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 temperature 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 aerospace community in a fully virtual setting. Leaders from our industry will discuss advances in spacecraft electric propulsion, gas turbine engines, hybrid rockets, electric aircraft technologies, high-speed air-breathing 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 ROBERT 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 Force 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 United States, 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 alliances 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 solutions. 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 San Francisco to a mother from Haiti 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 engineering science from the University of Colorado in Boulder. At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in California, 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