Quieter, greener supersonic travel is the focus of eight studies selected by NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology Project to receive more than $2.3 million in funding for research that may help overcome the remaining barriers to commercial supersonic flight.

The research, which will be conducted by universities and industry, will address sonic booms and high-altitude emissions from supersonic jets. 

The titles of the studies and details of the awards are: 

Global Environmental Impact of Supersonic Cruise Aircraft in the Stratosphere
$1.2 million over four years
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Principal Investigator: Steven Barrett

The Influence of Turbulence on Shaped Sonic Booms
$1.2 million over three years
Wyle Laboratories, Arlington, Virginia
Principal Investigator: Kenneth Plotkin

Sonic Boom Display
$698,000
Rockwell Collins, Columbia, Maryland
Principal Investigator: Laura Smith-Velazquez

Pilot Interface for Mitigating Sonic Boom
$686,000 over two years
Honeywell, Golden Valley, Minnesota
Principal Investigator: Olu Olofinboba

Quiet Nozzle Concepts for Low Boom Aircraft
$575,000 over two years
University of California, Irvine
Principal Investigator: Dimitri Papamoschou

Evaluation of Low Noise Integration Concepts and Propulsion Technologies for Future Supersonic Civil Transports
$599,000 over two years
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York
Principal Investigator: Kishore Ramakrishnan

Waveforms and Sonic Boom Perception and Response Risk Reduction
$337,000 for one year
Applied Physical Sciences, Groton, Connecticut
Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Allanach

Risk Reduction for Future Community Testing with a Low-Boom Flight Demonstration Vehicle
$393,000 over one year
Fidell Associates, Woodland Hills, California
Principal Investigator: Sanford Fidell

The awards to Applied Physical Sciences and Fidell Associates are guaranteed only for the first year. One of the two will be selected to receive about $450,000 a year for two more years.

For more information about NASA’s aeronautics research, go to: http://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics