How America's Aerospace Power is Vital to Science

America's leading-edge aerospace power is vital to science in many ways. The military demands the best performing aircraft, often using and developing cutting-edge technologies to achieve this end. The Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology (HiMAT) program, which was mainly funded by the Air Force, is only one example of the many projects financed by the military annually.

Between mid-1979 and early 1983 two planes, custom built by Rockwell International, made test flights at NASA's Dryden Research Center in California. Due to the Vietnam Conflict the Air Force realized that speed was no longer the most important factor in keeping a pilot alive, it was now agility -- the ability of an American plane to get behind its opponent. To accomplish this, an aircraft had to be developed that could maneuver quickly. Several new ideas were implemented in the design of the HiMAT aircraft including forward canards , rear-mounted swept wings, and winglets. The interaction of these elements gave the plane a turn radius half that of an F-16. However, the tight turn radius exerted phenomenal forces on the structure. To counter this effect, the planes were built largely of composites. Composites, graphite fibers embedded in a matrix of resin, were still under experimental development at the time, but had been recognized for their exceptional strength and light weight. The composites allowed the planes to conduct an 8-G turn at near the speed of sound without breaking apart. An F-16 under the same conditions could only withstand the forces of a 4.5-G turn without suffering disabling damage.

The HiMAT project's effect can be seen in the newest generation of military fighter jets and commercial aircraft. Today's fighters use many of the composites developed and improved upon during HiMAT testing to allow higher G turns. Composites are also used in everything from prosthetic limbs to racecars, bike frames to fishing rods. Additionally, the winglets developed on the program were found to dramatically reduce drag and are now used on many commercial and private aircraft to improve fuel efficiency.

Perhaps the greatest effect on science will be seen not today, but tomorrow. With the military's ongoing demand for stronger yet lighter materials, some scientists have begun research on nanotubes, a hollowed out version of the graphite fibers used in composites. Being hollow, materials based on nanotubes have the potential of being far lighter and stronger than conventional materials - opening up a whole new path of development.

Without answering the need to improve America's aerospace power, science would not have advanced to the point it is today -- a point at which it seems that anything is possible.