Space agency NASA and aviation technology group Boeing want to work together on a passenger plane with fewer emissions. NASA announced on Wednesday that Boeing will make about 425 million dollars (395 million euros) available for this over the next seven years.
Boeing and its partners would invest an additional $725 million (approximately $671 million). The project must be completed within this decade. Under the agreement, Boeing will work with NASA to build, test and fly a full-scale prototype of the jet and validate technologies aimed at reducing emissions, NASA reports on its website.
Targeting more fuel-efficient jets
“Our goal is that partnering with Boeing to produce and test a full-scale demonstrator aircraft will help ensure that future commercial aircraft will be more fuel efficient and have benefits for the environment, the commercial aviation industry and passengers around the world said NASA CEO Bill Nelson am Wednesday when presenting the project.
Extra long wings with diagonal struts
As part of the project, Boeing and NASA are working on an aircraft with extra-long, thin wings stabilized by diagonal struts. This design results in a jet aircraft that is much more fuel efficient than a traditional aircraft, as it has a shape that creates less drag – which in turn means it uses less kerosene.
NASA’s goal is that the technology used in the prototype, combined with other advancements in propulsion systems, materials and system architecture, will result in a reduction in fuel consumption and emissions of up to 30 percent compared to current most efficient single-aisle jets (narrow-body aircraft with only one aisle and up to seven seats per row, note).
The tests are expected to be completed by the end of 2020
NASA plans to complete testing for the project by the end of 2020 so that the technologies and designs demonstrated by the project can inform industry decisions about next-generation single-aisle aircraft to enter service in the 2030s taken.
Narrow-body jets are the workhorses of many airlines and are responsible for nearly half of global aviation emissions due to their intensive use.
Source: Krone
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