TABLE OF CONTENTS Daniel S. Goldin
Samuel L. Venneri
Ahmed K. Noor
Since the middle of the last century, aerospace technology has become a unique, indispensable part of our world. Commercial aviation has made it possible for more people and cargo to travel faster than at any previous time in history.
But today we are reaching the capacity limits of the airspace system, while transportation demand-both passenger and freight-is expected to increase in the long term. In space, our assets have improved weather prediction, provided global communication and navigation facilities to link people and businesses more effectively, and enabled spectral imaging of Earth to enhance our environmental stewardship and land use. Space-based observations are also taking on unprecedented importance in national security strategy. However, the high cost of launching pay-loads to Earth orbit has impeded progress in the exploration of space, as well as in its commercial use and development.
To keep pace with the projected increase in demand for mobility, a bold integrated vision is needed for future aerospace transportation systems. The vision for the next century is based on new technologies, and today some revolutionary ideas, many developing under programs at NASA and other government agencies, are emerging.
In the past few years, a growing number of engineers have been seeking inspiration from living systems-birds, insects, and other biological models-in an effort to produce breakthroughs in vehicle concepts, reshape our frame of reference, and change the definition of what is possible. Knowledge of the form...
