NIAC 2013 Phase I winners showcases futuristic aerospace concepts

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A nuclear-powered spacecraft is one winning concept of NASA's Innovative

A dozen inventors have received a chance to demonstrate the potential for their pet space projects as winners of NASA's 2013 Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program Phase I awards. The winners were chosen based on their potential to transform future aerospace missions by enabling either breakthroughs in aerospace capabilities or entirely new missions. Read on for a closer look at some of the most promising proposals with a view to how they would work, and where the tricky bits might be hiding.
Each NIAC Phase I winner receives about US$100,000 to spend a year pursuing their ideas, including an initial feasibility study of a novel aerospace concept. The proposals this year include; 3D printing of biomaterials; using galactic rays to map the insides of asteroids; and an "eternal flight" platform that could hover in the Earth's atmosphere.

The list of this year's awardees includes:
• Rob Adams of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center – Pulsed Fission-Fusion (PuFF) propulsion system
• John Bradford of SpaceWorks Engineering – Torpor inducing transfer habitat for human stasis to Mars
• Hamid Hemmati of NASA Jet Propulsion – Two-dimensional planetary surface landers
• Nathan Jerred of Universities Space Research Association - Dual-mode propulsion system enabling CubeSat exploration of the Solar System
• Anthony Longman – Growth adapted tensegrity structures
• Mark Moore of NASA Langley Research Center - Eternal flight as the solution for 'X'
• Thomas Prettyman of the Planetary Science Institute – Deep mapping of small solar system bodies with galactic cosmic ray secondary particle showers
• Lynn Rothschild of NASA Ames Research Center – Biomaterials out of thin air
• Joshua Rovey of the University of Missouri – Plasmonic force propulsion revolutionizes Nano/PicoSatellite capability
• Adrian Stoica of NASA Jet Propulsion Lab – Transformers for extreme environments
• Christopher Walker of the University of Arizona – 10 meter sub-orbital balloon refletor
• S.J. Ben Yoo of the University of California-Davis – Low-mass planar photonic imaging sensor

Let's take a look at three of the most promising concepts with a view to how they would work, and where the tricky bits might be hiding.

Solar-powered airplane completes trans-America flight

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André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard celebrate the completion of the Solar Impulse's Mission Across America at New York's JFK International Airport
the solar-powered airplane of Swiss pioneers Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg – has successfully landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. In so doing, it begins a new era in the history of aviation: for the first time, a plane capable of flying day and night powered exclusively by solar energy has crossed the USA from the west to the east coasts, without using a single drop of fuel.

Solar Impulse's Mission Across America began in San Francisco on May 3, and made stops in Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, St. Louis (where the plane's inflatable hangar was used for the firs time), Cincinnati and Washington D.C. The 3,511-mile (5,530-km) trip took a total of 105 hours and 41 minutes in the air, for an average speed of 33.14 mph (53.34 km/h).
The flight ended at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on July 6 at 11:09 pm local time. The pilot for this final leg of the voyage was Borschberg, who had alternated with Piccard throughout the journey.

While Solar Impulse succeeded in finishing the cross-country flight, during the flight from Washington D.C. to New York its left wing suffered an 8-foot (2.5-m) rip in the wing fabric on the lower wing surface. Inspection by helicopter while in flight led to the conclusion that the rip was stable, and would not prevent the mission from proceeding.
After catching their collective breaths, the next set of tasks for the Solar Impulse team is to build and test the next-generation of the solar-powered aircraft. The HB-SIB will be larger and heavier, comprising a pressurized cockpit to allow cruising at altitudes up to 39,000 feet (12 km). Advanced avionics will allow the HB-SIB to safely navigate the airways on transcontinental and transoceanic flights. HB-SIB test flights are likely to begin in 2014.

Airbus A350 XWB makes surprise visit to Paris Air Show

The Airbus A350 XWB made a visit to the 2013 Paris Air Show during its third test flight

There was a surprise appearance at the Paris Air Show on Friday as the first prototype Airbus A350 XWB airliner did a flyover for the crowds at Le Bourget Airport. The flyover was part of what was the aircraft’s third time in the air and was a last minute bonus appearance due to it performing much better than expected on its previous two test flights.