Volume 01 | Issue 26 | November 30, 2020
Additive Manufacturing, NASA Companies R&D, Air Travel Medicine Research

Welcome back to the Future of Aerospace, where each week we dive into a few of the trends rapidly defining the next generation of aircraft and aerial markets.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) became the latest civil aviation regulatory agency to outline conditions for the 737 MAX to return to service, more on that here.

Ten unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) received airworthiness criteria for certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the next step towards integrating small UAS into the national airspace, more on that here.

THIS WEEK: 3-D printing is no longer a new or innovative technology for the largest manufacturers in aerospace who have been creating solid objects from digital files for more than a decade, but what's happening across the industry now is a massive expansion in the number of use cases where additive can replace conventional methods of manufacturing commercial and military aircraft parts at lower costs, faster lead times and with more digitally flexible design and development methods. (Advanced Manufacturing)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) made an Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO) with 17 U.S. companies for 20 partnerships to mature space technology. The ACO, which is unfunded, will last between 12 and 24 months and has a total estimated value of $15.5 million. While the program is not funded, companies will have access to NASA’s testing facilities. (Public Policy)

While airline travel has dropped sharply this year as compared to last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, travel medicine researchers have plumbed evidence that points to ways to spur safer travel and public confidence in such travel, including testing of all airport personnel, the institution of homogenous safety measures by the airlines, sniffer dogs to detect COVID-19 infected travelers, photo monitoring of mask use at airports, and antigen/saliva-testing methods that offer promise as cheaper alternatives to nasal PCR tests. (COVID-19 Impact)



Thanks for reading.

—The Future of Aerospace Team
How the Aerospace Industry is Finding New 3D-Printing Use Cases for Old Aircraft Parts
Image: Satair

3-D printing is no longer a new or innovative technology for the largest manufacturers in aerospace who have been creating solid objects from digital files for more than a decade, but what's happening across the industry now is a massive expansion in the number of use cases where additive can replace conventional methods of manufacturing commercial and military aircraft parts at lower costs, faster lead times and with more digitally flexible design and development methods.

As just one major recently highlighted example in a year that has included a number of aerospace industry additive manufacturing advancements, Airbus Services subsidiary Satair supplied what it "believes," according to an Oct. 27 press release, to be the first additively manufactured certified metal printed flying spare part to an un-disclosed U.S. airline that operates a fleet of Airbus A320 current engine option (A320ceo) aircraft.

Examples of 3-D Printing’s Expansion in Aerospace:
  • Honeywell Aerospace marked a major additive manufacturing technical milestone in August, by creating what the company described as the "first certified, flight-critical engine part using additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing," in an Aug. 19 press release.

  • The part is further described by Honeywell as the "#4/5 bearing housing, is currently in production and was installed on an in-service engine." Dassault's Falcon 20G maritime patrol aircraft, used by the French Navy for patrol and search and rescue missions, operate ATF3-6 turbofan engines that use the additively manufactured bearing housing.

  • Boeing’s 777X, which completed its first test flight on Jan. 25 and is projected to enter into service by 2022, features two GE Aviation’s GE9X engines each with 300 3D printed parts. GE9X features 3D printed fuel nozzles, temperature sensors, heat exchanges, and low-pressure turbine blades are among the many parts made by GE Aviation’s Additive Technology Center.

  • A $1 million contract issued by the U.S. Air Force to New Mexico-based additive manufacturing systems supplier Optomec on Sept. 2 represents another new use case for old aircraft parts, repairing them. Under the contract, Optomec will use a process called Directed Energy Position (DED), "in which a highly concentrated stream of metal powder is jetted into a molten pool created by the focus of a laser beam," the company said in a Sept. 2 press release.

  • Aerospace companies are also increasingly adopting new digital tools to accelerate the design and data gathering development phase when considering the use of additive manufacturing for specific parts, Aaron Frankel, Vice President of Siemens' additive manufacturing software program told Aviation Today.

  • Frankel: "Our software is being used to design parts from standard brackets, to airframe components, to jet engine components and systems. When it comes to additive, aerospace companies are utilizing the technology for some very innovative solutions to complex problems. These innovations are enabled by the way that additive allows for the manufacturing of very complex geometries with the pinpoint precision necessary in the aerospace industry."
Felix Hammerschmidt, head of additive manufacturing solutions for Satair told Aviation Today more opportunities will open up for metal printing in the near future.

Hammerschmidt: "Additive offers the potential to reduce weight and improve part functionality, for example, the reduced pressure drop in hydraulic systems or improved efficiency of engines. The development of greener aircraft could also benefit from the possibilities that additive manufacturing offers as some technical solutions might be so complex that they cannot be manufactured by conventional machining."


Read more on how 3-D printing is expanding in aerospace.
Companies Small and Large Get Partnership with NASA for Future of Space Technologies
Image: During the final, demonstration level of NASA's 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, AI SpaceFactory autonomously printed a habitat and tested technology for building structures on the Moon and Mars (NASA/Emmett Given)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) made an Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO) with 17 U.S. companies for 20 partnerships to mature space technology. The ACO, which is unfunded, will last between 12 and 24 months and has a total estimated value of $15.5 million, according to the press release from NASA.

While the program is not funded, companies will have access to NASA’s testing facilities.

Jim Reuter, the associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD: “Space technology development doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Whether companies are pursuing space ventures of their own or maturing cutting-edge systems to one day offer a new service to NASA, the agency is dedicated to helping bring new capabilities to market for our mutual benefit.”

Companies Selected for the ACO include:
  • Northrop Grumman Space Systems Orbital Science Corporation will be developing an electric propulsion system for the ACO. They will be working to advance a low power high throughput Hall thruster system for small spacecraft, Joe Anderson, senior director of on-orbit service assembly and manufacturing at Northrop, told Aviation Today.

  • Sensuron is working to develop a miniature rugged temperature monitoring solution using a fiber optic sensing system under the ACO. Justin Braun, president of Sensuron, told Aviation Today that their goal is to provide more accurate and reliable measurements for cryogenic fuel tanks.

  • Ahmic Aerospace will be developing thermal protection systems to protect rockets and spacecraft from extreme heat for the ACO. To do this, they will be measuring the wall shear skin friction on thermal protections systems, something that historically has not be done, Ryan J. Meritt, president of Ahmic Aerospace, told Aviation Today.

  • Aerojet Rocketdyne will be working to develop a non-toxic propellant with higher performance and density but lower volume than the commonly used hydrazine. Joe Cassady, executive director for space at Aerojet Rocketdyne, told Aviation Today that the propellant is a new blend of water and the same chemicals used in hydrazine.

  • Other companies selected for the ACO include AI SpaceFactory, Blue Origin, Box Elder Innovations, Cornerstone Research Group, Elementum 3D, Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories, IN Space, pH Matter, Phase Four, Rocket Lab USA, SpaceX, Space System Loral, and Stellar Exploration Inc.
The ACO along with NASA’s 2020 Tipping Point partnerships support technology development which will lead to a sustainable presence on the Moon and future crewed missions to Mars, according to NASA.

Read more about NASA's new partnerships with companies to research future facing space technologies.
Travel Medicine Researchers Urge COVID Testing of Airport Personnel
Image: Delta Airlines said that it has used electrostatic spraying on all its flights since May. The sprayers disinfect aircraft cabins from floor to ceiling, sanitizing areas that employees and passengers frequently touch. The sprayers electrically charge and disperse liquid disinfectant in a fine mist that clings to surfaces. (Delta Airlines)

While airline travel has dropped sharply this year as compared to last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, travel medicine researchers have plumbed evidence that points to ways to spur safer travel and public confidence in such travel, including testing of all airport personnel, the institution of homogenous safety measures by the airlines, sniffer dogs to detect COVID-19 infected travelers, photo monitoring of mask use at airports, and antigen/saliva-testing methods that offer promise as cheaper alternatives to nasal PCR tests.

Michel Bielecki, a doctor at the University of Zürich Centre for Travel Medicine: "What I found interesting is that essentially airlines are following the rules by the International Air Transport Association [IATA], for example by making people wear masks, disinfecting airplanes, etc., but the way that airlines are following those regulations is strongly dependent on their interpretation.”

Challenges to Airlines and Airports Enforcing COVID-19 Policies:
  • Patrica Schlagenhauf, a professor of travel medicine at the University of Zürich, stressed that safer air travel depends on a "curb to curb," multi-pronged approach.

  • Airlines and airports should have protocols that account for emergencies during pandemics, including COVID-19 testing for all airport staff and first responders, triage plans, a maintenance pool of vetted volunteers from the community familiar with disease mitigation concepts who could improve emergency response capacity, and surplus personal protection equipment.

  • Better detection includes pre-flight passenger questionnaires regarding symptoms and antigen, saliva, or PCR tests.

  • Schalagenhauf said that airlines are trying to be innovative in their efforts to ensure safe travel. Turkish Airlines, for example, has significantly altered its inflight meal process. "To minimize contact between crew and passengers in accordance with health recommendations, we have prepared sanitary packed meals for contactless in-flight dining," the company said.
Bielecki said: An essential factor in rejuvenating safer air travel "is that information has to be conveyed to passengers in a way that is easy to follow, and that is the same across all the airlines rather than having to look up very specific rules that change from week to week [and] from airline to airline.”

Read more about air travel medicine research on preventing COVID-19 transmissions at airports and on airplanes.
Thank you for reading the Future of Aerospace, brought to you by Aviation Today.

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