Aviation Technology

Artemis Aerospace discusses aviation in the post-pandemic era and why now is the time for optimism

Artemis Aerospace | February 21, 2022

Flapper News
Jim Scott, owner of components solutions experts Artemis Aerospace, discusses how he sees the aviation industry adapting and emerging from the COVID-19 crisis.

The pandemic has changed the aviation industry irrevocably. Unlike any other crisis in the sector's history, COVID-19 not only grounded numerous aircraft, wiped billions from industry revenues and cost 200 million jobs, but it also fundamentally changed consumer behaviour overnight.

However, despite these extraordinary setbacks and unparalleled circumstances, as we emerge and recover from the pandemic, one thing has become clear: the aviation industry has a unique opportunity for transformation.

The acceleration of some technological advances that were already in the pipeline, such as automation, along with new business models and growing travel demand are sparking the dawn of a new era – one that ultimately has efficiency and environment at its heart.

Automation – increasing efficiency in a restricted world

While automation has long been a buzzword in the world of aviation, technological advances and investment in automated services for both the commercial and cargo sectors have surged over the last couple of years.

Automated innovations have been crucial to maintaining operations throughout the pandemic, instilling passenger confidence and creating safer working environments for employees across the board. There is no doubt that automated innovations will continue to evolve as we navigate the new aviation ecosystem.

From touchless check-ins to contactless immigration and supply chain support, automation in a post-pandemic world will generate greater efficiency and help to solve many of the challenges we face going forwards as we work towards getting back to pre-pandemic levels of business.

Transforming the business model

Traditionally, business travellers have always been the main revenue source for commercial operators with 75% of airline travel profit attributed to passengers travelling for work. However, with business travel unlikely to recover to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon, airlines will have to reinvent and rework their business models to address this.

Past crises have demonstrated that business travel takes the longest to recoup. For example, it took four years following 9/11. The added complications brought about by COVID-19, such as the popularity of remote working and online meetings – along with their associated cost savings – has meant it is likely that business travel, while still a necessity in certain situations, will not reach its previous levels ever again.

Meanwhile, leisure travel has rebounded more quickly than forecast and, indeed, as long as people have been allowed to fly, the demand has still been there.

With this in mind, airlines will need to assess and restructure cabin configurations, landing slots, networks, aircraft sizes and ticket pricing to maximise their potential while business travel remains subdued.

However, growth is not limited to passenger traffic and cargo is still estimated to increase – even double – over the coming decade.

Ecological advances

Despite the lull of the last two years, flights are expected to double in the next 20 years, so, as an industry, we have a responsibility to ensure we are doing everything we can to minimise our environmental impact.

Biofuel and electrically powered aircraft are key to reducing the carbon footprint and environmental impact of air travel – and we are closer than ever before to making these a reality for commercial airlines.

While there is still some way to go in rolling out biofueled aircraft across the industry, Boeing has already committed to making planes that fly on 100% biofuel by 2030 and even staged the first commercial flight in 2018 using 100% biofuel.

Likewise, as far back as 2010, the Swiss company Solar Impulse built an electrically powered aircraft that could run on solar power during a 26-hour trial flight.

These advancements have continued, with Harbour Air's thirty-minute flight of its six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver and NASA's new all-electric plane that is currently in development.

It is possible that, much like motor vehicles, jet planes will eventually become hybrid alternatives with the benefit of reducing environmental impact, cuttings fuel costs and lowering maintenance expenses.

Aviation – at the forefront of innovation

As an industry, aviation has achieved so much. Not only has it become one of the safest and most reliable modes of transportation in the world, it has also contributed exponentially to social and economic development.

The allure of travel and connecting people with places – along with cost-effective and quick methods of transporting cargo – will always be attractive options and undoubtedly this will continue well into the future. The question now is not "Will aviation reach pre-pandemic levels?" but "When will it surpass pre-pandemic levels?"

Spotlight

The range of the Airbus A321XLR could be reduced up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) following an agreement between Airbus and European regulators on design safeguards needed to achieve certification. Let’s look at the details of this disappointing news in today’s video.


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Aviation Technology

Joby Subsidiary H2FLY Completes World’s First Piloted Flight of Liquid Hydrogen Powered Electric Aircraft

businesswire | September 14, 2023

H2FLY, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Joby Aviation, today announced the successful completion of the world’s first piloted flight of a liquid hydrogen-powered electric aircraft. H2FLY, acquired by Joby in 2021, continues to lead the industry on the development and testing of hydrogen aviation propulsion systems. The company completed a series of piloted flights with its HY4 demonstrator aircraft, including one that lasted more than three hours, fitted with a hydrogen-electric fuel cell propulsion system and liquid hydrogen that powered it for the entire flight. The flights demonstrate the viability of using cryogenically-stored liquid hydrogen instead of gaseous hydrogen, which enables significantly lower tank weights and volume, leading to longer range. The successful installation and demonstration of flight with liquid hydrogen is believed to increase the range of H2FLY’s HY4 demonstrator aircraft from 466 mi (750 km) to 932 mi (1500 km), marking a critical step towards the long-term decarbonization of mid- to long-range aviation. “H2FLY are pioneers in their field, and we’re proud of them achieving this watershed moment in the use of liquid hydrogen to power aircraft,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation. “In the years to come, battery-electric and hydrogen-electric propulsion systems will enable us to build aircraft that are quieter and make mid- to long-range air travel possible with zero emissions. It’s critical we take action now and invest aggressively in these technologies for the health of our planet and future generations to come.” The successful flights are the culmination of Project HEAVEN, a European-government-supported consortium assembled to demonstrate the feasibility of using liquid hydrogen in aircraft. The consortium is led by H2FLY and includes the partners Air Liquide, Pipistrel Vertical Solutions, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies, and Fundación Ayesa. Following this test flight milestone, H2FLY will increasingly focus on its path to commercialization. In June, H2FLY announced the development of its new fuel cell systems, which will be capable of providing their full power range at altitudes high enough to enable commercial hydrogen-electric aircraft, demonstrating real-world commercial aircraft applications. About Joby Joby Aviation, Inc. is a California-based transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi which it intends to operate as part of a fast, quiet, and convenient service in cities around the world.

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Defense and Space

Rocket Lab Signs Multi-Launch Deal to Further Deploy Synspective Constellation

Businesswire | July 14, 2023

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it has signed a deal with Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective to launch two dedicated Electron missions. The new missions bring the total number of Electron launches contracted by Synspective to six. Rocket Lab has been launching for Synspective since 2020 when the Company deployed the first satellite in Synspective’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation, which is designed to deliver imagery that can detect millimetre-level changes to the Earth’s surface from space. Since that first mission, Rocket Lab has been the sole launch provider for Synspective’s StriX constellation to date, successfully deploying three StriX satellites across three dedicated Electron launches. Including the two new missions, Rocket Lab is now scheduled to launch three missions for Synspective beginning in late 2023 from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Rocket Lab founder and Chief Executive, Peter Beck, says: “It’s an honor to be entrusted with the continued deployment of Synspective’s constellation. We’re proud to enable them to build out their constellation with precision and efficiency, giving Synspective ultimate schedule and orbit flexibility with frequent dedicated launch opportunities. We’re delighted to continue delivering this unique ability to Synspective through our continued partnership.” In addition to providing Synspective with a high degree over schedule and orbit by flying as a dedicated mission, Rocket Lab also delivers the unique ability to perform an advanced mid-mission maneuver with the Electron rocket’s Kick Stage to shield the StriX satellite from the sun to reduce radiation exposure ahead of payload deployment. Synspective founder and CEO, Dr. Motoyuki Arai, says: “As we celebrate our three-year partnership with Rocket Lab, which began with our first StriX-α satellite in 2020, we are thrilled to entrust them with two more contracts for our StriX satellite launches. Their unwavering reliability and precision have been pivotal to our successful deployments. We’re looking forward to the upcoming launches and the new insights to enhance our satellite data and solution service in line with our customer needs.” Synspective joins several commercial constellation operators that have signed multi-launch agreements on Electron this year, including HawkEye 360 and Capella Space. Previous Rocket Lab Launches for Synspective: • The Owl’s Night Begins: 15 December 2020 • The Owl’s Night Continues: 28 February 2022 • The Owl Spreads Its Wings: 15 September 2022 About Rocket Lab Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier and more affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle, the Photon satellite platform and the Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 163 satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations, enabling operations in national security, scientific research, space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a third launch pad in Virginia.

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Air Transport

NAVAIR Selects Mercury to Deliver Digital Head-Up Display for T-45 Goshawk Training Aircraft

Globenewsiwre | July 17, 2023

Mercury Systems, Inc. , a technology company that delivers processing power for the most demanding aerospace and defense missions, received a five-year contract worth as much as $83 million from the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command to deliver high-definition, digital Head-Up Display (HUD) systems for the T-45 Goshawk training aircraft. This firm-fixed-price delivery order was issued under a previously awarded basic ordering agreement. The Navy is the first customer to adopt Mercury’s HUD1080 technology that enables aviators to see critical flight and weapons data in real-time without taking their eyes off the sky. Under this program, Mercury expects to deliver nearly 300 HUD systems, with the first $45 million production order awarded in conjunction with this contract. The T-45 Goshawk is a tandem-seat jet trainer used to train Navy and Marine Corps aviators to fly the U.S. military’s most advanced fighter jets, including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F-35 Lightning, and the EA-18G Growler, as well as tactical airborne early warning aircraft such as the E-2 Hawkeye. The new T-45 HUD with an integrated camera is based on Mercury’s low-profile HUD design that minimizes pilot discomfort, enhances situational awareness, and maximizes an aviator’s field-of-view. It is also DAL-A certifiable—the highest level of design assurance that can be applied to airborne systems—allowing it to be used for critical flight and mission tasks such as landing on aircraft carriers. Why It Matters Pilots must understand a wealth of rapidly changing data while flying, and a HUD allows them to maintain awareness of this information without having to take their eyes off the sky to look down at multiple instruments. Current training aircraft use older analog HUD systems that have a bulky design, are out of production, and cannot integrate with the modern enhanced vision systems used in today’s fighter jets. The integration of Mercury’s HUD into the T-45 solves the obsolescence problem for the aircraft and ensures pilots are trained in an operationally realistic environment, as the systems are compatible with upcoming T-45 avionics upgrades. “The introduction of the HUD1080 expands Mercury’s display technology portfolio and our ability to deliver mission-ready technology and solutions for all aspects of the avionics ecosystem,” said Mitch Stevison, Executive Vice President and President of Mercury’s Mission Systems division. “We look forward to delivering our digital HUD for the T-45 Goshawk, ensuring today’s student pilots have the technology to train for current and future missions.” About Mercury Systems Mercury Systems is a technology company that pushes processing power to the tactical edge, making the latest commercial technologies profoundly more accessible for today’s most challenging aerospace and defense missions. From silicon to system scale, Mercury enables customers to accelerate innovation and turn data into decision superiority. Mercury is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, and has 24 locations worldwide.

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Defense and Space

D-Wave and Davidson Technologies Introduce New Innovations to Advance National Defense Efforts

Businesswire | August 08, 2023

D-Wave Quantum Inc. a leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services, and Davidson Technologies, Inc., a technology services company that provides innovative engineering, technical and management solutions for the Department of Defense, aerospace and commercial customers, today announced progress in their collaboration to create solutions that advance national defense efforts. In support of the companies’ joint presence at this week’s Space and Missile Defense Symposium, D-Wave and Davidson Technologies revealed that together they have built two applications, focused on interceptor assignment and optimized radar scheduling Designed to mitigate potential attacks, the interceptor assignment application is able to take into account a multitude of complex variables, including missile capability in negating threats, balanced allocation of missiles to threats, and availability of resources to help quickly identify the potential defense threats and identify key mitigation tactics. The radar scheduling application efficiently manages the time-limited resources of a phased-array radar system, enabling scheduling of communication with moving objects. Together, D-Wave and Davidson are working to advance intelligent technology solutions for the defense and aerospace industries, creating applications that could support a variety of mission objectives, including supply chain optimization, logistics management, weapon system optimization, and vehicle routing. D-Wave’s solutions are available now through the company’s Leap™ quantum cloud service and work synergistically with other technologies like high-performance computing and AI/ML. “During times of military response, speed matters, and our artificial intelligence, powered by D-Wave’s technology, provided an answer much faster than other computational options,” said Major General John W. Holly (USA, Ret.), president, CEO and chairman of Davidson. “Our mission is to deliver advanced, agile technology solutions in defense of our Nation, and together with D-Wave, we’re providing our government customers with critical applications in service to our country.” “By utilizing emerging and advanced technologies, Davidson is able to provide its customers with unique military implementation and national defense tools,” said Dr. Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave. “We share that spirit of imagining the unimaginable and harnessing the power of technology to keep America safer. We are excited to see advancement in our collaboration and look forward to more robust application development over our multi-year relationship.” D-Wave and Davidson have been collaborating since August 2022, when the companies entered into a multi-year reseller agreement to allow Davidson to resell D-Wave’s products and services, including the Leap quantum cloud service. About Davidson Technologies, Inc. For more than 25 years, Davidson has distinguished itself in the aerospace and missile defense industry with an outstanding reputation for performance excellence. Specifically, the company is recognized for innovation and subject matter expertise dedicated to the mission and the warfighter by designing and delivering advanced, intelligent technology solutions in defense of our Nation. About D-Wave Quantum Inc. D-Wave is a leader in the development and delivery of quantum computing systems, software, and services, and is the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers—and the only company building both annealing quantum computers and gate-model quantum computers. Our mission is to unlock the power of quantum computing today to benefit business and society. We do this by delivering customer value with practical quantum applications for problems as diverse as logistics, artificial intelligence, materials sciences, drug discovery, scheduling, cybersecurity, fault detection, and financial modeling. D-Wave’s technology is being used by some of the world’s most advanced organizations, including Volkswagen, Mastercard, Deloitte, Davidson Technologies, ArcelorMittal, Siemens Healthineers, Unisys, NEC Corporation, Pattison Food Group Ltd., DENSO, Lockheed Martin, Forschungszentrum Jülich, University of Southern California, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

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Spotlight

The range of the Airbus A321XLR could be reduced up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) following an agreement between Airbus and European regulators on design safeguards needed to achieve certification. Let’s look at the details of this disappointing news in today’s video.

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