The Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft completed initial envelope expansion tests in March. Thirteen flights totaling 81 hours were completed, and altitudes of 59,900 feet were achieved. Only one test point out of 568 needed to be repeated. The Triton will be flown by the U.S. Navy for real-time intelligence and reconnaissance over ocean and coastal regions, maritime surveillance, and search and rescue. The first flight
was on May 22, 2013. On June 2, the Solar Impulse 2 made its first flight, from Payerne, Switzerland, with Markus Scherdel at the controls. The Si2 is the second-generation aircraft from Solar Impulse, a project by Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg to circumnavigate the Earth using a piloted fixed-wing aircraft under solar power. The Si2 flew for two hours and 17 minutes using stored battery power, and achieved a speed of 30 knots and an altitude of 5,500 feet
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory completed flight tests on June 28 for the Low- Density Supersonic Decelerator at the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. The LDSD is a space vehicle with a doughnutshaped balloon that inflates around the vehicle during re-entry to generate atmospheric drag and decelerate the vehicle. For the tests, a high-altitude helium balloon carried the vehicle to 120,000 feet, where it was released and powered to Mach 4 at 180,000 feet. At
Mach 3.8, the 20-foot Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator slowed the vehicle
to Mach 2.5 in 107 seconds. A parachute was also deployed but tore. The vehicle impacted the Pacific Ocean at between 20 and 30 mph, and all flight hardware was recovered. More
tests are scheduled for 2015 and will incorporate a redesigned parachute. The GL-10 Greased Lightning unmanned aircraft made its first flight in August, at NASA’s Langley Research Center. The GL-10 attempts to fulfill a need for an unmanned aircraft with long endurance and a vertical
takeoff and landing capability. The aircraft has 10 electric-powered propellers — eight on a wing and two on a tail that both rotate relative to the fuselage.
was on May 22, 2013. On June 2, the Solar Impulse 2 made its first flight, from Payerne, Switzerland, with Markus Scherdel at the controls. The Si2 is the second-generation aircraft from Solar Impulse, a project by Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg to circumnavigate the Earth using a piloted fixed-wing aircraft under solar power. The Si2 flew for two hours and 17 minutes using stored battery power, and achieved a speed of 30 knots and an altitude of 5,500 feet
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory completed flight tests on June 28 for the Low- Density Supersonic Decelerator at the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. The LDSD is a space vehicle with a doughnutshaped balloon that inflates around the vehicle during re-entry to generate atmospheric drag and decelerate the vehicle. For the tests, a high-altitude helium balloon carried the vehicle to 120,000 feet, where it was released and powered to Mach 4 at 180,000 feet. At
Mach 3.8, the 20-foot Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator slowed the vehicle
to Mach 2.5 in 107 seconds. A parachute was also deployed but tore. The vehicle impacted the Pacific Ocean at between 20 and 30 mph, and all flight hardware was recovered. More
tests are scheduled for 2015 and will incorporate a redesigned parachute. The GL-10 Greased Lightning unmanned aircraft made its first flight in August, at NASA’s Langley Research Center. The GL-10 attempts to fulfill a need for an unmanned aircraft with long endurance and a vertical
takeoff and landing capability. The aircraft has 10 electric-powered propellers — eight on a wing and two on a tail that both rotate relative to the fuselage.
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