Aerospace

Rising fuel costs, environmental regulations and an increase in airline traffic have helped drive the increasing use of composite materials in the aerospace industry. Composites are used in military, business and commercial aircraft of all sizes, including spacecraft.

NASA Testing Carbon Fiber Rotor Blades for Mars Helicopters

NASA’s testing of future aircraft designs is both earthly and out of this world. Here on Earth, the agency is testing carbon fiber rotor blades for the next-generation Mars helicopters while on Mars,...

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lunar Lander is Assembled

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Structure is aptly named for a rare firefly species found in the southwest U.S. and known for their distinctive blue glow. The Blue Ghost lander structure and...

PHASA-35® HAPS UAS Completes Stratospheric Flight Trial

PHASA-35® is an ultra-lightweight solar-electric High-Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) providing an alternative to conventional sensing and communications systems and is being...

Digital Twin Drives Propeller Improvements

When U.K.-based Dowty Propellers, a GE Aviation subsidiary, began exploring propulsion designs that could meet next-generation aircrafts’ needs, it soon became clear that manufacturing processes would have...

World’s First Carbon Fiber Composite Large Launch Vehicle Introduced

Neutron, Rocket Lab’s new launch vehicle, will be used for satellite mega-constellations, deep space missions, and space flights for humans. Developed using experience gained when building the successful...

Cranking Up the Speed

Aircraft manufacturers are going to be very busy over the next two decades, and the thermoplastic composites industry is positioning itself to take full advantage of the opportunity. By 2039, there...