NASA Hints at Aircraft of the Future?

Bethany Whitfield

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 10:33 PM ET

Verified

** Shown here are three environmentally-friendly
designs submitted by Boeing, Lockheed Martin
and Northrop Grumman.**

Key Takeaways:

NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project tasked Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman to design future "green" aircraft with goals to significantly reduce fuel burn, emissions, and airport noise compared to 1998 standards.
The companies proposed distinct designs: Boeing's composite wing body, Northrop Grumman's aerodynamic flying wing, and Lockheed Martin's boxed wing with an ultra-high bypass engine.
While these designs showed promising advancements, such as halving NOx emissions during takeoff and landing, they did not fully meet all the ambitious targets for fuel reduction or noise.
NASA is encouraged by the results, which will help guide the direction and funding of future environmentally responsible aviation research.

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What does the future of green aircraft look like? NASA recently gave aviation enthusiasts a peek by unveiling what’s coming out of the agency’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project, including three new aircraft designs put forth by some of the industry’s manufacturing giants.

Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman were awarded close to $11 million by the agency to put forth ideas for future aircraft that reduced fuel requirements by 50 percent, released 75 percent fewer emissions and produced 83 percent less airport noise than aircraft that first entered service in 1998, the standard used for the project.