Nasa Supersonic Aircraft

Nasa Supersonic Aircraft

NASA has awarded a $100,000 grant for the development of a ‘ninja star-shaped’ plane capable of supersonic travel. The groundbreaking aircraft is capable of turning at 90 degree-angles mid-flight, transforming it into a supersonic jet.

The creators of the new plane have designed it to fly like a normal aircraft, but upon reaching supersonic atmosphere levels the craft rotates, and then flies at twice the speed of sound.

"We are inventing the ways in which next-generation aircraft and spacecraft will change the world and inspiring Americans to take bold steps," Michael Gazarik, director of NASA's Space Technology Program told the Huffington Post.

The plane’s rotation is designed to reduce air resistance during faster-than-sound flight. In order to take off, the craft uses its two longer wings to achieve subsonic speeds. The larger wingspan would cause unwanted drag in supersonic flight, so the plane spins 90 degrees in order to give itself a more aerodynamic profile.

The revolutionary dual-design means that the plane poduces "virtually zero sonic boom" when it breaks the sound barrier, its creator claims.

Gecheng Zha of the University of Miami, the plane’s designer, said that the mid-flight rotation would not be uncomfortable for passengers, and would reduce G-force pull on takeoff. 

“Imagine a flight from New York to Los Angeles that only takes two hours instead of six, and from New York to Tokyo in just five instead of fifteen,” Professor Zha said.

The planned plane design is still a work in progress, and is not expected to see a working model for at least a few decades.

Supersonic Aircraft Model

The window in the sidewall of the 8- by 6-foot supersonic wind tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center shows a 1.79 percent scale model of a future concept supersonic aircraft built by The Boeing Company. In recent tests, researchers evaluated the performance of air inlets mounted on top of the model to see how changing the amount of airflow at supersonic speeds through the inlet affected performance. The inlet on the pilot's right side (top inlet in this side view) is larger because it contains a remote-controlled device through which the flow of air could be changed. 

The work is part of ongoing research in NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate to address the challenges of making future supersonic flight over land possible. Researchers are testing overall vehicle design and performance options to reduce emissions and noise, and identifying whether the volume of sonic booms can be reduced to a level that leads to a reversal of the current ruling that prohibits commercial supersonic flight over land

Supersonic Noise

The Twin Rectangular Jet model, installed on the Nozzle Acoustic Test Rig in the Aeroacoustic Propulsion Laboratory at NASA's Glenn Research Center, is being tested to determine the acoustic impact of engine configurations on low sonic boom aircraft for the High Speed Project of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program. 

The High Speed Project is a multi-center effort to develop and test the technologies of a new generation of aircraft that can fly at supersonic speeds. Glenn's research involves predicting the airport noise of these novel aircraft by examining innovative airframes and propulsion integration that are different from the conventional tube-and-wing aircraft observed at commercial airports. 

Inside the aeroacoustic dome, this generic, low-fidelity aircraft engine exhaust model features twin rectangular nozzles. Researchers are investigating the impact of having the propulsive exhaust come from the slot nozzles atop the aircraft. Testing the proposed components of these high- speed aircraft will help manufacturers meet the noise standards required around the nation's airports.