GE Aerospace has teamed up with NASA to gain a better understanding of aircraft contrails through a series of flight tests next week. Under the Contrail Optical Depth Experiment (CODEX), NASA Langley Research Center’s Gulfstream III will trail GE Aerospace’s Boeing 747 flying testbed in flight to study its contrails.
NASA will use light detection and ranging (lidar) technology to scan the contrails behind the 747. Lidar will enable NASA to generate 3D imaging of contrails to provide insight into how they behave.
“Understanding how contrails act in-flight with the latest detection technology is how we move innovation forward. These tests will provide critical insight to advance next-generation aircraft engine technologies for a step change in efficiency and emissions,” said Arjan Hegeman, general manager of future of flight technology for GE Aerospace.
Contrails are created when airplanes fly through cold, humid air, resulting in ice particle clouds. These are believed to have a warming impact on the climate. Industry has been increasingly researching contrails to determine the extent of that impact and whether technology could help reduce non-CO2 emissions.
During the Farnborough International Airshow in July, industry chief technology officers called for more government research programs into aviation non-CO2 effects.
“NASA is advancing the scientific understanding of contrails to improve our confidence in future operational contrail management decisions that consider overall climate impact and economic trades,” said Rich Wahls, manager of NASA’s Sustainable Flight National Partnership. “We are thrilled to once again work with our collaborator, GE Aerospace, on this first-of-its-kind flight experiment.”
NASA, meanwhile, plans to collaborate with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and GE Aerospace unit Satavia to identify favorable weather conditions for studying contrail formation. DLR will help predict the altitude and dimensions of contrail-forming regions. Satavia offers a contrail forecasting and management service.