Aeronautics at Risk

Is NASA's aeronautics research misdirected and irrelevant, or is it the victim of its own success in producing meaningful results despite insignificant funding? And does a commercial aerospace industry with record orderbooks even need government R&D support? These are questions the agency's aeronautics research leadership is wrestling with as it tries to make more of its meager budget—just 3% of NASA's total—even as funding is being reduced again. Their answer, for now, is to try to convince their industry and government partners to agree on priorities for U.S. aeronautics research and push for public-private funding of two or three big-ticket, national-level X-plane programs ...