NASA, GE begin flight tests to study aircraft contrail formation
Using NASA's LiDAR technology, flight tests will produce 3D images to better characterise contrail formation and behaviour over time.
GE Aerospace and NASA have announced the launch of flight tests this week to study aircraft contrails and their atmospheric effects.
The tests will use GE Aerospace's Boeing 747 Flying Test Bed, with a NASA Langley Research Center G-III aircraft following behind over Norfolk, Virginia. Equipped with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology, the G-III will scan the aircraft's wake to generate three-dimensional images of contrails – clouds of ice particles formed by aircraft in cold, humid conditions.
"Understanding how contrails act in-flight with the latest detection technology is how we move innovation forward," said Arjan Hegeman, general manager of future of flight technology for GE Aerospace. "These tests will provide critical insight to advance next-generation aircraft engine technologies for a step change in efficiency and emissions."
These LiDAR tests follow the successful deployment of NASA Langley’s High-Altitude Lidar Observatory (HALO) last year, which visualised contrails for the first time during flights with Boeing's 737-10 ecoDemonstrator. HALO was also frequently flown on NASA's now-retired DC-8 aircraft.
As part of the Contrail Optical Depth Experiment (CODEX), the new flight tests will gather detailed data on how contrails form and evolve over time. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) will help predict the altitude, dimensions, and evolution of contrail-forming regions. SATAVIA, a UK-based contrail forecasting company acquired by GE's Aerospace Carbon Solutions unit earlier this year, will also use the data to validate and improve its numerical weather prediction models for forecasting contrail formation in ice-supersaturated regions.
The findings will support the development of GE's Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) program, launched in 2021. This initiative aims to achieve a 20% improvement in fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions compared to current commercial engines.
A 2020 European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) study confirmed that aviation's non-CO2 emissions, including contrails, have climate impacts at least as significant as those of CO2 alone.
Building on this, research released last week by Transport & Environment found that 80% of contrail warming comes from just 3% of flights, with the highest impact occurring over North America, Europe, and the North Atlantic. The research suggests that adjusting these flight paths could halve contrail warming by 2040, with an estimated cost increase of less than €4 per ticket.
For those looking to dive deeper into the science and solutions surrounding contrails, our Sustainability in the Air podcast features expert discussions on the topic. Highlights include:
Dr Florian Allroggen, Research Scientist in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Andrew Chen, Principal for Aviation Decarbonisation at RMI
Adam Durant, Founder & CEO of SATAVIA
Maxime Meijers and Nicolas Meijers, Co-Founders of Estuaire
Alejandra Martín Frías, Head of Sustainability Research at FLIGHTKEYS