NASA Seeks Research Proposals For Green Aircraft Concepts

WASHINGTON -- NASA is soliciting proposals for studies designed to
identify advanced vehicle concepts and enabling technologies for
commercial airliners to fly more economically, quieter and cleaner by
2025.

This research will support the Integrated Systems Research Program in
NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington. The
solicitation is the first of several expected under the directorate's
"Research Opportunities in Aeronautics" announcement for 2010,
released on Wednesday.

The total potential value of the research contracts is $36.6 million,
and proposals are due by July 15.

NASA will select up to four teams for 12-month studies beginning in
fiscal year 2011. The studies will define preferred concepts for
advanced vehicles that can operate within the Next Generation Air
Transportation System, or NextGen. The system is a U.S. government
air traffic modernization effort that includes NASA.

The concepts must incorporate technologies enabling large, twin-aisle
passenger aircraft to achieve ambitious environmental goals. Goals
include 50 percent less fuel consumption and nitrogen oxide emissions
compared with today's airliners and an approximately 80 percent
reduction in the nuisance noise footprint around airports.

After nine months work on preferred systems' concepts, each team will
be eligible to submit proposals for a subscale flight demonstrator
design. NASA will select one or two concepts for 17 months of
preliminary design work and risk reduction testing for completion by
mid-2013.

This research is supported by the Environmentally Responsible Aviation
Project within the Integrated Systems Research Program. It also will
benefit an emerging new project related to the use of
remotely-piloted aircraft in the national air space.

Because the subscale flight demonstrator will be capable of operating
in autonomous and remotely-piloted modes, it will test environmental
technology, other suites and techniques. Test areas may include
separation assurance and collision avoidance; command, control and
communications; remote pilot and vehicle interfaces; environmental
hazards detection and avoidance that could enable routine operation
of future unpiloted air vehicles. NASA anticipates conducting test
flights with the demonstrator in 2015.

Specific evaluation criteria, deadlines and points of contact for this
research topic and other project areas are available in the
announcement at:

http://nspires.nasaprs.com

NASA anticipates amending this announcement to add research topics in
other project areas. For more information about NASA's Aeronautics
Research Mission Directorate, visit:

http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov

Source: NASA