Behind NASA's Bold Vision for Sustainable Aviation by 2050

The Boeing Company and Pratt & Whitney are partnering with NASA in a significant step towards innovating aircraft designs aimed at achieving sustainability in aviation.

Through the Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 initiative, NASA is spearheading efforts to encourage the development of forward-looking aircraft concepts.

The initiative has provided a platform for industry leaders and academic institutions to brainstorm transformative solutions that could ultimately shape the future of commercial aviation.

With a vision set for 2050, the programme has already provided US$11.5m across five awards to a combination of four companies and one university, signalling a robust start to this ambitious project.

These investments by NASA are designed to refine and enhance the selection of aircraft concepts and technologies, setting the stage for groundbreaking advancements in the field.

Boeing: Designs 'from mild to wild’ 

Brian Moran, CSO at The Boeing Company, expresses his excitement about the opportunity for the firm’s teams to explore a spectrum of aircraft designs, from conventional to the most audacious ones.

He hopes the programme will “bring out the best” in its teams.

Working in collaboration with NASA and top universities, Boeing aims to explore designs that not only push the envelope in terms of aesthetics but also enhance aerodynamic efficiency and incorporate novel energy systems.

"Under the AACES programme, we’ll pair our experts with NASA and leading universities to examine aircraft designs that could achieve further fuel efficiency gains, reduced noise and fewer persistent contrails for air travel by 2050," Brian says.

“Concepts will range from mild to wild, considering among others improved aerodynamics and novel energy systems.

“A bit like concept cars that may not end up in the show room but inspire the art of the possible, these studies bring out the best in our teams and partners.”

Collaborating with university experts

Brian elaborates that Aurora Flight Sciences, a subsidiary of Boeing based in Manassas, Virginia, US, will lead the effort, involving a cross-enterprise team from Boeing.

“Aurora will serve as the lead performing organisation alongside a cross-enterprise Boeing team," he says.

“University partners include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Penn State University, and the University of Michigan.

“This work will sit alongside other NASA research programs we are helping to advance, including the X-66 Sustainable Flight Demonstrator and the Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstrator.”

Expanding partnerships for broad-based innovation

The companies selected to take part in the programme are:

• Aurora Flight Sciences, whose team will perform a comprehensive, open-aperture exploration of technologies and aircraft concepts for the 2050 timeframe. This will include examining new alternative aviation fuels, propulsion systems, aerodynamic technologies and aircraft configurations
  
• Electra, which will explore extending its distributed electric propulsion and its unique aerodynamic design capabilities to “develop innovative wing and fuselage integrations that deliver sustainable aviation focused on enabling community-friendly emission reduction, noise reduction and improved air travel access”, NASA said
• Georgia Institute of Technology will explore sustainability technologies, including alternative fuels, propulsion systems and aircraft configurations. The institute’s team will then look at new aircraft concepts incorporating the selected technologies with their Advanced Technology Hydrogen Electric Novel Aircraft as a starting point 
• JetZero will explore technologies that enable cryogenic, liquid hydrogen to be used as a fuel for commercial aviation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 
  
• Pratt & Whitney, a division of RTX Corporation, will explore a “broad suite of commercial aviation propulsion technologies targeting thermal and propulsive efficiency improvements to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions”.

NASA is setting ambitious goals with the AACES program, seeking to leverage expertise and elevate sustainable aviation to new heights.

Bob Pearce, NASA Associate Administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, says: “Through initiatives like AACES, NASA is positioned to harness a broad set of perspectives about how to further increase aircraft efficiency, reduce aviation’s environmental impact and enhance US technological competitiveness in the 2040s, 2050s and beyond.

“As a leader in US sustainable aviation research and development, these awards are one example of how we bring together the best ideas and most innovative concepts from the private sector, academia, research agencies and other stakeholders to pioneer the future of aviation.” 

In 2021, NASA initiated its Sustainable Flight National Partnership, concentrating on technologies that could be integrated into aircraft by the 2030s.

The partnership's research and development efforts have resulted in ongoing NASA projects, including the experimental X-66 Sustainable Flight Demonstrator aircraft, the Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project and advancements in more efficient engine cores and processes for rapidly manufacturing lightweight composite materials.

NASA says: “The new AACES awards are initiating a similar process, but on a longer timeline, focusing on technologies to help transform aviation beyond SFNP with aircraft that could enter service by 2050.

“The kinds of partnerships NASA develops through SFNP and AACES are critical for the agency to support the US goal of net-zero aviation emissions by 2050 and to help put aviation on a path toward energy resilience.”

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