SPACE RESEARCH 16 SATCOM 32 AERODYNAMICS 12 Can ISS whet investor appetites? Pentagon eyes private satellites Applying shape-memory alloys NO FEAR Once the bane of airports, drones are increasingly welcomed. Learn why. PAGE 24 NOVEMBER 2017 | A publication of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org 8–12 JANUARY 2018 KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA Seizing the Next Digital Transformation Our profession is changing. Disruptions in business markets, the dawn of digital engineering, a profusion of data, human–machine teaming, and the latest innovative technology are all shaking up the status quo and driving the evolution of aerospace. A diverse group of expert panelists will engage the audience in spirited discussion on what the fourth industrial revolution means for the aerospace enterprise. ~~ PLENARY AND FORUM 360 SESSIONS • Digital Enterprise Business Models—Their Impact on • On Demand Mobility—Enabling Technologies the Aerospace Industry and Capabilities • The Dawn of Digital Engineering • On Demand Mobility—Regulatory and Operational Challenges • Digital Transformations Disrupting Aerospace Business Models • Welcome to the Holodeck • Data, Data Everywhere—the Power & Potential • Prizes & Challenges—How Crowdsourcing Can Help Solve Technology Gaps • Data, Data Everywhere—the Devil in the Details • Human–Machine Teaming • Digital Natives Leading the Digital Transformation in Design and Knowledge Environments • Serving Our Robot Overlords • Dude, Where’s My Flying Car? ~~ TECHNICAL PROGRAM More than 2,700 papers from 43 countries, giving you extensive access to a wide range of the latest research and development, not just in your own areas of expertise, but across technological boundaries. LEARN MORE scitech.aiaa.org/forumschedule FEATURES | November 2017 MORE AT aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org 16 32 24 International Space Managing military Reconsidering Station’s fi nal push broadband satellite Pharmaceutical and materials The U.S. Air force and a host of drones experiments in the last years of the interested parties are analyzing orbiting lab could determine the how much of the military’s long- Airlines and airports are discovering future of such space research. term demand can be satisfi ed by commercial players. that small unmanned aircraft can help By Adam Hadhazy with safety and maintenance tasks and By Tom Risen possibly save money. By Joe Stumpe On the cover: Photo illustration of a drone superimposed on a runway at Hartsfi eld-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Image credit: Michael Baker International, Canard Drones aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | NOVEMBER 2017 | 1 8–10 MAY 2018 LAUREL, MD CALL FOR TECHNICAL BRIEFINGS The AIAA Defense and Security Forum (AIAA DEFENSE 2018) brings together the contractor, acquisition, and R&D communities for classified and unclassified discussions of critical technical, programmatic, and policy topics in a SECRET/NoFORN unbiased, nonpartisan environment. TOPICS INCLUDE Robotic and Unmanned Weapon Systems Advanced Prototypes Space Systems Aerospace and Defense Computing Systems Strategic Missile Systems – Ground and Sea Based Countermeasures Survivability Directed Energy Weapons Systems and Decision Analysis for National Security Estimation, Guidance, Navigation and Control Tactical Missiles Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Weapon System Performance Analysis, Modeling Innovative Concepts and Technologies and Simulation Missile Defense Weapon System Test and Evaluation SUBMIT YOUR UNRESTRICTED ABSTRACTS TODAY! Abstract Deadline: 30 November 2017 defense.aiaa.org AEROSPACE★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ AMERICA NOVEMBER 2017, VOL. 55, NO. 10 IN THIS ISSUE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ben Iannotta [email protected] Keith Button ASSOCIATE EDITOR Keith has written for C4ISR Journal and Hedge Fund Alert, where he Karen Small broke news of the 2007 Bear Stearns scandal that kicked off the global [email protected] credit crisis. STAFF REPORTER PAGE 12 Tom Risen [email protected] EDITOR, AIAA BULLETIN Adam Hadhazy Christine Williams [email protected] Adam reports on astrophysics and technology. His work has appeared in Discover and New Scientist magazines. EDITOR EMERITUS Jerry Grey PAGE 16 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Keith Button, Henry Canaday, Adam Hadhazy, Robert van der Linden, Joe Stumpe Joe Stumpe, Debra Werner, Frank H. Winter A freelance reporter based in Wichita, Kansas, Joe has written for The New York Times, Agence France-Presse and The Huffi ngton Post. James “Jim” Maser AIAA PRESIDENT PAGE 24 John Langford AIAA PRESIDENT-ELECT Sandra H. Magnus PUBLISHER Rodger S. Williams DEPUTY PUBLISHER ADVERTISING Debra Werner Joan Daly, 703-938-5907 [email protected] A frequent contributor to Aerospace America, Debra is also a West Coast correspondent for Space News. ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN PAGE 64 THOR Design Studio | thor.design MANUFACTURING AND DISTRIBUTION Association Vision | associationvision.com DEPARTMENTS LETTERS AND CORRESPONDENCE Ben Iannotta, [email protected] TRENDING Stratolaunch designers rely on software developed by NASA as they prepare their massive aircraft for 8 its fi rst fl ight. Aerospace America (ISSN 0740-722X) is published monthly by the American Institute of Aeronautics and 4 Editor’s Notebook Astronautics, Inc., at 12700 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 200 10 12 Reston, VA 20191-5807 [703-264-7500]. Subscription rate is 50% of dues for AIAA members (and is not deductible 7 From the Corner Offi ce Q & A Engineering Transportation attorney therefrom). Nonmember subscription price: U.S., $200; Notebook Mary Schiavo on safety and foreign, $220. Single copies $20 each. Postmaster: Send 43 AIAA Bulletin Teaching a shape memory address changes and subscription orders to Aerospace autonomous fl ight alloy a new trick America, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, at 12700 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA, 20191-5807, 58 Career Opportunities Attn: A.I.A.A. Customer Service. Periodical postage paid at Reston, Virginia, and at additional mailing 38 64 offi ces. Copyright 2017 by the American Institute of 62 Looking Back Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., all rights reserved. Opinion Trajectories The name Aerospace America is registered by the AIAA Former U.S. offi cial gives her Mike Lewis on how he became in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Offi ce. take on Kazakhstan’s bid to NanoRacks’ chief technology compete in aerospace market offi cer and chief engineer aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org | NOVEMBER 2017 | 3 EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK AIRCRAFT SAFETY easyJet Aviation made easy his month’s issue reminds me how diffi cult it is to prognosticate wisely about the EasyJet is testing an inspection drone future of aviation. Assessing whether an idea is technically feasible is probably to detect damage the easy part, but even then, emotion can temporarily cloud one’s judgment. Two on its airliners from years after the famous fi rst fl ight, Wilbur Wright reportedly confessed that in 1901 lightning strikes and he told Orville that “man would not fl y for 50 years.” other hazards. TTechnologists pride themselves on following data and reason, and more times than not, that culture prevails. Wilbur and Orville did not give up. Far trickier is to predict or motivate a specifi c consumer behavior, especially when safety and dollars are involved. Will transportation consumers someday accept a fully automated aircraft without a hu- man pilot aboard? The answer won’t “depend on the regulators, it’s going to depend on public perception,” says air safety advocate Mary Schiavo in this month’s Q & A on Page 10. Safety will be part of that perception, but it’s not the whole story. Richard Thaler, the 2017 winner of the Nobel Prize in economic sciences, has long said that if you want to motivate someone to act, you need to “make it easy” to do so. We’ve probably all seen fi rsthand what he means. Some years ago, when my beat was military intelligence, an offi cer at the annual Geospatial Intelligence symposium told a roomful of technologists that their computers and software often sat in unopened boxes. Troops didn’t have time to fi gure them out. They preferred their intuitively designed smartphones. One can see that kind of intuitive ease-of-use in the small drone market. As our cover sto- ry points out, not that long ago, the thought of 1.1 million small drones in the hands of con- sumers sparked nothing but fear in the air travel industry. What if a drone got away from its operator and was sucked in by an airliner’s engine? Safety remains a valid concern, but it’s no longer the whole story. Today, drones have safety features and an ease of use that make them attractive for professionals who need to inspect runways or passenger jets in their hangars. Drone designers have made it easier for hobbyists and professionals alike. That’s a good lesson for nearly any fi eld. ★ Ben Iannotta, editor-in-chief, [email protected] 4 | NOVEMBER 2017 | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org LETTER TO THE EDITOR Missing ingredient in deep space plan NASA n agreement in principle was signed between NASA and Roscosmos (the Russian A Space agency) on Sept. 27, 2017 in Adelaide, Australia. The two major space agencies made a commitment to cooperate within the framework of an international level to set up the Deep Space Gateway, standardize equipment and techniques, and act in the continuity of the current exchanges on the International Space Station. The Russians will bring their know-how in particular regarding interfaces of mooring and inhabited airlocks, and will study the possibility of using Russian launch- ers such as Proton and future Angara A5. However, there was still no signing of an international agreement such as that of Jan. 29, 1998, at the European Space Research and Technology Cen- In an artist’s render- for ISS. The real signal will be the allowance of ter in Noordwijk, Netherlands, in December 2017. ing, the European Space Agency’s service budgets for construction of fi rst elements of the More information is available here: http://exploration. module is beneath DSG. esa.int/moon/59376-call-for-ideas/ ★ NASA’s Orion space- The European Space Agency, or ESA, invited mem- craft.