Aeronautics

NASA researchers are looking at the possibility of using a wingless, unpowered aircraft design from the 1960s to gather atmospheric data on other planets – doing the same work as small satellites but potentially better and more economically.

Posted March 13, 2024

Aeronautics

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Green Aviation Tech

Integrated Aviation Systems Program

Sustainable Flight Demonstrator

New Look at NASA, Boeing Sustainable Experimental Airliner

As NASA and Boeing enter the early stages of producing the X-66, the first X-plane specifically focused on helping the United States achieve net-zero aviation emissions by 2050, the team is already picturing what the aircraft will look like soaring above the clouds. A new rendering of the X-66 from Boeing demonstrates the aircraft’s signature […]

Posted March 7, 2024

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Advanced Air Vehicles Program

Aeronautics

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Aeronautics Technology

Commercial Supersonic Technology

Low Boom Flight Demonstrator

Quesst (X-59)

Quesst: The Flights

Supersonic Flight

NASA Instruments Will Listen for Supersonic X-59’s Quiet ‘Thump’

NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft is unique – it’s designed to fly faster than the speed of sound, but without causing a loud sonic boom. To confirm the X-59’s ability to fly supersonic while only producing quiet sonic “thumps,” NASA needs to be able to record these sounds from the ground. The agency recently completed tests […]

Posted February 22, 2024

Glenn Research Center

Aeronautics

Armstrong Flight Research Center

NASA History

NASA Center Boosted YF-12 Supersonic Engine Research

Supersonic flight became a reality in October 1947, when the Bell X-1 rocket plane broke the sound barrier.

Posted February 22, 2024

Aeronautics

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Flight Innovation

Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program

University Innovation

University Leadership Initiative

University Student Research Challenge

NASA Selects University Teams to Explore Innovative Aeronautical Research

NASA has selected another five university teams to participate in real-world aviation research challenges that could help transform flight in the skies above our communities.

Posted February 21, 2024

Aeronautics

Aeronautics Research

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Aeronautics Technology

Ames Research Center

Ames Research Center's Science Directorate

Convergent Aeronautics Solutions

Earth

NASA Centers & Facilities

NASA Directorates

Natural Disasters

UAS Traffic Management

Wildfires

NASA Leader Casey Swails Learns About Wildfire Work at NASA Ames

NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails views a demonstration on screen in the Airspace Operations Laboratory at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Researchers presented the diverse, long-running efforts in aeronautics at Ames that have helped lay the foundation for agency work related to wildfire response.

Posted February 20, 2024

Aeronautics

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Learning Resources

NASA Releases STEM Toolkit for Advanced Air Mobility

NASA Aeronautics has released a new STEM toolkit focusing on Advanced Air Mobility for educators and students of all ages. The toolkit, comprised of numerous educational activities, is a free resource for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Advanced Air Mobility mission’s goal of enabling the use of drones and other new […]

Posted January 31, 2024

Ames Research Center

Aeronautics

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Air Traffic Solutions

NASA Awards Contract for Aviation, Railroad Safety Reporting Systems

NASA has awarded a contract to Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. of McLean, Virginia, for the maintenance and operation of incident reporting programs and continuing development to improve current and future reporting systems.

Posted January 27, 2024

Ingenuity (Helicopter)

Aeronautics

Drones & You

Missions

NASA Aircraft

After Three Years on Mars, NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends

NASA’s history-making Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has ended its mission at the Red Planet after surpassing expectations and making dozens more flights than planned. While the helicopter remains upright and in communication with ground controllers, imagery of its Jan.

Posted January 25, 2024

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Advanced Air Mobility

Aeronautics

Air Mobility Pathfinders project

Airspace Operations and Safety Program

Ames Research Center

Langley Research Center

NASA Autonomous Flight Software Successfully Used in Air Taxi Stand-Ins

In late October, two research helicopters from the manufacturer Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, made a dozen test flights over Long Island Sound, Connecticut taking care to avoid other aircraft in the area around them.

Posted January 25, 2024