NASA wants industry to think ahead to airliners that could enter service in 2030-35, and is to fund several advanced concept studies to catalyse work on future subsonic and supersonic transports. The agency is holding a pre-proposal conference in Washington DC on 29 November to seek industry feedback on its goals for "N+3 Generation" commercial airliners that could see service within the next two decades.
"We want to seed thinking about what new vehicles could by flying in that timeframe," says Juan Alonso, director of NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics programme. NASA's revamped aeronautics programme has established three technology horizons for fixed-wing research: N+1 for aircraft that could enter service in 2015, N+2 for 2018-20 and now N+3, which is "a significant step beyond N+2", says Alonso.
Developed by NASA, the targets for 2030-35 "have been influenced by what we perceive the environment will be, and what the demands will be on future vehicles," he says. "They are very aggressive targets, but they are not pulled out of a vacuum."
N+3 targets for a 160-seat subsonic airliner include noise a cumulative 81dB below Stage 3, NOx emissions 80% below CAEP 2 limits and fuel burn 50% lower than a CFM56-powered Boeing 737.
For a 100- to 200-seat "multi-Mach" airliner, they include efficient cruise at M2 where supersonic flight is unrestricted and a low-boom M1.6 cruise over land. Aggressive airport noise and fuel efficiency goals have also been set.
Alonso says the N+1, 2 and 3 targets are the "corners of the trade space", and are not all expected to be met in a single vehicle. "[Each target] is what could responsibly be achieved if we pushed the vehicle in that direction," he says.
A solicitation will be released in January, with contracts for around five N+3 concept studies - three subsonic and two supersonic - to be awarded by June. NASA has $10 million in funding for the Phase 1 studies, which will last one year.
The agency then plans to select two or three of the concepts for further study under an 18-month second phase. This will include "significant technology demonstrations" to ensure the concepts' credibility, says Alonso.
Source: Flight International
