NASA and Boeing will be in charge of building the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator , a low-emission air vehicle that will define the future of aviation.
The American company Boeing will be in charge of building the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator , an aircraft developed together with the US space agency ( NASA ) with the hope that its design and technology will serve as a model for future aviation.
With the Demonstrator, NASA expects to reduce by up to 30% the fuel consumption and emissions of narrow-body aircraft -a single aisle- frequently used to cover national routes, and which are the most used.
“We tend to think of NASA as a space agency, an aeronautical agency, but NASA is also a climate agency,” said agency administrator Bill Nelson at a press conference on Wednesday .
A new concept of sustainable aviation
Nelson explained that Boeing ‘s concept , which is expected to be able to fly by 2028, is a full-scale demonstration aircraft of the Transonic Braced Wing (TTBW) type, with beams that are placed obliquely to secure a truss.
In a statement, Boeing explained that it will integrate elements of existing vehicles with entirely new components in the construction of the aircraft.
“Ultra-thin, strut-braced wings, with longer spans and higher aspect ratios, could accommodate advanced propulsion systems currently constrained by the lack of underwing space in low-wing aircraft configurations.” the company explained.
For a more sustainable future
NASA also hopes that this design will incorporate a series of technological advances that will reduce fuel consumption and make aviation more sustainable, which will serve as a model for commercial aviation.
For Nelson , the project will “revolutionize the type of plane people use most often when they fly ,” and will bring the United States closer to reaching the government’s goal of zero emissions in the aviation industry by 2050.