AFRC is soliciting information from potential sources to
provide engineering support, manufacturability analysis, fabrication, assembly,
inspection, and delivery of at least one flight-ready aerodynamic
test pod (with an option for a second pod). The test pod will
support the agency’s Flight Demonstration and Capabilities Subproject -
Geometry Optimization and Sensing with Integration and Flight Test (GoSWIFT).
GoSWIFT is a NASA-supported research project exploring the feasibility
of quieter commercial supersonic aircraft.
Test Pod Objective
Initiated in July 2023 under a NASA Cooperative
Agreement, the project involves Texas A&M
University, the University of Michigan, Utah State University, Boeing
Research and Technology, and NASA.
The RFI states the objective is to design,
manufacture, and deliver an aerodynamic test pod that maintains the Outer Mold
Line of a standard centerline 610-gallon external fuel tank used on an
F-15D aircraft. The pod will support aerodynamic and flight test activities
while providing internal volume for instrumentation and test equipment.
“Interested firms having the required capabilities necessary
to meet the above requirement described herein should submit a capability
statement,” NASA said in the RFI. No solicitation exists currently; therefore, “do
not request a copy of the solicitation.” All responses must be submitted no
later than March 20.
“This synopsis [RFI] is for information and planning
purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the government nor
will the government pay for information solicited,” NASA added.
The primary mission of GoSwift is to advance technologies
that minimize the "sonic boom" noise associated with supersonic
flight. Quieter supersonic aircraft travel is a growing area of research in the
aerospace industry.
Sonic Boom Over Land
In October, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works-built X-59 experimental
aircraft completed its maiden flight, moving the world a significant step
closer to the return of widespread commercial supersonic travel. The X-59 jet:
developed in partnership with NASA, is not merely a fast jet; it is a
technological effort to overcome the primary barrier that has grounded
supersonic passenger flight over land for decades: the disruptive noise of
the sonic boom.
Overcoming the Sonic Barrier
Since the retirement of the Concorde and
regulatory actions taken worldwide in the early 1970s, supersonic flights have
been restricted over land due to the intense pressure wave created when an
aircraft exceeds the speed of sound—the deafening noise commonly known as the
sonic boom. This restriction effectively strangled the viability of supersonic
commercial air travel.
The X-59, often referred to as the centerpiece of
NASA’s Quesst mission, is designed specifically to mitigate this issue.
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