SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS COMMENCES FIRST PHASE OF NASA SUSTAINABLE FLIGHT NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP

Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. announced that the company is moving forward in NASA’s Sustainable Flight National Partnership as a key partner in the Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) project.

The NASA HiCAM project is aimed at reducing the cost and increasing the production rate of composite structures made in the United States, seeking dramatic improvement in manufacturing rates. Lighter-weight composite airframes will lead to reduced fuel usage and reduced emissions, which will make commercial aviation more environmentally sustainable.

NASA says that the organizations awarded contracts are supporting the evaluation and development of high-rate manufacturing concepts at small scales, including experiments in material processing, assembly techniques, inspection, and structural performance. 

At the conclusion of this phase of the project, HiCAM will select the most promising concepts for further development, after which will follow a full-scale demonstration of fuselage and wing components by 2028. The demonstration articles will be fabricated using one of or a combination of the three main areas of HiCAM research: thermoplastic composites, resin-infused composites, and next-generation thermoset composites.