NASA & Boeing are collaborating on a sustainable commercial aircraft!

NASA has selected Boeing Aircraft and its industry team to lead the development and flight testing of a full-scale Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) demonstration aircraft. The technologies demonstrated and tested in the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (SFD) program will inform future designs and could lead to revolutionary aerodynamic and fuel efficiency gains.

More economical, less polluting

The technologies demonstrated and tested in the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (SFD) program will inform future designs and could lead to revolutionary aerodynamic and fuel efficiency gains.

Combined with expected advances in propulsion systems, materials and system architecture. The SFD program aims to advance the civil aviation industry's commitment to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2050, as well as the goals outlined in the White House's U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan.

The principle 

The combination of ultra-thin, strut-strengthened wings with longer spans and higher aspect ratios could potentially accommodate advanced propulsion systems that are limited by a lack of underwing space in today's low-wing aircraft configurations. The concept is for an aircraft with wings located higher in the fuselage. This configuration will free up space under the wings for advanced propulsion systems. Overall, this means that a single-aisle airliner with a TTBW configuration could save up to 30 percent in fuel consumption and emissions reduction compared to today's most efficient single-aisle aircraft.

The funding

NASA's funding through the SFD Space Act agreement is $425 million. The SFD program also leverages up to $725 million in funding from Boeing and its industry partners to shape the demonstration program and meet necessary resource requirements. Separately, Boeing's previous internal investments for recent phases of sustainable aeronautics research total $110 million.

Source: https://www.avianews.ch/post/la-nasa-boeing-collaborent-sur-l-avion-commercial-durable