Contemporary trends in Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) are redefining low-altitude airspace operations, particularly in urban and suburban settings where traditional airspace management approaches are inadequate to support the predicted air transport demands. To address these challenges, the development of an integrated Low-Altitude Airspace Management

Launch vehicle recovery technology has witnessed considerable advancement in recent years. This not only reduces the cost of access to space but also its rapid exploration. This paper gives a historical overview, surveys the launch vehicle recovery techniques, classifies based on multiple criteria, lists the advantages and disadvantages of each recovery technique, discusses the key phases involved

The remarkable feature of the flow field of compressible aerodynamics is the shock wave structure. The prominent feature of the current leading edge flow field of supersonic and hypersonic aircraft is the bow shock wave structure, which is the root cause of high-speed aircraft wave resistance and extreme aerodynamic heating. Research and advancement of new aerodynamic resistance mitigation methods

The recent groundbreaking advancements in Mach 4–7 combustion organization technology have paved the way for a significant expansion of the operational envelope for scramjets, enabling them to reach higher Mach numbers. By meticulously designing the compression ratio of the hypersonic inlet, the flow parameters at the entrance of the combustor can be effectively managed, thereby facilitating the autoignition

Aviation’s emissions are among the hardest to eliminate. There are a handful of solutions: battery-electric propulsion, hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen combustion, and synthetic hydrocarbon fuel produced with carbon from the air. All of these solutions rely on renewable electricity, a resource that will be in short supply as other industries use it to decarbonize. Depending on the flight distance and

Sustainable aviation is a frequently discussed concept in contemporary aviation literature, industry, and policy. However, a review of definitions for sustainable aviation indicates that there is limited agreement as to what sustainable aviation entails. Most definitions include an increase in aircraft efficiency or introduce alternate energy systems in an attempt to decrease overall emissions, but

The distributed propulsion system has a significant potential for reducing the fuel consumption, noise and pollution emissions for the next-generation aircraft and become a current hot research topic. As the core component of the distributed propulsion system, the boundary layer ingestion fan has been continuously operating under the distorted inflow conditions, which largely degrades the aerodynamic

The smallest example of powered flight currently known to humans is that of miniature insects, with wing lengths typically no greater than 1 mm. Flight in this domain is characterised by Reynolds numbers of the order of 10, meaning that viscous flow effects are more pronounced and, consequently, representative lift-to-drag ratios are significantly low. Most notably, at miniature scales, there is a

Hydrogen-rich fuels, such as liquid ammonia (LNH3), are being considered for new commercial aircraft propulsion systems to reduce aviation’s CO2 climate impact. It is crucial to ensure that integrating these fuels does not increase non-CO2 climate impacts, defeating the purpose of decarbonizing aviation. Specifically, there are concerns about increased atmospheric radiative forcing (RF) via more frequent

Direct Lift Control (DLC) is the capability to directly and intentionally influence lift on a fixed-wing aircraft by means of aerodynamic control devices, with minimum change of its angle of attack. Although several definitions exist, with various degrees of ambiguity, the combination of DLC and pitch attitude control has unambiguously proven to reduce pilot workload and improve flying comfort considerably

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) are a leading propulsion technology candidate for net zero carbon dioxide emission aircraft. PEMFCs generate electrical power and byproduct heat via an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen reactants. The electrical power generates thrust from motor driven propellers and the byproduct heat is rejected to atmosphere through a Thermal Management

This article explores recent advancements in the simulation of air drop configurations. Utilizing modeling and simulation techniques can enhance the understanding of airdrop operations before undertaking costly and risky experimental trials. Validated simulations also offer the opportunity to examine a wider range of non-standard cases, designs, systems, and components. Key physical and simulation

While many types of mature space propulsion systems are in active use, significant progress is still required to meet the requirements of new missions. The emerging challenges include plans for Mars and Moon exploration, building huge satellite constellations like Starlink and OneWeb, advanced astrophysical studies including space-based gravitational wave detection systems, precise astrophysical and

When axial compressors operate under high-loading conditions, inherent unsteady flow phenomena emerge in the tip region as a consequence of the tip leakage flow. These aerodynamic phenomena are collectively known as tip flow unsteadiness. It has been proven that tip flow unsteadiness not only serves as an excitation source of both non-synchronous vibration and tip noise but is also the cause of short-length-scale

Aviation’s emissions are among the hardest to eliminate. There are a handful of solutions: battery-electric propulsion, hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen combustion, and synthetic hydrocarbon fuel produced with carbon from the air. All of these solutions rely on renewable electricity, a resource that will be in short supply as other industries use it to decarbonize. Depending on the flight distance and

This paper presents a review of recent literature on the application of retro-propulsion in earth based rocket systems, with a specific focus on the recent advancements and challenges associated with the prediction of aerothermal and aerodynamic characteristics of re-usable boosters. It gives an overview of current system architectures and mission profiles, while discussing the trends in future vehicle

Due to the growing threat from space debris and the accelerating increase in the number of active satellites, Active Debris Removal (ADR) and In-Orbit Servicing (IOS) missions are currently being developed. A robotic manipulator mounted on a servicing satellite will enable precise grasping of a target object and is needed to perform complex servicing tasks. This paper presents a comprehensive review

Sustainable aviation is a frequently discussed concept in contemporary aviation literature, industry, and policy. However, a review of definitions for sustainable aviation indicates that there is limited agreement as to what sustainable aviation entails. Most definitions include an increase in aircraft efficiency or introduce alternate energy systems in an attempt to decrease overall emissions, but

The application of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) in aviation industry has emerged as a key strategy for reducing the net carbon oxide (CO2) emissions while minimizing modifications to the current aircraft and engine systems. SAFs, which are derived from sustainable feedstocks through biological, thermal and chemical (or their combinations) conversion pathways, can be used in current aero engines

The aviation industry faces the challenge of reducing its environmental impact while maintaining economic competitiveness. This study presents an extensive review of cryogenic fuels, specifically Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and hydrogen/liquified hydrogen (LH2), along with their renewable counterparts, as potential alternatives to conventional fuels and Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs). The study

Space sails are a continuum of lightweight, thin, large-area, deployable technologies which are pushing forward new frontiers in space mobility and exploration. They encompass solar sails, laser-driven sails, drag sails, magnetic sails, electric sails, deployable membrane reflectors, deployable membrane antennas, and solar power sails. Some have been flight tested with operational heritage, while some

As humankind prepares to establish outposts and infrastructure on the Moon, the ability to manufacture parts and buildings on-site is crucial. While transporting raw materials from Earth can be costly and time-consuming, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) presents an attractive alternative. This review paper aims to provide a thorough examination of the current state and future potential of Lunar-based

Vortex loops are compact toroidal structures wherein fluid rotation forms a closed loop around a fictitious axis, manifest in many natural occurrences. These phenomena result from brief impulses through vents or apertures in fluid systems, such as in caves, volcanic crusts, downbursts, or the descent of liquid droplets. The majority of naturally occurring and laboratory-generated vortex loops, studied

Due to the significant improvement in computing power and the rapid advancement of data processing technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) has introduced new tools and methodologies to address the challenges posed by high nonlinearity and strong coupling characteristics in traditional supersonic flow and combustion. This article reviews the considerable progress AI has made in applications within

This paper reviews the development and state-of-the-art research of attitude control technologies for launch vehicles, as well as the application evaluations of the responsive tolerant control (RTC) technology. First, the control theories and methods related to launch vehicles are classified and surveyed. Although studies in this field are still active, many new methods have not exhibited impressive

Lattice structures, produced by repeated unit cells in the particular pattern, offer a high strength-to-weight ratio. The current advancement in Additive manufacturing (AM) technology, creating complex geometries like lattice structures has revolutionized production across various industries. While several reviews have focused on different specific aspects of lattice structures, a comprehensive overview

Concentrated vortex flows contribute to the aerodynamic performance of aircraft at elevated load conditions. For military interests, the vortex flows are exploited at maneuver conditions of combat aircraft and missiles. For transport interests, the vortex flows are exploited at takeoff and landing conditions as well as at select transonic conditions. Aircraft applications of these vortex flows are

The Cislunar region is crucial for expanding human presence in space in the forthcoming decades. This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent and anticipated Earth–Moon missions, and ongoing space domain awareness initiatives. An introduction to the dynamics as well as periodic trajectories in the Cislunar realm is presented. Then, a review of modern Cislunar programs as well as smaller missions

Compared with traditional deflagration-based systems, detonation-based propulsion systems offer significant potential benefits in terms of efficiency and specific impulses in the field of advanced aerospace propulsion technologies. However, the successful implementation of these technologies faces several key challenges, particularly in achieving reliable, stable, and robust detonation wave propagation

This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent advancements in modelling approaches, design strategies, and testing techniques applied to friction damping in turbomachinery. It critically evaluates experimental testing, design processes, and optimisation studies, along with the latest developments in numerical modelling techniques. The review begins with an overview of vibration mitigation methods

To ensure the secure operation of space assets, it is crucial to employ ground and/or space-based surveillance sensors to observe a diverse array of anthropogenic space objects (ASOs). This enables the monitoring of abnormal behavior and facilitates the timely identification of potential risks, thereby enabling the provision of continuous and effective Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services. One

The academic community has extensively studied fault management in dynamical and cyber-physical systems, leading to the development of various model-based and data-driven/learning-enabled methods. Although these advanced designs show promise for improving conventional practices in aircraft systems, there is a noticeable disparity between academic methodologies and the specific needs of the aviation

Reducing the sonic boom to a community-acceptable level is a fundamental challenge in the configuration design of the next-generation supersonic transport aircraft. This paper conducts a survey of recent progress in developing efficient low-boom design and optimization methods, and provides a perspective on the state-of-the-art and future directions. First, the low- and high-fidelity sonic boom prediction

Crashworthiness is the ability of civil aircraft fuselage structure and internal systems to maximum protect the occupants’ safety in a crash or emergency landing event, and is an important embodiment of the civil aircraft safety, which can determine the occupant survivability to a certain extent. The crashworthiness is dominated by the crash response characteristics of typical fuselage section (including

In recent years, high-order discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods have emerged as an attractive approach for numerical simulations of compressible flows. This paper presents an overview of the recent development of DG methods for compressible flows with particular focus on hypersonic flows. First, we survey state-of-the-art DG methods for computational fluid dynamics. Next, we discuss both matrix-based

the passive safety of aircraft passengers is such an important aspect in the design of aircraft structures as strength and fatigue concerns. The development of methods and devices to prevent passenger injuries is the subject of continuous efforts. The mission is to minimize stresses and accelerations on passengers during a crash. Over the years, studies on crash phenomena have been focused on experimental

Aero-optical effects have received increasing attention in recent decades with the continuous development of high-speed missiles’ imaging guidance systems, airborne laser systems, and laser communication systems. Numerous experiments and engineering practices have shown that the aero-optical effects of the supersonic turbulent shear layer can reveal the essential characteristics of general aero-optical

This review article offers an in-depth analysis of cooperative motion planning and control in aerial-ground autonomous systems, emphasizing their methods and applications. It explores the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), focusing on their synchronized planning and control mechanisms that enable efficient task execution in various settings, such as

The history of satellite development is at an inflection point: around half of all countries have made and launched satellites, while another half has not. In this context, the time appears right to take stock of lessons learnt from the development of country-first domestic satellites. These are defined as the first to have been designed, assembled, integrated, and/or tested with significant input

The crashworthiness of a structure is a measure of its protective capability under dynamic events by absorbing the crash energy in a controlled way. Fiber reinforced composite materials can represent a valid alternative to ductile metals as impact energy absorbers in a crashworthy structure. In fact, composites are characterized by high mechanical properties coupled with low weight, capability to be

Airplanes are inevitably subjected to various impact loading conditions in the event of emergency landing. An airplane crash scenario is a complex nonlinear impact event which involves large deformation, material fracture, structural failure, and dynamic contact. The impact response becomes more complicated due to the presence of composite materials, which are becoming the dominated choice for aircraft

One of the most critical air transportation issues is the passengers' protection during collision and impact events that must be absorbed in a controlled way in order to reduce damages. The capability of an aircraft to eliminate injuries in relatively mild impacts and to reduce severe effects on occupants in critical crashes is called crashworthiness. The crashworthiness is the ability of a structure

This paper reviews several decades’ worth of research on the topic of slat noise arising from high-lift systems of commercial aircraft. A high-lift system is commonly used for providing additional lift by deploying the leading-edge slat(s) and trailing-edge flap(s) during the takeoff and landing phases of flight. Slat noise can be one of the main sources of airframe noise, along with the deployed landing

Performances are a key concern in aerospace vehicles, requiring safer structures with as little consumption as possible. Composite materials replaced aluminum alloys even in primary aerospace structures to achieve higher performances with lighter components. However, random events such as low-velocity impacts may induce damages that are typically more dangerous and mostly not visible than metals. The

Review and discussion of substantive to revolutionary concepts to enable a commercially viable, societally acceptable supersonic transport. Issues addressed include economic viability, take off noise, sonic boom, emissions and frontier aircraft configurations. Solution spaces include an enabler for most of the issues, which is doubling the lift-to-drag ratio. Approaches in most cases require serious

Since the birth of bio-inspired flapping-wing micro air vehicles, a controversial topic, i.e., whether and to what extent a flapping wing can outperform conventional micro rotors, has existed in the field of micro-to pico-scale unmanned aircraft. However, instead of answering this debate, an alternative idea that combines the flapping-wing and rotary-wing layouts was proposed and has been extensively

The elastic strain energy-driven thin-walled deployable composite structures, characterized by their integration of structure and functionality, have attracted considerable attention in the field of space applications. These structures utilize the stored strain energy accumulated during the folding process to achieve elastic deployment. Significant progress has been made in the understanding of deformation

In response to escalating environmental concerns and stringent economic constraints, there is an urgent need to develop aircraft technologies and configurations that substantially enhance efficiency. A prominent trend in aircraft design aimed at minimizing lift-induced drag, improving fuel efficiency, and mitigating emissions is the adoption of increased wing Aspect Ratio (AR). This paper examines

Trends in space technology development and rapidly increasing traffic in outer space are likely to lead to the emergence of a market for services for the removal of large debris objects to disposal orbits. The commercial benefits of Active Debris Removal missions are possible when multiple objects are removed by a single spacecraft-collector that flies between targets in an optimal sequence, trying

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Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) for aerospace applications have brought about new opportunities for the fast-growing satellite industry. The progressive introduction of connected satellite systems and associated mission concepts is stimulating the development of intelligent CPS (iCPS) architectures, which can support high levels of flexibility and resilience

The utilization of hybrid electric propulsion concept in aviation offers a viable solution to address the limitations posed by the relatively low energy density of batteries in fully electric aviation. These hybrid systems enable the aircraft to achieve a significant range while simultaneously minimizing carbon emissions. While the individual components of a Hybrid Electric Propulsion (HEP) system

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A hypersonic inlet/isolator acts as the “compressor” for scramjet engines through a series of shocks, which induces complex internal flows. This paper comprehensively reviews the recent research achievements, focusing on the shock-dominated internal flow of an inlet/isolator. Considering the specific geometrical feature of the hypersonic inlet, the shock wave/boundary layer interactions (SWBLIs) are

In recent years, the realm of space exploration has undergone a transformative shift, marked by the emergence of a thriving new space economy. This evolution has not only redefined existing space infrastructures and services but has also democratized access to space, accelerating exploration endeavors. At the core of such evolution is additive manufacturing (AM), a groundbreaking technology that has

Standing oblique detonation is a unique pressure-gain combustion phenomenon for hypersonic ramjet propulsion, and its research has been related with supersonic combustion in scramjet engines since its births, for example, absent treatment in its early stage and re-consideration in recent decades. Standing oblique detonations and supersonic combustion share the same features of supersonic chemically-reacting

A review of the literature on the methods for activation of the combustion of metallic fuels, mainly boron-containing ones, as the promising components of composite propellants for ramjets is presented. Some methods and ideas were checked experimentally using a laboratory approach developed for comparing the metallic fuels (MF) of different origin. The approach implies the determination of the set

Abstract not available