Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí.

As part of its effort to provide more resources and information to new audiences, NASA has launched new webpages featuring aeronautics information in Spanish. The webpages aim to make aeronautics content more accessible to the Spanish-language community.

“This is a significant step forward in our efforts to make the knowledge we’ve accumulated at NASA available to people all over the country, and the world. We’re making sure that as we explore and tackle the biggest challenges facing aviation, we’re providing benefits for all,” said Bob Pearce, associate administrator for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “By presenting aeronautics information and educational materials in Spanish, we’re working to foster a diverse, bold and effective next generation of explorers. We’re counting on this generation to help NASA carry its vision into the future.”

According to data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States, after English. The translation of NASA’s aeronautics content will help inspire the next generation of NASA explorers.

The webpages provide educational material on the work being done by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. They contain information on top agency priorities, including sustainable aviation. NASA is committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation sector by 2050 and works to achieve that goal by leading in fields ranging from green technologies and aircraft design to composite manufacturing and sustainable fuel testing. The new pages will help the agency introduce new members of the public to this work.

In addition, the webpages will cover technological advances developed by NASA such as the Quesst mission, which will demonstrate quiet supersonic technology, possibly opening the door to commercial supersonic flight over land. Readers will be able to learn about NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility mission, which works to assist with the development of air transportation systems across the country, aeronautics tests at NASA’s wind tunnels and other facilities, and more.

The webpages also contain content designed for young learners focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), intended to help parents and teachers introduce children to these fields of study.

To view the Aeronautics webpages in Spanish, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/aeroes

Source: NASA

NASA announced Wednesday it has issued an award to The Boeing Company for the agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, which seeks to inform a potential new generation of green single-aisle airliners.

Under a Funded Space Act Agreement, Boeing will work with NASA to build, test, and fly a full-scale demonstrator aircraft and validate technologies aimed at lowering emissions.

Over seven years, NASA will invest $425 million, while the company and its partners will contribute the remainder of the agreement funding, estimated at about $725 million. As part of the agreement, the agency also will contribute technical expertise and facilities.

“Since the beginning, NASA has been with you when you fly. NASA has dared to go farther, faster, higher. And in doing so, NASA has made aviation more sustainable and dependable. It is in our DNA,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “It’s our goal that NASA’s partnership with Boeing to produce and test a full-scale demonstrator will help lead to future commercial airliners that are more fuel efficient, with benefits to the environment, the commercial aviation industry, and to passengers worldwide. If we are successful, we may see these technologies in planes that the public takes to the skies in the 2030s.”

Single-aisle aircraft are the workhorse of many airline fleets, and due to their heavy usage, account for nearly half of worldwide aviation emissions. NASA plans to complete testing for the project by the late 2020s, so that technologies and designs demonstrated by the project can inform industry decisions about the next generation of single-aisle aircraft that could enter into service in the 2030s.

Through the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, Boeing and its industry team will partner with NASA to develop and flight-test a full-scale Transonic Truss-Braced Wing demonstrator aircraft.

The Transonic Truss-Braced Wing concept involves an aircraft with extra-long, thin wings stabilized by diagonal struts. This design results in an aircraft that is much more fuel efficient than a traditional airliner due to a shape that would create less drag – resulting in its burning less fuel.

“NASA is working toward an ambitious goal of developing game-changing technologies to reduce aviation energy use and emissions over the coming decades toward an aviation community goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Bob Pearce, NASA associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “The Transonic Truss-Braced Wing is the kind of transformative concept and investment we will need to meet those challenges and, critically, the technologies demonstrated in this project have a clear and viable path to informing the next generation of single-aisle aircraft, benefiting everyone that uses the air transportation system.”

NASA’s goal is that the technology flown on the demonstrator aircraft, when combined with other advancements in propulsion systems, materials, and systems architecture, would result in fuel consumption and emissions reductions of up to 30% relative to today’s most efficient single-aisle aircraft, depending on the mission.

Through separate efforts, NASA has worked with Boeing and other industry partners on advanced sustainable aviation concepts, including the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing concept.

“We’re honored to continue our partnership with NASA and to demonstrate technology that significantly improves aerodynamic efficiency resulting in substantially lower fuel burn and emissions,” said Todd Citron, Boeing chief technology officer. “Boeing has been advancing a multipronged sustainability strategy, including fleet renewal, operational efficiency, renewable energy, and advanced technologies to support the U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan and meet the industry objective of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator builds on more than a decade of NASA, Boeing, and our industry partners’ investments to help achieve these objectives.”

The new Funded Space Act agreement allows NASA to capitalize on private industry knowledge and experience, with Boeing and its partners laying out a proposed technical plan. NASA will provide access to its aeronautics facilities and expertise. NASA will not procure an aircraft or any other hardware for its missions. The agency will obtain access to certain ground and flight data that can be used to validate the airframe configuration and associated technologies.

The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator will help the United States achieve net-zero carbon emissions from aviation by 2050 – one of the environmental goals articulated in the White House’s U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan. The International Civil Aviation Organization also has set a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The project is an activity under NASA’s Integrated Aviation Systems Program and a key element of the Sustainable Flight National Partnership, which focuses on developing new sustainable aviation technologies.

Learn more about NASA’s Sustainable Aviation efforts at:

https://go.nasa.gov/3GzcDMP

Source: NASA

https://stmdailynews.com/category/science/

“Frederick the Bald Eagle” is the airline’s first A321neo, first GTF-powered aircraft, and first of three special liveries

TAMPA, Fla. /PRNewswire/ — Pratt & Whitney, a Raytheon Technologies business (NYSE: RTX), and Frontier Airlines (“Frontier”) today welcomed the arrival of the carrier’s first Airbus A321neo aircraft, outfitted with Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engines, at a celebration at Tampa International Airport.

In recognition of the companies’ relationship, Frontier asked Pratt & Whitney employees to name the first three aircraft. The first plane was named “Frederick the Bald Eagle” in honor of the company’s founder Frederick B. Rentschler, recognizing the nearly 100-year history of the engine maker. The aircraft features Pratt & Whitney’s hallmark bald eagle on the tail and marks the first of 144 A320neo family aircraft – 134 purchased and 10 leased – for which Frontier has selected the GTF engine. In the coming months, Frontier will reveal two additional aircraft named after other Pratt & Whitney pioneers, each with its own unique tail design.

Rick Deurloo, president of Commercial Engines at Pratt & Whitney, joined Frontier President and CEO Barry Biffle, along with employees and distinguished guests, at Tampa International Airport to mark the occasion and the shared commitment to a more sustainable future.

“Our employees are the true trailblazers, who are committed to developing the transformative technologies that will allow the industry to achieve its commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Deurloo. “For the flying public, the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine means a focus on environmental responsibility with less fuel consumption, fewer emissions and lower noise – keeping fares low and contributing to quieter flights and cleaner communities.”

“We are thrilled to welcome our first A321neo, powered by Pratt & Whitney’s groundbreaking GTF engines, to the Frontier fleet,” said Biffle. “Frontier is already America’s Greenest Airline based on our young, highly fuel-efficient fleet, and these new aircraft will take us to the next level in terms of operational efficiency and a further lessening of our environmental footprint. The operational performance offered by these aircraft will generate savings that can be passed on to our customers, helping us continue to deliver on our mission of providing ‘Low Fares Done Right’ across America and beyond.”

Rentschler founded the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company in Hartford, Conn. in July 1925. He had a vision for viable commercial aviation: the best planes can only be built around the best engines. The company’s first product, designed by the end of that year, was an air-cooled, radial piston engine named the Wasp. The engine transformed the aviation industry and is the only aircraft engine to be designated an historic landmark to this day. The GTF engine extends Rentschler’s vision and spirit of innovation with its geared fan design. It has saved airlines more than 800 million gallons of fuel and over 8 million metric tons of CO₂ since it entered service in January of 2016.

The Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engine is the only geared propulsion system delivering industry-leading sustainability benefits and dependable, world-class operating costs. It offers the greatest fuel efficiency and lowest greenhouse gas emissions for the Airbus A320neo family. GTF-powered aircraft reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by 16% to 20%, NOx emissions by 50% and noise footprint by 75%.* Certified for operation on 50% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and successfully tested on 100% SAF, the engines are capable of further reductions in carbon emissions, which will help the aviation industry meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. The engine’s revolutionary geared fan architecture is the foundation for more sustainable aviation technologies in the decades ahead, with advancements like the Pratt & Whitney GTF Advantage™ engine and beyond. Learn more at pwgtf.com. 

*Reductions vs. prior-generation aircraft, based on 75 dB noise contour and ICAO CAEP/6 emissions regulations.

SOURCE Pratt & Whitney