Drucella Andersen
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                                  
November 8, 1993
(Phone:  202/358-4727)

H. Keith Henry
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
(Phone:  804/864-6120)

Linda Ellis
Lewis Research Center, Cleveland
(Phone:  216/433-2900)


RELEASE: 93-202

NASA STARTS PHASE II OF SUPERSONIC AIRLINER EFFORT


     NASA has officially kicked off Phase II of its High-Speed 
Research Program, a  partnership with U.S. industry to develop 
technology that could enable a next-generation supersonic 
airliner.

     "We've already tested some promising concepts that indicate a 
new supersonic transport could operate within strict noise 
regulations and also avoid damaging the ozone layer," said NASA 
Program Director Louis J. Williams.  "Starting with this year's 
budget, we're taking those designs out of the lab and moving them 
closer to practical application."

     Phase II of the High-Speed Research Program will develop and 
prove the technology that the U.S. industry needs to make a future 
supersonic airliner economically practical as well as 
environmentally safe.  Phase II will include performance 
evaluations of representative engine components, structural 
verification tests of new engine and airframe materials and flight 
tests of better wing designs and new cockpit technology.

     During the next year, NASA and industry expect to agree on 
early designs for the engine combustion chamber and exhaust nozzle 
components and to choose candidate materials for use in supersonic 
airliner structures.  NASA also will begin using the latest 
analysis tools and wind tunnel methods to reduce interference of 
the plane's engine nacelles with the aerodynamic performance of 
the plane's wings.

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     NASA funding for the High-Speed Research Program in fiscal 
year 1994 is $197 million, with comparable investments planned 
through the end of this
decade.  This public-sector catalyst addresses only the 
highest-risk, highest-priority technology areas.  Parallel 
investments by American industry also are being made to complete 
the full technology development required for product launch 
decisions. 

     "When we finish Phase II, we should have answers to the 
technology challenges posed by such a revolutionary airplane," 
said Williams.  "Airframe and engine manufacturers will know if 
they can build a supersonic airliner and make a profit.  Airlines 
will know if they can operate the aircraft reliably and 
economically."

     "I strongly believe that NASA's work will produce a 
resounding 'yes' in both cases," Williams added.

     Phase I of the High-Speed Research Program, a 6-year effort 
started in fiscal year 1990, is focusing on the environmental 
compatibility of a high-speed civil transport in three areas:  
engine exhaust emissions, airport noise and sonic boom.

     Key Phase I progress includes laboratory testing of advanced 
combustion concepts that produce ultra-low nitrogen oxide (NOx) 
emissions and creation of improved computer models for assessing 
the global effects of a supersonic airliner fleet on the 
atmosphere.  A range of aircraft operational scenarios examined 
with these models currently indicates the possibility of very 
small effects on atmospheric ozone from the levels of NOx achieved 
in the lab tests.

    NASA's Office of Aeronautics at Headquarters, Washington, 
D.C., directs the High-Speed Research Program.  NASA's Langley 
Research Center, Hampton, Va., is the agency's lead center for 
overall technical project implementation, with NASA's Lewis 
Research Center, Cleveland, leading the propulsion technology 
development.  

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