NASA invests in future of aviation with eight supersonic research projects

Quieter, greener supersonic travel is the focus of eight studies selected by NASA's Commercial Supersonic Technology Project to receive more than $2.3 million in funding for research that may help overcome the remaining barriers to commercial supersonic flight.

The research, which will be conducted by universities and industry, will address sonic booms and high-altitude emissions from supersonic jets.

The titles of the studies and details of the awards are:

• Global Environmental Impact of Supersonic Cruise Aircraft in the Stratosphere 
$1.2 million over four years

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Principal Investigator: Steven Barrett

• The Influence of Turbulence on Shaped Sonic Booms 
$1.2 million over three years

Wyle Laboratories, Arlington, Virginia

Principal Investigator: Kenneth Plotkin

• Sonic Boom Display 
$698,000

Rockwell Collins, Columbia, Maryland

Principal Investigator: Laura Smith-Velazquez

• Pilot Interface for Mitigating Sonic Boom 
$686,000 over two years

Honeywell, Golden Valley, Minnesota

Principal Investigator: Olu Olofinboba

• Quiet Nozzle Concepts for Low Boom Aircraft 
$575,000 over two years

University of California, Irvine

Principal Investigator: Dimitri Papamoschou

• Evaluation of Low Noise Integration Concepts and Propulsion Technologies for Future Supersonic Civil Transports 
$599,000 over two years

GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York

Principal Investigator: Kishore Ramakrishnan

• Waveforms and Sonic Boom Perception and Response Risk Reduction 
$337,000 for one year

Applied Physical Sciences, Groton, Connecticut

Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Allanach

• Risk Reduction for Future Community Testing with a Low-Boom Flight Demonstration Vehicle 
$393,000 over one year

Fidell Associates, Woodland Hills, California

Principal Investigator: Sanford Fidell

The awards to Applied Physical Sciences and Fidell Associates are guaranteed only for the first year. One of the two will be selected to receive about $450,000 a year for two more years.