NASA, partners explore sustainable fuel’s effects on aircraft contrails
In Washington D.C., NASA said its researchers are working with partners such as Boeing, United Airlines, and other industry, government, and international partners, to collect data to see how greener aviation fuels can help reduce contrails.
Throughout October, NASA has supported contrail research through Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator program, a multi-year effort to analyze sustainable aviation fuel its capacity to benefit the environment.
Boeing’s current ecoDemonstrator Explorer aircraft, a 737-10, has conducted test flights switching between tanks filled either with 100% sustainable aviation fuel or conventional fuel. NASA’s DC-8 aircraft, the world’s largest flying science laboratory, has followed, measuring emissions and contrail ice formation from each type of fuel. This data will help determine whether sustainable aviation fuels help reduce the formation of contrails, according to the NASA
“Contrails are believed to be a major source of pollution,” said Rich Moore, a research physical scientist in NASA’s Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment. “With this mission, we’re looking not so much at correcting contrails, but at preventing them,” he said.
Category: SAF
