – “ANSYS shape optimization Deposition in an Impinging Coolant Jet.” Dynamic Stall on a Dynamically Pitching for the UTC Flying Mocs Design/Build/Fly Noah Gula and Jeffrey P. Bons, Ohio State Airfoil.” Harry Werner, Clarkson Univer- Nose Cone.” Aaron Crawford and Canon University (Columbus, OH). sity (Potsdam, NY). Debardelaben. University of Tennessee – 3rd Place – “Experimental Setup for 2nd Place – “Acoustic Characterization Chattanooga (Chattanooga, TN). Particle-laden Underexpanded Jet Mea- of a Dual Stream Rectangular Supersonic surements.” Ari Jain, University of Illinois Jet with Three-Sided Fluid Shield.” Nick Team Category: at Urbana-Champaign (Champaign, IL). Scupski, Pennsylvania State University 1st Place – “Guidance, Navigation, and (State College, PA). Control Subsystem Trade Study of AEGIS.” Masters Category: Ruthie Hill, Will Sherman, Darcey D'Am- 1st Place – “Effects of Fountain Flow ato, Maxwell Cobar, and Carlos Montalvo, Interaction on Dual Jet Impingement at

54 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org Mixed Operating Conditions.” Spencer Hickman, Oklahoma State University for a Stealthy Supercruising Tactical Stahl and Datta Gaitonde, Ohio State (Stillwater, OK). Tanker.” Ahsan Tariq, Mohamed Fer- University (Columbus, OH). chiou, Jacob Funk, William Walk, Ryan 2nd Place – “Measurement of Integrated Team Category: McDermott, and Aaron Byerley, U.S. Air Unsteady Transonic Aerodynamic 1st Place – “Conceptual Design of a Pro- Force Academy (Air Force Academy, CO). .” David Pitts and Matthew pulsion System for an Air-Launch-to-Or- 3rd Place – “Nano Stratospheric Aerosol McCrink, Ohio State University (Colum- bit Aircraft.” Samuel Cross, Abdalrahman Method (NanoSAM).” Aanshi Panchal, bus, OH). Mansy, Matthew McCool, Dilan Randall, Sarah Reitz, Michael LaBarge, Conner 3rd Place – “Atmospheric Breathing Timothy Runnels, Garrett Wilkins, and McLeod, Joshua Horst, Jared Cantilina, Ramjet for Martian Descent Missions.” Kurt P. Rouser, Oklahoma State University Jacob Romero, Zoltan Sternovsky, Hui Aaron Afriat and Sandeep Baskar, Purdue (Stillwater, OK). Min Tang, and Jessica Harrs, University of University (West Lafayette, IN). 2nd Place – “Cycle Design for a Proposed Colorado Boulder (Boulder, CO). B-52 Bomber Turbofan Tutorial.” Austin Team Category: Clark, Skylar Jacob, Abdalrahman Mansy, Region VI 1st Place – “Design and Development of Matthew McCool, Cameron Newport, a Mining Robot for the NASA Lunabotics and Cole Replogle, Oklahoma State Undergraduate Category: Competition.” Alexander Reid, Justin University (Stillwater, OK). 1st Place – “Bréguet Range Equation McElderry, Kyle Holland, Austin Fritsch, 3rd Place – “Real Turbofan Gas Engine in Constraint Analysis Form for and Noah Kennedy, Milwaukee School of Parametric Cycle Analysis Computer Power-Rated Aircraft.” Jeffrey Chen, Engineering (Milwaukee, WI). Program.” Jonathan Artalejo, Gustavo Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 2nd Place – “Modeling the Mechanical Ravello, Samuel Riecke, and Garrett (Prescott, AZ). Characteristics of a Piston Pressurant Sys- Townsend, Oklahoma State University 2nd Place – “Design and Manufacturing tem for Spacecraft Bipropellant Tanks.” (Stillwater, OK). of a Low-cost, Carbon-fi ber Composite Jordan Lombardo, Noah Gula, Shreyas University-Class Amateur Rocket.” Emilio Doejode, Tyler Schell, and John Horack, Region V Gizzi and Jessica Vinh, Portland State Ohio State University (Columbus, OH). University (Portland, OR). Undergraduate Category: 3rd Place – “Ram Accelerator Operations Region IV 1st Place – “Hypersonic Crossfl ow Inves- at the University of Washington and tigation on the HIFiRE-5 Elliptic Cone.” Starting Effects of an Obturator in a Ram Undergraduate Category: Eric Hembling and John Wirth, U.S. Air Accelerator.” Kristina Dong and Adrian Lo, 1st Place – “Insect In-Flight Kinematic Force Academy (Air Force Academy, CO). University of Washington (Seattle, WA). Adjustments During Ethanol Exposure.” 2nd Place – “Methane Dependence Ethan Lane and Imraan Faruque, Okla- on Temperature.” Mohamed Ferchiou Team Category: homa State University (Stillwater, OK). and Mitchell Hageman, U.S. Air Force 1st Place – “MataMorph 2: A New Exper- 2nd Place – “Experimental Verifi cation Academy (Air Force Academy, CO). imental UAV with Twist-morphing Wings of Turboelectric Power System Model for 3rd Place – “Development and Applica- and Camber-morphing Tail Stabilizers.” UAS.” Cole Replogle and Malorie Travis, tion of a Dynamic Stability Evaluation Adam Schlup, Tommy Maclennan, Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK). Technique for the NASA Orion Program.” Cristobal Barajas, Bianca Talebian, 3rd Place – “Development of an N-Cam- Samuel Spangler and Nathaniel Lavery, Gregory Thatcher, Richard Flores, Justin era Data Association Algorithm.” Timothy U.S. Air Force Academy (Air Force Perez-Norwood, Christian Torres, Kebron Runnels and Imraan Faruque, Oklahoma Academy, CO). Kibret, Edgar Guzman, and Peter Bishay, State University (Stillwater, OK). California State University – Northridge Masters Category: (Northridge, CA). Masters Category: 1st Place – “Digital Data Processing 2nd Place – “Data-driven Modeling and 1st Place – “Electrode Erosion of An Method for Shock Tube.” Frank Kalany Prediction of Mechanical Behavior of Electrical Discharge Machining Drill Used and K.M. Isaac, Missouri University of Origami-based Mechanical Metama- for Aerospace Fastener Removal.” Connor Science and Technology (Rolla, MO). terials.” Jiacheng Chen, Po Wen Hsiao, McCain, Oklahoma State University Elaine Xiong, Silas Shon Hymn Shu, (Stillwater, OK). Team Category: and Yasuhiro Miyazawa, University of 2nd Place – “Evaluation of SolidWorks 1st Place – “Development of a Compu- Washington (Seattle, WA). Flow Solver in Preliminary Supersonic tational Propeller Model.” Henry Moore, 3rd Place – “Design and Construction of Aerodynamic Design.” Kylar Moody, Dakota Labine, Maxwell Alger-Meyer, Libby a Low-Voltage Bradbury-Nielsen Gate.” Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK). Hasse, Rebecca Rivera, Michael Flores, Kevin Sampson, Brandon Dillon, David 3rd Place – “The Impact of the Boeing Nathaniel Hetzel, Nathan Castile, Shawna Torre, and Lorenzo Laxamana, University 737-Max Crashes on the Design and McGuire, and Mitchell Spencer, University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA). Certifi cation Process of the Aerospace of Colorado Boulder (Boulder, CO). Industries.” Muwanika Jdiobe and Kyle 2nd Place – “Engine Preliminary Design

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 55 AIAA BULLETIN | AIAA NEWS AND EVENTS Design | Build | Launch

AIAA “Look Up!” Award: Intel ISEF Winners The AIAA “Look Up!” Award, presented at the 2020 Regeneron International Sci- ence and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), held virtually 10–15 May, celebrates exceptional high school-level research to encourage further study in aerospace. Winners of the AIAA “Look Up!” Award receive a cash award and AIAA student membership with access to all student programs and upcoming partnership competitions and challenges. We con- gratulate the 2020 winners and encour- age students to Look Up! and see their AIAA is proud to partner with Blue Origin for the Design/Build/Launch Com- future in aerospace. petition as we strive to inspire the future workforce in STEM fi elds. Eleanor Sigrest—who is enrolled in a dual program at Forest Park High School in Wood- First Place ($1000): bridge, VA, and the Governor’s School at Innovation Park in Manassas, VA—won Eleanor Sigrest, this year’s competition and will have her experiment approved for spacefl ight grade 11, Governor’s on the New Shepard rocket in 2021. Eleanor’s proposal on Improving Fluid Man- School at Innovation agement Through A Novel Microgravity Slosh Mitigation Technique will be the Park, Manassas VA, fi rst AIAA-sponsored payload to go into fl ight. “Improving Space- Eleanor explained, “ever since I can remember, I’ve looked at the stars and craft Effi ciency and known I want to go to space. I want to be the fi rst person on Mars. Through Capability Through research, I feel I better my personal knowledge and contribute to a community, all a Novel Microgravity Slosh Mitigation sharing the same goal of exploring beyond our Earth and developing the technol- Technique” ogies necessary to get to Mars—technologies that will also benefi t all humankind. Design/Build/Launch is the perfect next step to complement my research of a Second Place ($500): novel microgravity slosh technique which could simplify spacecraft systems, Ryan Westcott, increase payload capacity and save the space industry billions of dollars. This Oregon Episcopal opportunity provides me the chance to further this research and prepare for my School, Portland OR, own launch to Mars.” grade 12, “Develop- We are excited for Eleanor’s microgravity experiment to go on the New ment of a Fully Shepard rocket with Blue Origin and look forward to when she will present her the Reusable and fi ndings at 2021 ASCEND. Autonomously Landing Suborbital Rocket: Year Two”

For more information about AIAA’s K-12 STEM programs, contact Sha’Niece Simmons, K-12 Education Program Manager, at 703.264.7590 or Sha’[email protected]. For information about how to get involved with AIAA and make an impact on the next generation of aerospace Third Place ($250): Alexander Bell, Nich- engineers, please visit www.aiaa.org/get-involved or olas White, and Evan Curry, Grade 11, Kealakehe High School, Kailua Kona, HI, contact Merrie Scott, [email protected]. “Developing a Multi-Use UAV Capable of Long-Range Flight”

56 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org Northern Ohio Section News Livestreams Distinguished Lecture AIAA Awards Scholarship at 2020 By Joe Connolly, NOS Vice Chair Conrad Challenge Innovation Summit The AIAA Northern Ohio Section (NOS) held another The Conrad Challenge is installment of the Distinguished Lecture series via an annual, multi-phase livestream on 23 April 2020. Dr. Robert Winn, who cur- innovation and entrepre- rently serves as the Principal Emeritus at Engineering neurship competition that Systems, Inc. (ESI), gave the lecture entitled “Anatomy encourages young adults to of In-Flight Break Up.” Dr. Winn has been with ESI since participate in designing the 1994, and has reconstructed hundreds of aircraft acci- future. Each year, teams of dents. The lecture covered the fundamentals of in-fl ight 2–5 students, ages 13–18, breakups and the three root causes: fatigue of a key from around the world create products and/or services to address structural element, fl utter, and overload. The discus- some of the most pressing global and local challenges. They become sion included analysis of aircraft wreckage, fundamen- entrepreneurial problem-solvers, addressing challenging social, tal airplane fl uid dynamics, trajectory analyses, and scientifi c, and societal issues through utilizing their creativity and crit- airplane performance. The presentation was supported ical-thinking skills. This year the 2020 Virtual Innovation Summit took with videos, demonstrations, and high-defi nition ani- place 27–29 May, and featured 37 student teams from around the world mations of a general aviation accident. who competed for the top honor: the Pete Conrad Scholar award. Following the lecture, the audience involved Dr. Team EcoAero from Naperville North, Naperviille, IL, won the Pete Winn in an enthusiastic Q&A session, which lasted Conrad Scholar award for their presentation of the Airlyft, a versatile over 30 minutes. Despite the virtual format, participa- drone that conforms to the weight of its payload using retractable tion went smoothly with attendees providing a wide wings and a tiltrotor feature. The CEO of Team EcoAero, Arjun Shah, range of questions and engaging in lively follow-up was awarded the $2,500 AIAA Scholarship Award. discussion.

NOMINATE AN AIAA MEMBER! Now accepting nominations for the Engineer of the Year Award

The Engineer of the Year Award is presented to an AIAA member who, as a practicing engineer, recently made a contribution in the application of scientific and mathematical principles leading toward a significant technical accomplishment.

This award carries a $500 honorarium.

Submit the nomination package to [email protected] by 1 October.

For more information: aiaa.org/AwardsNominations

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 57 AIAA BULLETIN | AIAA NEWS AND EVENTS

Colorado Aerospace Day at the Capitol IDA Researchers Receive By Christine Pumford, Ball Aerospace Award for Best External Publication This year’s Colorado Aerospace Day at the Capitol took place 10 March 2020. This is an exciting event in which members of Colorado’s booming Joel Williamsen (AIAA Associate Fellow), Daniel aerospace industry fi ll the Capitol to network and discuss with Colorado Pechkis (AIAA eMember), Asha Balakrishnan legislators the state of the industry and how they can support aerospace (AIAA member), and Stephen Ouellette are the within the state. The Rocky Mountain Section represented AIAA at this recipients of the Institute for Defense Analyses event and the members in attendance were able to talk to numerous (IDA) 2020 Larry D. Welch Award for Best External industry members, legislators, staffers, and students about AIAA. Publication, which honors external publications Colorado legislators are excited about aerospace and engaged in that exemplify analytic excellence and relevance. learning more about it, especially since Colorado ranks as the number “Characterizing the Orbital Debris Environment one state in the nation for per capita private aerospace employment. Using Satellite Perturbation Anomaly Data” was The day began a welcome from the President of the Colorado Senate, published in the Conference Proceedings of the Leroy Garcia. He welcomed the members of industry and expressed International Orbital Debris Conference, Decem- his pride in the Colorado Aerospace workforce. After Garcia’s welcome, ber 2019. attendees visited the House and Senate and witnessed the Senate vote in The IDA authors developed a novel concept that session to make 10 March Colorado Aerospace Day. Later, Governor to identify space debris. NASA has identifi ed Jared Polis addressed the attendees and spoke about the growing aero- untracked orbital debris as one of the most serious space industrial base in the state. The day concluded with an aerospace threats to satellites in low Earth orbit. The concept panel and reception at the Governor’s mansion. involves translating changes in GPS position and Throughout the day and these events, attendees were able to visit temporary breaks in communications links to the the AIAA booth and discuss what we do and the current AIAA policy corresponding mass of small impacting orbital initiatives. Attendees were excited to hear about the different ways in debris. This approach can potentially provide a which AIAA connects the aerospace community and what we are doing better understanding of the low-Earth-orbit debris to engage STEM students. environment that affects satellite design.

Nominate Your Peers and Colleagues! Do you know someone who has made notable contributions to aerospace arts, sciences, or technology? Bolster the reputation and respect of an outstanding peer—throughout the industry. Nominate them now!

NEW EXTENDED DEADLINES

FELLOWS HONORARY FELLOWS › Nomination forms are now due 15 July › Nomination forms are now due 15 July › Reference forms are now due 7 August › Reference forms are now due 15 August

Criteria for nomination and additional details can be found at aiaa.org/Honors

5820-0024-AA-JULY-AUGUST2020-Member | JULY/AUGUST 2020 Advancement | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org copy.indd 1 3/31/20 10:34 AM She won the Amelia Earhart Fellowship Shuttle. He served as Skylab deputy pro- Obituaries from Zonta International to attend Ohio gram manager; Apollo Spacecraft Pro- State University in 1957, and she moved gram Offi ce Deputy Manager during the AIAA Fellow Becker Died to California Institute of Technology Apollo Soyuz Test Project; and as Orbiter in April (Caltech) in 1959. She became the fi rst Project Manager during development of woman to get a Ph.D. in aeronautics at Space Shuttles Discovery and Atlantis. John V. Becker, 106, a retired NASA re- Caltech in 1963. Following the Challenger accident, he search engineer, died on 26 April 2020. Her career abruptly switched to was appointed director of the Space Becker graduated from New York Uni- energy conversion research in MHD Shuttle Program where he led recovery versity in 1935 with a degree in mechan- when after graduating she needed to and return-to-fl ight efforts. He then ical engineering and earned a master’s fi nd health insurance coverage to repair served as NASA Associate Administrator degree in aeronautical science in 1936. a heart defect threatening her life. After for Aeronautics and Space Technology He joined the National Advisory Com- her husband received his Ph.D., they and, later, for Space Systems Develop- mittee for Aeronautics (NACA), where he took faculty positions in 1965 at the only ment. Mr. Aldrich also led initiatives became a specialist in the aerodynamic school to offer a married couple jobs, the with Russia leading to the incorporation and heating problems of high-speed University of Tennessee Space Institute of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft as the fl ight at Langley Memorial Aeronautical in Tullahoma. on-orbit emergency rescue vehicle for Laboratory. From 1947 until his retire- Dr. Wu became an award-winning the International Space Station. Arnold ment, he held the position of chief of the pioneer in MHD, eventually leading joined Lockheed Missiles and Space NACA division devoted to hypersonic the program in coal-fi red MHD at the Company in 1994 as Vice President and research. By 1949 his team had developed University of Tennessee Space Institute. retired in 2007. the fi rst successful hypersonic wind She often testifi ed before Congress to Aldrich joined AIAA in 1976 and tunnel. They became widely recognized explain U.S. progress in MHD as well became an Honorary Fellow in 2012. He in the mid-1950s for their conception as collaborative efforts with the U.S.S.R was recognized with AIAA’s Distinguished and supporting hypersonic research for and other countries, and published over Service Award in 2010 “for over three the X-15, a manned aerospace airplane 100 papers. In 1988, Dr. Wu started her decades of continuous, dedicated service designed to fl y at six times the speed of own company, Engineering, Research, to the Institute as a strong supporter and sound. The NACA/Air Force X-15 research and Consulting, Incorporated (ERC), in tireless participant, and for signifi cant airplane exceeded all of its performance Tullahoma, and later moved the com- contributions and leadership to the and research goals, producing technology pany to Huntsville, where she retired as aerospace profession. He also received for the fi rst manned space projects. CEO in 2000. AIAA’s International Cooperation Award Retiring from NASA in 1975, Becker Having joined AIAA in 1958, Dr. Wu in 1996 “for signifi cant and continuing remained active as an aerospace consul- was a long-time AIAA Greater Huntsville contributions to the cooperative rela- tant. He authored The High-Speed Frontier, Section member and an AIAA Associate tionship between Russia and the United dealing with the history of several NACA Fellow. Throughout her career, Dr. Wu States, both during the Apollo-Soyuz high-speed aerodynamics research pro- was awarded many prestigious awards, Test Project and the International Space grams. Becker, an AIAA Fellow, joined AIAA’s including Outstanding Educators in Station programs.” predecessor organization in 1936, and was America, Farady Medal for MHD Power Other honors included the Presiden- awarded the Sylvanus A. Reed Award of the Generation, AIAA Plasmadynamics and tial Rank of Distinguished Executive, Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences in Laser Award, Society of Women Engineers Presidential Rank of Meritorious 1960. He was the recipient of several other Achievement Award, and Caltech’s alumni Executive (twice), NASA Distinguished national honors and awards and in 2015 of the year 2013. Dr. Wu was also a fellow Service Medal (three times), North- he was inducted into the Langley Research of ASME and life member of SWE. eastern University Outstanding Alumni Center NACA and NASA Hall of Honor. Award, Arthur S. Fleming Award, NASA AIAA Honorary Fellow Aldrich Outstanding Leadership Medal, VFW AIAA Associate Fellow Wu Died in May Aviation and Space Award, AIAA Space Died in May Systems Award, and NASA Exceptional Arnold D. Aldrich, 83, Service Award. Aldrich was also a Dr. Ying Chu Lin died on 28 May 2020. member of the International Academy “Susan” Wu, a pioneer Mr. Aldrich began of Astronautics, and a member of the for women in aerospace his career after earning National Academy Aeronautics and and energy research, a B.S. in Electrical Space Engineering Board. died on 19 May 2020. Engineering from North- Following retirement Aldrich contin- She was 87 years old. eastern University in 1959. He enjoyed ued to support space initiatives including Dr. Wu graduated with a degree a 35-year career at NASA spanning all mentoring young aerospace program in mechanical engineering from the manned-mission programs including managers and helping select award National Taiwan University in 1951. Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space winners for annual NASA Rotary Awards.

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 59 LOOKING BACK | 100, 75, 50, 25 YEARS AGO IN JULY/AUGUST 1920 1945

July 7 A pilot tests a radio compass as a nav- igational aid during the fl ight of a U.S. Navy F5L seaplane from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to the battleship USS Ohio about 160 kilometers at sea. Eugene M. Emme, ed., Aeronautics and As- tronautics, 1915-60, p. 12.

July 16 Trinity, the fi rst test of an atomic device, is completed in Alamogordo, New Mexico. The plutonium implosion device explodes with a force of 22 kilotons of TNT. This type of bomb will destroy Nagasaki, Japan, less than a month later. E.M. Emme, Aeronau- tics and Astronautics, 1915-60, p. 60.

July 20 MIT-trained aeronautical engineer Donald Douglas receives his fi rst contract to build an aircraft when sportsman David Davis invests $40,000 to start July 3-5 One-fi fth scale models of the WAC-Corporal, the Davis-Douglas Co. to called Baby-WAC, are test fl own at Goldstone Range construct the Cloudster, in California by Jet Propulsion Laboratory technicians. a large single-engine The tests confi rm the choice of three tail fi ns instead of four for the larger WAC, as well as the design biplane. The company is Operation Overcast is established by a secret principle of a solid-fuel booster for takeof , and verify July 19 reorganized in 1921 as the memorandum from the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staf for the 30-meter launch tower. The WAC-Corporal sub- Douglas Aircraft Co. Rene the purpose of “exploiting German civilian scientists.” sequently becomes the United States’ fi rst sounding Francillon, McDonnell Of the 350 German specialists rounded up, about rocket. E.M. Emme, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Douglas Aircraft Since 100 are from Wernher von Braun’s original V-2 rocket 1915-60, p. 50. 1920, pp. 2-10. team from Peenemünde on the Baltic Sea, who are subsequently brought to the U.S. under contract for six months. Under these terms, the contracts could be renewed for an additional half year and the men Aug. 3 The British Civil July 4 The two-stage, solid-fuel Tiamat air-to-air mis- returned to Germany, though in practice the great Aircraft Competition sile, the fi rst missile research program at the National majority stayed in the U.S. and made enormous contri- of ers £64,000 (about Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ Wallops Island butions to the development of rocketry. F.I. Ordway, III $3.5 million in 2020) for Test Station in Virginia, is launched for the fi rst time and M. R. Sharpe, The Rocket Team, pp. 287-288. the development of safer but the booster fails to separate. It is a dummy missile and more ef cient com- without a control system and is to verify the booster mercial aircraft. David and launch system. E.M. Emme, Aeronautics and As- tronautics, 1915-60, p. 50. Baker, Flight and Flying: A North American B-25 Mitchell bomber July 28 A Chronology, p. 134. crashes into the 79th fl oor of the Empire State Build- ing in a fog over New York. Nineteen people are killed July 13 The U.S. Army’s White Sands Proving Grounds and 29 injured. F.K. Mason and M. Windrow, Know Aviation, p. 51. Aug. 18 The fi rst of fi ve in the New Mexico desert is activated. By the end of Wittman-Lewis fl ying the month, 300 freight-car loads of captured German bombs built for the U.S. V-2 rocket components are trucked there and a test Navy crashes on its fi rst stand for a V-2 built. The fi rst rocket fi red at White fl ight after fl ying 137 me- Sands is a WAC-Corporal launched in September. W. ters. David Baker, Flight Ley, Rockets, Missiles and Space Travel, pp. 246, 253. and Flying: A Chronolo- gy, p. 134.

60 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org COMPILED BY FRANK H. WINTER and ROBERT VAN DER LINDEN 1970 1995

July 1 Neil Armstrong is sworn in as NASA’s deputy oxides of nitrogen. NASA, Astronautics and Aeronau- July 13 NASA's Galileo associate administrator for aeronautics. NASA, Astro- tics, 1970, p. 255. spacecraft releases its nautics and Aeronautics, 1970, p. 223. probe toward Jupiter. The probe will reach a speed of 170,000 kph (106,000 Aug. 3 The U.S. Athena missile that veered of course mph) when it enters the July 3 The U.S. from Green River, Utah, on July 11 is found 320 kilome- atmosphere as planned Air Force’s ters from the U.S. border, near Carillo, Mexico. Mexican on Dec. 7. NASA, Astro- Lockheed C-5 troops cordon of the site while scientists wait for nautics and Aeronautics, Galaxy, the equipment to remove radioactive pieces of the missile. 1991-1995, p. 647. world’s largest New York Times, Aug. 4, 1970, p. 12. aircraft, fl ies from Charleston Air Force Base, Aug. 7 NASA's Ames South Carolina, in the fi rst of a series of fl ights to airlift Aug. 7 The Soviet Union orbits the Intercosmos 3 Research Center demon- cargo to overseas U.S. military bases to demonstrate uncrewed scientifi c satellite from Kapustin Yar that strates the the aircraft’s operational capability. NASA, Astronau- carries Czech experiments to study the Earth’s ion- satellite communications tics and Aeronautics, 1970, p. 225. osphere and the of positive electrons kit aboard an aircraft. The in the upper atmosphere. NASA, Astronautics and Satellite Telemetry and Aeronautics, 1970, p. 259. Return Link technology is designed to connect July 8-13 The principal investigators, British-French disaster managers and Aug. 17 The Soviet Union launches its Venera (Ve- Jaguar M-05 others to airborne sen- nus) 7 probe into a heliocentric orbit from Baikonur prototype sors or experiments via Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Then it will transfer into jet-attack aircraft NASA's Tracking Data a trajectory toward Venus and on Dec. 15 will land on makes its fi rst and Relay Satellites. the Venusian surface, becoming the fi rst spacecraft to aircraft carrier NASA, Astronautics and soft-land on another planet. NASA, Astronautics and landing on the French Navy’s Clemenceau aircraft Aeronautics, 1991-1995, Aeronautics, 1970, p. 266. carrier. Three pilots make a dozen landings and p. 651. takeof s during the tests. The aircraft is produced by the British Aircraft Corp. and Breguet Aviation. Aviation Week, July 27, 1970, p. 15. Aug. 19 The United Kingdom’s Skynet 1B military communications satellite is launched by a U.S. long- tank, thrust-augmented Thor-Delta booster. NASA, July 22 An Air Force photo reconnaissance satellite is Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1970, p. 269. launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and is placed in an orbit suitable for monitoring the cease-fi re in the Middle East. Aviation Week, Aug. 31, Aug. 28 The long-range 1970, p. 13. Army-McDonnell Douglas Spartan antiballistic missile is launched from the Pacifi c Kwajalein Atoll develop- D u r i n g J u l y Infl ight Motion Pictures Inc. is awarded a contract by ment site and intercepts a Julius Whittington During August 1995 National Airlines to supply movie entertainment for Minuteman nose cone. The International Ultravi- the airline’s two Boeing 747s. Aviation Week, July 27, Neither the Spartan nor the olet Explorer satellite be- 1970, p. 31. Minuteman was armed. Aviation Week, Sept. 7, gins examining the newly 1970, p. 17. discovered comet known as Hale-Bopp. Hale-Bopp Aug. 1 NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab announces that an is 40 kilometers in diam- 85-gram palladium generator-separator developed eter, the largest known for space could help detect air pollution on Earth. The Aug. 29 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 wide-bodied comet seen by humans. unit is the heart of a gas chromatograph developed by trijet transport is fl own for the fi rst time, leaving Long Aviation Week, April 7, NASA and JPL to analyze Martian soil and atmosphere Beach, California, and fl ying over the Pacifi c Ocean 1997, p. 45. for the Viking Mars missions in the mid-1970s. The then turning inland before landing at Edwards Air separator is particularly sensitive to major U.S. air Force Base, California. This fl ight lasts three hours and pollutants like sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and 26 minutes. Aviation Week, Sept. 7, 1970, p. 26.

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 61 CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the TU Braunschweig invites applications for

Professor (Salary Grade W3 NBesG) in VISIT US ONLINE AT “Aircraft Structural Design” aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org The fi elds of activity include research into basic principles and applications of structural design of aircraft including digital design methods, manufacturing approaches, function integration, and fl ight testing within the framework of the research focus area “Mobility” of TU Braunschweig. The professor- ship is thematically linked to the university‘s Cluster of Excellence for Sustainable and Energy-Effi cient Aviation (SE²A). The fi elds of activity of the professorship in research shall include the following:

• Construction concepts with high-performance materials, • Multiphysics design and analysis methods, • Function integration, • Flying demonstrators.

The professorship is located in the Institute of Aircraft Design and Light-Weight Structures of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. It is expected that the professorship will be actively involved in the NFL (Aeronautical Research Centre Niedersachsen) and the Cluster of Excellence SE²A (Sustainable Energy Effi cient Aviation).

The professorship shall also refl ect corresponding methods and recent research results in the form of new teaching content and modules. In terms of teaching, the professorship is integrated into the Bachelor‘s and Master‘s programs of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, in particular the Master‘s programs in Aerospace Engineering and Industrial Engineering / Mechanical Engineering.

We seek a scientist from university, industry or research establishment with proven competence in at least two of the above-mentioned fi elds. Relevant experience in the acquisition and implementation of basic and application-oriented third-party funded projects, industrial projects as well as collaborative research is desired.

The Technische Universität Braunschweig co-ordinates major parts of its research in Core Research Areas, among them Mobility. The successful candidate is prepared to participate in interdisciplinary, collaborative programs and to contribute to the Research Centres of Mobility. Likewise, cooperation in the academic self-administration is expected.

Conditions of appointment are in accordance with § 25, Niedersachsen Higher Education Act (NHG). The prerequisites are a university degree with a doctorate, relevant research work with outstanding scientifi c achievements, the ability to carry out, coordinate and manage interdisci plinary research work with commitment and to acquire third-party funds, as well as pedagogical and didactic skills.

With nearly 20,000 students and 3,700 staff members, Technische Universität Braunschweig is the largest Institute of Technology in Northern Germany. It stands for a strategic and achievement-oriented way of thinking and acting, relevant research, exceptional teaching and the successful transfer of knowledge and technologies to industry and society. We consistently advocate family friendliness and equal opportunities.

We focus our research on mobility, infections and therapeutics, metrology, and future city. Our core disciplines include a comprehensive engineering branch and a strong natural sciences branch, closely linked with business sciences, social sciences, humanities and educational sciences.

Our campus is located at the heart of one of Europe’s most active research regions. We cooperate closely and successfully with more than 20 research institutions right on our doorstep and maintain strong relationships with our partner universities all over the world.

At TU Braunschweig, we aim to increase the share of women in academic positions and therefore particularly welcome applications from women. Where candidates have equivalent qualifi cations, preference will be given to female candidates. Applications from international scientists are welcome. Applicants who are 50 years or older at the time the appointment commences and who have not acquired permanent civil servant status (Beamtenverhältnis auf Lebenszeit) will be employed with employee status (Angestelltenverhältnis). Where candidates have the same qualifi cations, preference will be given to disabled candidates.

For more information, please contact the Head of the Appointment Committee, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rolf Radespiel, phone: +49 (0)531 391-94250, e-mail: [email protected].

For an initial contact you can also approach consultants Simone Pfi ster and Michael Tippmann of the recruitment agency BELOW TIPPMANN & COMPAGNIE at +49 (0)30 20 63 279-14 or -12. Absolute discretion is a matter of course.

Please send your written application until August 15, 2020 indicating the reference number 2020_f4_ W007 and including the appropriate documentation (pdf-fi le, max. 50 MB, curriculum vitae, list of pub- lications, list of third-party funds acquired with project identifi cation or industrial project responsibilities and a brief description of the research and teaching concept) to [email protected] (addressed to the Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Andreas Dietzel)

By submitting your application documents electronically, you consent to their digital storage and processing for the application process.

62 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.org JAHNIVERSE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 64 information, such as the locations of objects and the United States or any space-faring nation for fear their sizes, shapes, materials and purpose. of revealing national security capabilities. There is This challenge is not new. The United Nations a possible solution for this conundrum inspired in 2019 approved by consensus a set of Long-term by the history of the U.S. GPS constellation. Until Sustainability Guidelines produced by the U.N. 2000, the U.S. Air Force restricted the full precision Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. These of GPS to U.S. government entities and provided a guidelines, which include debris mitigation, may be purposefully degraded but still useful capability the most comprehensive and globally agreed-upon to commercial users. Likewise, the United States collection of safe and sustainable practices, but they and other nations could degrade and share their have yet to be implemented by all who’ve agreed to raw situational awareness observations. This way, them. In fact, the lack of compliance with debris users could make up their own minds about the mitigation is the largest contributor to the growth trustworthiness of the data. in defunct satellites, spent rocket bodies and other Nations that jealously guard such observations debris, according to statements from NASA and the risk unintended consequences. An up-and-coming European Space Agency. space-faring nation might well need assistance to Even the United Nations Space Object Registry, operate safely in space, absent the observational established in 1962, is far from effective at providing resources to do so. Some doubt that such a globally accurate, actionable and timely information about accessible system can be created, but I am confi dent new space objects and the orbital population of that the equivalent of a Waze app for space traffi c is them. The registry shows inconsistent information, within reach. I’ve created an online framework called and months can pass before an orbiting object is ASTRIAGraph as an initial step toward crowdsourced registered. The information desired for registration space traffi c monitoring. does not meet the space situational awareness needs The key to making the Artemis Accords a reality and demands of our satellite launchers, operators lies in such monitoring and assessment of the ac- and user services. The time allotted to register is “as tivities of partners for compliance. Those who fail soon as practicable,” which can mean months or to comply should be held accountable with clear years. As for the registry here in the United States, the and quantifi able consequences that must still be Department of State is in the process of upgrading established. One country or entity cannot do this its system to make it more public and transparent. alone; continual supervision will require global A complication is that space situational aware- cooperation. There is a Korean proverb that says, ness observations from radars, telescopes and other “Do not try to cover the whole sky with just the government sensors are not publicly disclosed by palm of your hand.” ★

aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | 63 NIVERSE JAH

Acta Non Verba: That should be the motto for NASA’s Artemis Accords

BY MORIBA JAH Moriba Jah is an astrodynamicist and space environmentalist living in ou are unlikely to fi nd many people who’d marks on a compliance form. Watching and assessing Austin, Texas, where he’s argue against the principles underlying can be an effective deterrent. We humans tend to an associate professor of NASA’s Artemis Accords, the agreements the behave differently when we know, or assume, we’re aerospace engineering and Y engineering mechanics at agency plans to reach with its counterparts abroad being monitored. All it takes is for a police car to be the University of Texas at before they participate in the lunar exploration pro- on the side of the road ahead, even empty, and any Austin. He is an AIAA fellow. gram. These principles, published by NASA in May, number of taillights will turn red. describe how the partners should behave around Consider the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which the moon, on its surface and someday at Mars. has been ratifi ed by over 100 countries. There are As important as transparency, mitigating debris parts of it that no one follows. For example, Article VI and the other principles are, someone must assess explicitly states, “The activities of non-governmental and measure how well each partner is doing at entities in outer space, including the moon and complying with these principles. other celestial bodies, shall require authorization That is where things could get complicated. and continuing supervision by the appropriate You can’t enforce what you don’t know, and you State Party to the Treaty.” The words “continuing don’t know what you don’t measure, like where supervision” indicate that no private space activities objects in space are located. Ultimately, the effec- or behaviors shall go unsupervised. Yet no country tiveness of these accords comes down to defi ning on the planet has the ability to continually track what should be measured, and by whom, and who every space object or monitor activities in the rest should have access to these measurements. For of outer space including the moon. This is part and sure, the world’s space-faring nations do not want parcel to space situational awareness. Each coun- the U.S. government to become the sole gatekeeper try lacks the resources to generate this situational for information about behavior in space. awareness individually, and collectively they lack Once these issues are sorted out, monitoring a common pool of globally collected and shared and assessing can amount to more than some check space situational awareness measurements and

CONTINUED ON PAGE 63

64 | JULY/AUGUST 2020 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org 20–22 APRIL

2021 LAUREL, MD

The 2021 AIAA DEFENSE Forum will bring together government, military, industry, and academia to discuss the strategic, programmatic, and technical topics and policy issues in aerospace and defense. We’re looking forward to the aerospace and defense communities meeting in-person in 2021.

Participate in the forum and answer the call for technical briefings by submitting an abstract. Preliminary topics include:*

› Advanced Prototypes › Autonomy and Machine Intelligence › Computing Systems › Directed Energy Weapons › Guidance, Navigation, Control, and Estimation › Hypersonic Systems and Technologies › Missile Defense › Modeling and Simulation of Warhead Efects › Robotic and Unmanned Weapon Systems › Space Systems › Strategic Missile Systems—Ground-Based & Sea-Based Deterrent › Survivability › System and Decision Analysis for National Security › Tactical Missiles › Weapon System Efectiveness—Operational Performance › Weapon System Efectiveness—Performance Analysis, Modeling & Simulation › Weapon System Efectiveness—Test and Evaluation *Topic areas subject to change.

CALL FOR TECHNICAL BRIEFINGS OPENS LATE SUMMER 2020 aiaa.org/defense VIRTUAL EVENT

MISSED THE FORUM? Over 2,000 aerospace professionals from around the world participated in the first virtual AIAA AVIATION Forum. It’s not too late for you to participate! Over 300 hours of on-demand technical presentations, panels, and lectures from the sharpest minds in the industry are available through December 2020. Register by 1 August 2020 to access the conference proceedings and on-demand content.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS › AIAA Aeroacoustics Award Lecture: COVID-19 Propagation

› COVID-19 and Civil Aviation Markets: A Bit Like Falling Of a Clif, Only Without the Nice View with Richard Aboulafia, Vice President, Analysis, Teal Group

› Engineering in the Production System with Walt Odisho, Vice President and General Manager, Manufacturing, Safety & Quality, 737 Program and Renton Site, Boeing Commercial Airplanes

› NASA Aeronautics with Jim Bridenstine, Administrator, NASA

› New Approaches to Aviation Cybersecurity

› Tackling the Imminent Questions with Grazia Vittadini, Chief Technology Ofcer,

› Transformational Flight Certification Symposium

REGISTER BY 1 AUGUST 2020 aiaa.org/aviation/registration