Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. announced today that the company is moving forward in NASA's Sustainable Flight National Partnership as a key partner in the Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) project.

“Spirit is leveraging extensive experience as a global leader in composite structures technology development and our commercial design-build production capabilities to take a leading role in NASA's HiCAM public-private partnership, a vital cornerstone to create an affordable sustainable future for aviation,” said Sean Black, Spirit senior vice president, chief technology officer and chief engineer. “At Spirit AeroSystems, we are committed to sustainable practices in our work and in our communities. Spirit team members in the U.S., supported by expertise and capability in the U.K., will help NASA and partners develop the next generation of composite primary airframe structures, which have the potential to help reduce aviation carbon emissions.”

Spirit is among 14 organizations awarded NASA contracts for initial development of the HiCAM project.

The NASA HiCAM project is aimed at reducing the cost and increasing the production rate of composite structures made in the United States, seeking dramatic improvement in manufacturing rates. Lighter weight composite airframes will lead to reduced fuel usage and reduced emissions, which will make commercial aviation more environmentally sustainable.

NASA says that the organizations awarded contracts are supporting evaluation and development of high-rate manufacturing concepts at small scales, including experiments in material processing, assembly techniques, inspection, and structural performance.

At the conclusion of this phase of the project, HiCAM will select the most promising concepts for further development, after which will follow a full-scale demonstration of fuselage and wing components by 2028. The demonstration articles will be fabricated using one of or a combination of the three main areas of HiCAM research: thermoplastic composites, resin-infused composites, and next-generation thermoset composites.

Pending results of annual federal budget negotiations, NASA says its plans to invest $184 million in HiCAM while partner organizations are expected to contribute $136 million, resulting in a total project operating budget of $320 million.