On Tuesday, as the company occasionally does when facing what it deems to be unfair treatment, SpaceX posted a lengthy update decrying the decision. According to the firm, the FAA had assured it that Starship would get the green light this month. It claims the rocket has been ready to fly since early August, an assertion CEO Elon Musk reiterated last week.

“Unfortunately, we continue to be stuck in a reality where it takes longer to do the government paperwork to license a rocket launch than it does to design and build the actual hardware,” the firm said. “This should never happen and directly threatens America’s position as the leader in space.”

With the ability to be used multiple times on the cheap, Starship is expected to be a game-changer for U.S. spaceflight. SpaceX wants to launch the rocket up to 120 times per year from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Musk last week claimed the vehicle will reach Mars within two years.

SpaceX is also developing a Starship human landing system (HLS), a lunar lander variant of the spacecraft, for NASA’s Artemis III mission, which would return Americans to the moon for the first time in more than half a century. Starship will require a few more test flights before the mission, which is scheduled for late 2026.

That’s not much time, but SpaceX plans to get there using its philosophy of iterative design. Basically, the company puts flight hardware through real-world testing as often as possible to learn quickly and improve the chances of success on the next flight. The strategy helped it commercialize the now-ubiquitous Falcon rocket.

“The more we fly safely, the faster we learn; the faster we learn, the sooner we realize full and rapid rocket reuse,” SpaceX said.

Each Starship test flight has flown farther and accomplished more than the last. The fourth, in June, marked the first time both Starship and the Super Heavy booster made it back to Earth in one piece after the first two attempts ended in explosions.

Keeping with the trend, Flight 5 will feature the most ambitious goal yet. SpaceX will attempt to catch Super Heavy midair using two large “chopstick” arms, returning it safely to the Starbase launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas. 

The maneuver could pose risk to Starbase’s launch tower, but SpaceX says it has been preparing for years. The delay could create a ripple effect that hampers future Starship test flights. Safely returning the booster is a critical piece of the system’s reusability.

“It’s understandable that such a unique operation would require additional time to analyze from a licensing perspective,” the firm said. “Unfortunately, instead of focusing resources on critical safety analysis and collaborating on rational safeguards to protect both the public and the environment, the licensing process has been repeatedly derailed by issues ranging from the frivolous to the patently absurd.”

What’s the Holdup?

SpaceX said the FAA communicated that a launch license would be awarded this month, but the process has been delayed due to “four open environmental issues” it deems unnecessary.

Starship’s maiden voyage in April 2023 was a brief but bombastic one. The FAA grounded the rocket as it investigated the launch and explosion, which shook buildings, shattered windows, and sent ash and debris flying miles away.

The impact was more severe than SpaceX anticipated due to the lack of a flame deflector—a common fixture at launch sites that uses water to absorb energy and heat—beneath Starbase. According to Musk, the system was absent because it “wasn’t ready in time” and the company thought the pad could withstand the launch.

The FAA’s handling of Starship’s initial launch license prompted a lawsuit from five environmental groups, which the agency reportedly has sought to dismiss. With the flame deflector installed, subsequent Starship flights have not destroyed the launch pad.

However, the FAA has approved two 60-day consultations that could extend the timeline for a fifth mission.

According to SpaceX, the only proposed change to the mission’s hot-stage jettison—during which the top of the Super Heavy booster is expelled—is a new splashdown location, which it says would not raise the risk of harm to marine life. Still, the FAA signed off on a consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service to evaluate the new site.

“SpaceX’s current license authorizing the Starship Flight 4 launch also allows for multiple flights of the same vehicle configuration and mission profile,” the agency told FLYING. “SpaceX chose to modify both for its proposed Starship Flight 5 launch which triggered a more in-depth review.”

SpaceX, though, fears the review could be longer.

“The mechanics of these types of consultations outline that any new questions raised during that time can reset the 60-day counter, over and over again,” it said.

A separate consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), requested by the FAA due to Flight 5’s larger sonic boom radius, could add to the delays. A sonic boom occurs as Starship slows from supersonic speeds on its way back to Earth.

“SpaceX submitted new information in mid-August detailing how the environmental impact of Flight 5 will cover a larger area than previously reviewed,” the FAA said. “This requires the FAA to consult with other agencies.”

According to SpaceX, both agencies have studied Starship booster landings and concluded there is no significant environmental impact from sonic booms. The firm also claims studies back the idea that sonic booms have no detrimental effect on wildlife—but the jury is still out on that one.

According to an evaluation by the California Coastal Commission of SpaceX’s request to increase Falcon 9 launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, experts don’t fully understand the effects of noise on animals. The commission rejected the request in part because sonic booms generated by Falcon 9—a less powerful rocket than Starship—force too many closures and evacuations of local parks.

“At Starbase, we implement an extensive list of mitigations developed with federal and state agencies, many of which require year-round monitoring and frequent updates to regulators and consultation with independent biological experts,” SpaceX said.

Among other things, the company says it works with a local nonprofit to transport injured sea turtles for treatment and monitors bird local populations, using drones to search for nests before and after launch and. It also “adopted” Boca Chica Beach through a Texas state program and sponsors quarterly cleanups it says have removed hundreds of pounds of trash.

A CNBC report last month, which SpaceX swiftly rebuked, alleged that the company violated the Clean Water Act. The Environmental Protection Agency, though, told FLYING it did indeed violate that law.

Days before Starship’s third test flight in March, the EPA issued an order directing the company to eliminate “unpermitted discharges,” citing a liquid oxygen spill from the flame deflector’s water deluge system that seeped into the surrounding wetlands. SpaceX was forced to apply for a new permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), which it did in July, but still ate a fine of nearly $150,000 to resolve the violation.

In response, the company denied it ever discharged pollutants or operated the deluge system without TCEQ permission. According to SpaceX, the device uses “literal drinking water” and has been deemed safe by the FAA, TCEQ, and USFWS.

SpaceX further claimed that the EPA issued its order without knowledge of its TCEQ license or “a basic understanding of the facts” of the system’s operation. It added that the fines are “entirely tied to disagreements over paperwork” and stem from a simple misunderstanding.

“We chose to settle so that we can focus our energy on completing the missions and commitments that we have made to the U.S. government, commercial customers, and ourselves,” SpaceX said. “Paying fines is extremely disappointing when we fundamentally disagree with the allegations, and we are supported by the fact that EPA has agreed that nothing about the operation of our flame deflector will need to change. Only the name of the permit has changed.”

The proposed settlement is open for public comment until October 21.

Singled Out?

The implication by SpaceX is that it is being unfairly targeted for its successes.

The company is prolific within the commercial spaceflight industry—experts estimate it accounted for 87 percent of all spacecraft mass space operators sent into orbit in 2023. At the same time, it handles more NASA missions than any of the agency’s private contractors.

That dominance occasionally draws ire from competitors such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, or, as SpaceX puts it, “bad-faith hysterics from online detractors or special interest groups.”

“Despite a small, but vocal, minority of detractors trying to game the regulatory system to obstruct and delay the development of Starship, SpaceX remains committed to the mission at hand,” the company said.

NASA has made it known that it intends to become one of many customers within a commercial space ecosystem, rather than a service provider, by the end of the decade. As SpaceX continues to snap up NASA contracts—including an agreement to deorbit the International Space Station, ushering in that new era—rivals and critics may fear that its supremacy will only grow.

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The post SpaceX Takes Aim at FAA After Latest Starship Launch Delay appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Not according to the company, which took to social media platform X, owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, to rebut a report published Monday.

Sources within the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shared with CNBC previously unreported notices and investigative records, which allege that SpaceX violated several clean water regulations. The company employs a water deluge system, common at launchpads such as Florida’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, to absorb heat and vibrations from firing rocket engines.

But according to CNBC, the firm’s use of that system this year—including during the third orbital test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, and the Super Heavy booster—may be discharging industrial wastewater without TCEQ or EPA permission.

SpaceX swiftly refuted the CNBC report in a lengthy post on X, characterizing the story as “factually inaccurate.”

According to the company, the water deluge system uses potable, or drinking, water and has been authorized for operation by both the TCEQ and EPA, which filed their notices one week and five months ago, respectively.

“Throughout our ongoing coordination with both TCEQ and the EPA, we have explicitly asked if operation of the deluge system needed to stop and we were informed that operations could continue,” SpaceX said.

Neither agency immediately responded to FLYING’s request for comment.

Typically, a launch provider must be compliant with state and federal laws to obtain launch permissions from the FAA. On Monday, the aviation regulator postponed several meetings intended for stakeholders to provide feedback on SpaceX’s proposal to launch Starship from Starbase as many as 25 times per year. The agency did not provide a reason for the postponements.

“The FAA apologizes for any inconvenience,” it said. “Public meetings will be rescheduled; however, the docket remains open to receive public comments.”

Conflicting Accounts

Interestingly, CNBC and SpaceX cite the same sources to make their respective claims, raising questions about whether one party received bad information.

Starbase’s deluge system was installed after Starship’s maiden flight in April 2023, the impact of which sent debris flying miles away, led to an FAA investigation, and brought a lawsuit against the agency and SpaceX from five environmental groups. It was first tested in July with TCEQ personnel onsite, SpaceX said.

But regulators told CNBC the firm skipped a crucial step in the permitting process related to wastewater management. In its notice to SpaceX, TCEQ said it received 14 complaints claiming that the deluge system was harming the surrounding environment, including one last August alleging that Starbase was discharging industrial wastewater without a permit. 

Last month, a TCEQ investigation found that SpaceX did so four times between March and July. According to a SpaceX permit filing viewed by CNBC, some of that water contained concentrations of mercury that exceed water quality limits.

SpaceX on Monday, however, painted a very different picture. According to the company, no water samples tested were found to have mercury levels above EPA limits. It elaborated on Tuesday with another post claiming that the figures the outlet viewed were simply incorrect.

“While there may be a typo in one table of the initial TCEQ’s public version of the permit application, the rest of the application and the lab reports clearly states that levels of Mercury found in non-stormwater discharge associated with the water deluge system are well below state and federal water quality criteria,” the company said.

The firm flatly denied that any industrial wastewater is spewing from Starbase, claiming that the deluge system’s potable water is never used in or exposed to industrial processes.

It also said the landing pad is power washed prior to activating the system and that soil, air, and water samples are analyzed by an independent laboratory after each use. According to the company, most of the water is either vaporized by the heat of the engines or captured in special ponds, with only a tiny amount escaping the pad.

SpaceX further claimed it is well within its right to operate the system.

The EPA sent the company a formal notice of violation of the Clean Water Act the day before Starship’s third test flight in March. But according to the firm, the agency made a mistake.

“When the EPA issued their administrative order in March 2024, it was done without an understanding of basic facts of the deluge system’s operation or acknowledgement that we were operating under the Texas Multi-Sector General Permit,” SpaceX said.

Per the company’s version of events, the EPA agreed to allow it to continue using the system as it worked toward obtaining an individual permit from TCEQ, “because the deluge system has always complied with common conditions set by an individual permit, and causes no harm to the environment.”

It submitted a permit application on July 1 and said the agency is expected to issue a draft individual permit and agreed compliance order this week.

If SpaceX is ultimately found to be in violation of TCEQ and EPA rules, it could have a ripple effect on the Starship program, which is under pressure to meet obligations for NASA’s Artemis moon mission program as well as commercial customers.

According to the company, the rocket is ready to launch on its fifth test flight pending regulatory approval, but that may be difficult to obtain if it isn’t compliant with regulations. The firm will need to complete several more Starship test flights before the spacecraft is authorized for service missions.

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As part of the investment, which is part of United’s recently announced UAV Sustainable Flight Fund, the airline is partnering with Viridos, a biofuel company that specializes in the bioengineering of microalgae to accelerate the amount of oil that can be produced from it. This oil is used to create SAF. 

“Based on current estimates, SAF created by Viridos’ algae oil is expected to have a 70 percent reduced carbon footprint on a lifecycle basis when compared to traditional jet fuel,” United said in a statement.

The airline noted that microalgae “is an abundant and scalable resource that can be grown and harvested without impacting the food supply chain.”

Viridos said it has already achieved seven times the oil productivity compared to typical wild-type algae.

• READ MORE: United Airlines Launches Investment Fund To Support SAF Production

“As the global aviation leader in SAF production investment United remains committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions, without relying on traditional carbon offsets, by 2050,” United Airlines Ventures president Mike Leskinen said. “SAF is proven, scalable, and the best tool we have to reduce our carbon emissions from flying, but we face a significant shortage of available feedstock. Viridos’ algae-based biofuel technology has the potential to help solve our supply problem without the need for farmland or other agricultural resources, and marks our inaugural investment in our new cross-industry UAV Sustainable Flight Fund.”

Viridos algae are grown in vessels containing seawater, the fuel manufacturer said. This allows contained deployment in hot and dry locations without taxing scarce freshwater and arable land resources, while eliminating runoff.

• READ MORE: Initiative in Japan Aims To Turn Wood Into SAF

“By establishing production sites to grow Viridos-engineered microalgae in saltwater, we are creating the foundation for a biofuel future that moves away from fossil fuels without competing for precious resources such as fresh water and arable land,” said Oliver Fetzer, CEO of Viridos. 

SAF vs. Traditional Jet Fuel

SAF is an alternative to conventional jet fuel that, on a lifecycle basis, reduces greenhouse gas emissions associated with air travel as compared to conventional jet fuel alone. At the present time, SAF is made from used cooking oil and agricultural waste. Scientists are working on ways to make SAF from other sources, such as household trash or forest waste.

To date, United Airlines has invested in the future production of over three billion gallons of SAF, which, the airline states, is the most of any airline in the world. The UAV Sustainable Flight Fund is an investment vehicle designed to leverage support from cross-industry businesses in order to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing air travel through SAF research, technology, and production.

• READ MORE: Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production Tripled in 2022: IATA

The fund has more than $100 million in investments from United Airlines and its corporate partners, including Air Canada, Boeing, GE Aerospace, JPMorgan Chase, and Honeywell.

In addition to the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund, United has launched a SAF purchasing program called the Eco-Skies Alliance and established a venture fund—United Airlines Ventures—to identify and invest in companies and technologies that can decarbonize air travel.

The post United Airlines Invests in Algae-Based SAF Producer appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The funding is broken up into a total of 43 grants that research teams at the selected universities will be able to leverage for their work. The university teams are part of the Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT), which is part of the FAA’s Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment.

Launched in 2013, ASCENT is primarily a cooperative aviation research organization co-led by Washington State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in collaboration with the FAA, NASA, the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Transport Canada. As a co-lead of ASCENT, MIT has the benefit of sharing in more than $5.2 million of the total funding in the projects it is partnering with other universities. 

The awards are considered an investment in the future, according to one top transportation official. “The awards we are making will fund research at universities across the country for a more sustainable American aviation system,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

The groups will research various sectors, including sustainable aviation fuel, alternative jet fuel supply chains, electrification, noise reduction, noise exposure, hydrogen propulsion, engine technology, supersonic operations, and environmental measurement. 

Sustainable Aviation Fuel Projects  

Washington State University, the University of Tennessee, and Pennsylvania State were awarded $769,136 collectively to look for alternative jet fuel supply chains that might be regionally available. Additionally, they will examine the potential for increased domestic fuel production, especially in rural areas. 

Washington State University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were awarded $758,026 to find new methods and procedures to produce SAF with reduced life cycle emissions. 

Purdue University and MIT were awarded $800,000 to evaluate environmental benefits to the climate from sustainable aviation fuels. With a $2.4 million award, the University of Dayton, the University of Illinois, and Stanford University will conduct testing of novel fuel types to ensure they are safe for use. Additionally, they will help existing efforts to approve 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel use in existing aircraft. Finally, Missouri University of Science and Technology received a nearly $2.1 million award to measure combustion emission reductions from sustainable aviation fuels.

Improving Future Propulsion

MIT was awarded $460,000 to study the challenges and opportunities with hydrogen and battery-powered flight. $750,000 went to Purdue University and Georgia Institute of Technology so that they could investigate how fuel injector design and fuel pre-heating could be used to reduce soot emissions from jet engines.

Finally, Georgia Institute of Technology and MIT received $1 million to look for opportunities to cut noise and emissions through aircraft and engine design.

Improving Air Quality & Reducing Noise

To support ongoing efforts to make airworthiness standards to regulate aircraft CO2 emissions more strict, the FAA awarded the Georgia Institute of Technology and MIT $1.9 million.

MIT also earned another $250,000 to develop new metrics to quantify nitrogen oxide emission during the entire aircraft mission, including taxi, takeoff, cruise, and landing. Finally, Boston University was awarded $549,921 to study aviation emissions impact on air quality in various communities.

Focus on Sustainability 

In November 2021, the U.S. launched a comprehensive plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 that requires scaling up sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) productions and other related factors. The ASCENT Program incentivizes leading research groups and industry stakeholders to find sustainable solutions.

As part of the collective efforts to increase sustainable practices, the FAA launched a program to match more than $100 million in grants to companies developing technologies that reduce fuel use, emissions, and noise. 

The post FAA Awards More Than $16 Million to Improve Fuels, Cut Noise appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Can you guess what else is bad for the environment? Just about everything else. 

Popular culture uses media to influence; that is no secret. We are all in the advertising business.

From the earliest cave art depicting Thorg’s champion takedown of the mighty mastodon to your second cousin Lunar showing off her new thrift haul, people have engaged in social storytelling to influence the thoughts of their audience. 

It began with cave art, then traveling minstrels, and finally the tsunami that is social media. Every group with an internet connection will voice their opinion and subsequently find an audience to hit the like and follow button, present company included. 

But the question remains: Why would we fly if it is terrible for the planet? 

Considering other modes of transportation, is air travel that awful for the planet? See below for some data points to consider when researching this answer. 

Friday is Earth Day, and across the globe, people will gather to come up with new and innovative ways to celebrate Mother Earth. In honor of this annual event, I propose we put aviation on the environmental stage, not to criticize, but to highlight all the good that flying airplanes does for the Earth, and the steps we collectively make to continue the evolution to a more sustainable industry.

Innovations

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Andrew Card once famously remarked, “Don’t believe everything you read in the newspapers.” I suppose we can update this to include the internet as well. The truth is that the aerospace community is making great strides to become more environmentally sustainable. As simple as that may sound, we cannot just issue a mandate and then sweep it into change with a broad brushstroke. 

When Ford Motor Company decided to make its iconic F-150 pickup truck lighter to comply with federal fuel consumption standards, it used aluminum in the construction. FoMoCo shaved 700 pounds and did it from the more lightweight material and paired that with a smaller engine dubbed the Ecoboost. 

As you may recall from my FLYING article on the sunsetting of 100LL, it took GAMI 11 years of development to finally win approval by the FAA, and perhaps more time will pass before unleaded avgas is fully adopted—though that timeline will likely be accelerated.

By comparison, when Boeing decided to update the construction materials for the 787 Dreamliner, it took a full nine years from design to its first commercial flight with passengers in 2011. That is an eternity in the automotive world.

The movement toward unleaded aviation fuel is undeniably a positive step in the evolution of air travel. Fuel is not the only innovation currently in work in the aerospace sector. FLYING’s editor-in-chief Julie Boatman recently published a piece on the experience of her first flight in an electric-powered airplane.

Initiatives

The commercial industry consistently rises to the challenge when demand surges for a new supply offering. This new demand drives innovation. Companies like GAMI and Pipistrel are changing the way we fuel and power aircraft. Although full deployment is still several years away, actions are now in place to move closer to an environmentally sustainable industry. 

The FAA is also involved in the movement. Its efforts to build a net-zero sustainable aviation system by 2050 range in everything from aviation fuel to technology, flight operations, airports, etc. The Climate Action Plan initiative is one way the FAA hopes to operate more sustainably.

Embracing the environment headlines the July/August 2021 FAA Safety Briefing. One point to consider is something the FAA refers to as the “darker side of going green.” Electric power is in vogue currently, and yes, electric energy is cleaner than burning fossil fuels. However, it is not entirely blameless either.

Batteries make up a bulk of the mobility power, batteries containing specific minerals that are sometimes mined using destructive collection tactics like strip mining and mountaintop removal. Additionally, the regions containing these precious resources can frequently be in conflict zones or behind oppressive regimes. 

Practices

During my tenure at the engine shop, we were always mindful of our maintenance practices, waste, and shop products. While everyone wants to be as environmentally sustainable as possible, it is impossible to achieve perfection. Every company leaves a footprint. The goal is to minimize said impact. I will say that the reciprocating engine overhaul business ran on razor-thin margins, and I did everything to reduce, reuse, and recycle. 

We stripped engines during teardown, and everything went into a container with the engine information placarded on the outside. We retained these engine remnants outside the repair station footprint in a storage container. We did our best to use this material whenever the work would allow it. I will get into all of that when we discuss engine maintenance.

The number one rule in engine maintenance is cleanliness, and to list all of the reasons why would take up the balance of this article. The bottom line is that you cannot inspect what you cannot see. When steel parts enter the inspection arena, they need to be free of contaminants. Cleanliness is critical when performing magnetic particle inspection (MPI), the tiniest bit of grease will contaminate the entire bath solution.

Mineral spirits, the degreaser of choice for years, worked well and cleaned engine parts down to the tiniest grease spot. When I bought the shop, it was the only method of degreasing. My Zep rep Ed said he had a better way.

Enter the Zep Big Orange Liquid Citrus Solvent Degreaser. According to the website, this product is an organic, non-petroleum-based cleaner, degreaser, and deodorizer. Zep advertises that this product offers comparable degreasing power to petroleum distillates and chlorinated solvents.

We used Zep Big Orange in parallel with mineral spirits and found both to work well. Why did we retain the old ways? That is an age-old tale that deserves its article after the statute of limitations expires.

Another way aircraft mechanics can do their part is to enact a shop towel recycling program. 

I recently sat down with Steve Simpson of Closed Loop Recycling to discuss the benefits of reusable shop towels, absorption pads, and personal protection equipment (PPE).

Q: Explain the closed loop process for the aviation industry.

A: Our recycling process takes your used absorbents, PPE, and dirty storage drums back to our facility to clean them for recycling and reuse. 

Q: How can partnering with Closed Loop Recycling benefit the environment?

A: We have a mantra at CLP: “Whatever it takes.” The bottom line is that partnering with us will turn three waste streams into three reusable products:

• used oil
• absorbents and PPE
• collection drums

Q: What can aircraft maintenance professionals do in their daily work to minimize their environmental impact?

• Reduce consumption first and foremost. Try to use one instead of two—it’s that simple.
• Reuse materials such as absorption pads, gloves, aprons, caps, and PPE instead of throwing away disposable products.
• Recycle any leftovers that remain.

Back to the question from the top of the page. Is air travel terrible for the environment? A most excellent question indeed, and hotly debated in the media, on Capitol Hill, and around the water cooler at the office. Before you answer, please consider these quick data points.

When heeding the advice of Steve from Closed Loop, he offered the absolute best way to operate sustainably is to reduce. The best way to minimize the need for new material is to maintain existing material.

That said, you may be surprised to learn that the average age of automobiles in the United States was 12.1 years in 2021. The average age of general aviation aircraft is 30 years, and a sizable portion is over 40 years old. Maintain what you have, and you do not have to expend resources to produce new. The last graphic I will leave you with is the number of scheduled passengers boarded by the global airline industry from 2004 to 2021.

Not all of those passengers represented above would have traveled by automobile had they not flown. But safe to say that a significant number would have. Does that look green to you?

The post How the Folks Who Build Airplanes Take Care of the Environment appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Alaska Airlines launched its new “West Coast Wonders” livery this month with a photorealistic image of a pod of orca frolicking on the side of 737-9. The design was created through Boeing’s newly developed inkjet printing process.

According to Boeing, the inkjet process for aircraft is similar to what is used for documents. Boeing teams adapted the technology commonly used for flat surfaces to precisely apply billions of dots of ink to curved surfaces using a rotatable, eight-axis print head. The new process replaces the old technique of multiple sessions of masking, painting, and waiting for the paint to cure. Instead, every dot of ink stays in place. 

“Conventional livery application processes are rate-limited by cycles of masking, paint application, and curing steps for each livery color,” noted Kjersta Larson-Smith, technical fellow in Boeing Research and Technology Chemical Technology. 

“With the inkjet technology, a layer of white base coat serves as the canvas, all ink colors are then applied in a single step and a clear-coat layer is the finishing coat that provides durability and protection from the service environment.” 

The image for the design was a photograph taken by photographer and former Boeing employee Jane Cogan as part of her work to promote concern for endangered whales in the area. Cogan teams with the Center for Whale Research and other groups and captured the striking image on one of the group’s research projects. 

“Use of the photo on the Alaska Airlines tail represents an opportunity to promote concern for the endangered southern resident killer whale population and to offer suggestions on what we as individuals, families, and communities can do to help the whales,” Cogan said. “There is strength in numbers.”

The Puget Sound area is home to several species of whales, including humpback whales, gray whales, and the orcas, also known as “killer” whales. The image on the Alaska Airlines tail is a variation of killer whale known as a southern resident and is endangered, with fewer than 100 of the species left in the region.

The photorealistic image is striking and will likely give Alaska Airlines’ famous Salmon Thirty Salmon design competition in the “favorite livery” contest.

Designs are not limited to sea life, however. 

“If the customer can imagine it, we will be able to deliver it—from solid colors to photos,” said Chip Frohlich, director of advanced manufacturing for Commercial Airplanes Product Development.

The time required for conventional painting of an aircraft can be as many as 12 production days. The ink-jet method is a fraction of that.Multiple Boeing teams worked together on a global scale to develop and refine the new inkjet image process, including India, Australia, and several U.S. locations.  The process will eventually be made available for other Boeing customers.

The post There’s a Whale on That Tail appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“SAF is a safe, proven, immediate solution that will help achieve our industry’s long-term commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Sheila Remes, Boeing vice president of environmental sustainability. 

In a statement, Boeing said the agreement is the largest announced SAF procurement by an airframe manufacturer, describing it as further demonstration of Boeing’s commitment to decarbonizing aviation.

“Boeing has been a pioneer in making sustainable aviation fuels a reality,” Remes continued. “Through this agreement, we will reduce our carbon footprint and have SAF available for customer deliveries as well as our own operations.”

Boeing has a goal of having its commercial airplane fleet capable and certified to fly on 100 percent SAF by 2030.

Sustainably produced jet fuel is made from several feedstocks, making it a renewable resource rather than a finite refined material. SAF is designed to reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 80 percent.

“Our focus on environmental stewardship and safety is well known in the industry,” said Kyle O’Leary, vice president and chief operating officer of Epic Fuels, an independent aviation fuel supplier with primary operations throughout the U.S. and Canada. 

• READ MORE: FAA Grants $1.4 Million to Build Sustainable Aviation Fuel Supply Chains

“Epic and Boeing have been partners for decades and we are honored to be a part of this procurement. Working together, we are making sustainability more attainable for our customers.”

The fuel is certified for commercial use and can be blended with traditional jet fuel. SAF is currently approved for a 50/50 blend with conventional jet fuel for commercial flights.

Epic Fuels will also continue to supply customized blends from 50/50 percent up to 100 percent SAF for the Boeing ecoDemonstrator program. The program accelerates innovation by taking developing and promising technologies out of the lab and testing them in the air to solve real-world challenges for airlines and passengers. 

DHL Also Makes a Big SAF Purchase

Boeing isn’t the only company to make a big SAF purchase this week, DHL Global Forwarding—an air and ocean freight division of Deutsche Post DHL Group—has signed a three-year agreement with Air France KLM Martinair Cargo for the purchase of 33 million liters of SAF.

DHL calls the deal one of the “most significant” purchases of SAF in freight forwarding. The company has a goal to reduce all logistics-related emissions to zero by 2050.

The company believes that blending this amount of SAF with conventional aviation fuel over the next three years will reduce carbon emissions by 80,000 tons.

In a media release, Tim Scharwath, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, said, “We have set ourselves ambitious goals on our journey towards zero emissions. Sustainable fuels are a fundamental part of our efforts. That is why we have committed to covering at least 30 percent of airfreight and ocean freight fuel requirements with sustainable fuels by 2030.”

The post Boeing Purchases 2 Million Gallons of Sustainable Aviation Fuel appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Technicians from both companies will collaborate to develop an integrated ground- and flight-test plan for 100 percent SAF in a GTF-powered Embraer E195-E2, the companies announced this week. 

Embraer will provide the aircraft, technical support, and personnel for the flight-test program. No date was announced yet for the initial flight. 

In a press release, Embraer president and CEO Arjan Meijer said the partnership would “enable our customers to operate as sustainably as possible,” and that Embraer was “delighted” to partner with Pratt & Whitney.

The agreement is an effort to help fulfill a pledge the business aviation industry made earlier this fall to reach net-zero carbon emissions from air travel by 2050.

In the same release, Graham Webb, chief sustainability officer at Pratt & Whitney, said his company has actively supported SAF initiatives for nearly two decades and highlighted the importance of collaboration with partners like Embraer in the “constant pursuit of more efficient aircraft propulsion technologies.”

Where We Are 

Technical standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM) allow aircraft to operate with blended SAF, which combines with up to 50 percent traditional jet fuel. The blend is then re-certified as jet-A or jet-A1 and needs no changes to the fuel infrastructures or for an aircraft wanting to use SAF. 

Using SAF could result in up to an 80 percent reduction of carbon emissions, depending on various factors such as feedstock and production method, compared to the traditional jet fuel.

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The move toward sustainable aviation fuels gained momentum last week as cargo and passenger airline interests, in conjunction with the U.N. climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, took more steps to meet the new goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The aviation sector accounts for 2.5 percent of global CO2 emissions, which are expected to rise rapidly with the Department of Energy projecting jet fuel use will double in 30 years. Airlines increasingly realize that their long-term survival depends on seriously tackling climate change, just as safety is a prerequisite to operate.

Recent Industry Moves

On Wednesday, Amazon Air (NASDAQ: AMZN), the retail and logistics giant’s in-house cargo airline, along with Alaska Airlines (NYSE: ALK), JetBlue (NYSE: JBLU) and United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) became the first to join the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), which was created to drive investment in jet fuel made from waste and biomass, and accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions air transport.

DHL Express, part of Deutsche Post DHL Group, announced a new partnership with Neste to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at the carrier’s hub at East Midlands Airport in the U.K.

Kuehne + Nagel, the world’s largest airfreight forwarder, said it will offer customers the option to purchase SAF for each shipment if they want to minimize the environmental impact. Other logistics companies have limited SAF substitution programs on specific routes, but Kuehne + Nagel’s product is comprehensive. And Air Canada (OTCUS: ACDVF) said it will work with Carbon Engineering Ltd. to identify potential opportunities for direct capture of carbon from jet engines and how it can be removed from the atmosphere or turned into SAF.

On Thursday, the International Air Cargo Association released a sustainability road map that identifies concrete actions industry should take to contribute to international targets on sustainable development and climate change. Decarbonization is one of eight priority areas for airfreight.

Meanwhile, officials from 23 governments at the COP26 conference, including the U.S., pledged to work with the International Civil Aviation Organization and others to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goal for global warming not to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius.

How SAF Fits In

The industry views SAF as the best near-term solution to achieving new targets, along with operational improvements and infrastructure, as it develops electric and hydrogen propulsion technology for clean aircraft of the future.

SAF can be produced from waste oil and fats, green and municipal waste, nonfood crops, or carbon capture.

Jet engines today can take a 50/50 blend of SAF, which reduces CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent. Boeing and Airbus are working to get certification for engines that operate 100 percent on SAF, which industry officials expect by the end of the decade.

Last month, the International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines, set a new target for carbon-neutral flying by the middle of the century but said achieving it requires a collective effort by all stakeholders.

The net-zero commitment implies that a cumulative total of 21.2 gigatons of carbon will need to be abated between now and 2050. IATA’s baseline scenario calls for 65 percent of emissions to be abated through SAF. An additional 13 percent will be erased through new propulsion technology, with efficiency improvements accounting for 3 percent of the total goal. The remainder could be dealt with through carbon capture and storage and offsets.

The aviation sector is counting on a supportive government policy framework to enable its energy transition. The trade association favors incentives over mandates requiring certain quantities of SAF be used, saying they reduce project risk, create competition and keep prices down.

The Government’s Hope

Under President Joe Biden, the U.S. government is targeting 3 billion gallons of SAF production by 2030, representing more than 10 percent of estimated jet fuel consumption. By 2050, it wants 35 billion gallons of SAF, enough to power the entire U.S. aviation sector. The administration also announced an investment of more than $200 million, including matching private funds, for advanced aviation technologies that will reduce fuel use, emissions and noise. And it is working with Congress to pass a tax credit for SAFs to bring down the cost and stimulate production.

“Our view is that just like vehicles on the ground, the future of aviation is a sustainable one and we are so eager to capture the economic benefits and the jobs that that innovation will generate for our citizens,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttegieg said at the COP26 International Aviation Climate Coalition meeting. “But we also welcome global competition because we believe U.S. innovators will thrive more under that kind of healthy pressure, and because a race for climate technology means a better chance of reducing emissions before it’s too late to prevent the worst outcomes of climate change.”

Scaling up SAF Supply

A complete shift away from fossil fuels for air transport by 2050 is possible with SAF made from waste feedstock and rotational cover crops gradually transitioning toward fuels generated from low-carbon electricity, according to a September report from the Air Transport Action Group. It envisions new technology options such as electric and hydrogen aircraft for short-haul flights, with SAF supporting all medium- and long-haul operations.

Airbus says it is confident it can produce a hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2035.

The desire to reduce the carbon intensity of flying is hampered by supply and cost challenges. SAF currently represents less than 0.1 percent of global aviation fuel due to diffuse demand costs four times as much as conventional jet fuel. Achieving pollution targets will require commercial SAF production at scale, proponents say.

The (SABA) was launched in April by the Environmental Defense Fund and green-energy nonprofit RMI to signal to suppliers that there is strong airline demand for greater SAF production.

“We are excited to partner with the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance to launch a new Aviators Group to promote the development of sustainable aviation fuel solutions,” said Sarah Rhoads, vice president of Amazon Global Air, in a statement. “We’re already reducing carbon across our air network, from our ground operations—where we were the first to use electric main deck loaders in North America—to our fleet and network design. By working together with other companies, we are demonstrating there is strong and growing demand for the rapid deployment of cost-effective sustainable aviation fuels, which will help Amazon meet our commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040.”

Alaska Air has also set a goal of net-zero carbon by 2040. Last month, it formed an investment arm to advance emerging technology that will accelerate the airline’s progress toward net zero carbon emissions.

In addition to inaugurating the Aviators Group, SABA announced the addition of Meta (formerly the Facebook company) into its founding customers group, which includes:

• Bank of America
• Boeing (NYSE: BA)
• Boston Consulting Group
• Deloitte
• JPMorgan Chase
• McKinsey & Co.
• Microsoft
• Netflix
• Salesforce

Airline customers that can’t buy SAF directly buy SAF certificates representing emission reductions for use toward their climate goals, increasing the demand signal and incentive to produce more SAF.

The program builds on recent SAF purchase partnerships between airlines and corporate customers by providing a standardized, scalable approach and a system for tracking and verifying credible SAF purchases. The cost of an SAF certificate represents the price premium of SAF compared to jet kerosene from fossil fuels, minus any government incentives. SABA says it is striving to make SAF certificates available by the end of next year, adding that the process is taking more time because of a lack of transparency in the jet fuel market.

SABA is developing an SAF Sustainability Framework designed to ensure SAF contributes to credible emissions reductions and doesn’t degrade the environment or compete with food and water.

Shippers, Providers Participate

Cargo airlines, freight forwarders and shippers need to contribute by demonstrating an interest in flying on SAF, TIACA said in its sustainability report. Air cargo companies should also transition to cleaner ground vehicles used at airports and for road distribution, it said.

DHL’s cargo airline said it will do its part with the purchase of more than 60 million euros ($70.6 million) worth of SAF by mid-2022 at East Midlands, eliminating about 70,000 tons of CO2. The company has a 2030 target of meeting at least 30 percent of its fuel needs in aviation through sustainable fuel.

Neste will be DHL’s main SAF supplier at the U.K. airport, which supports about 200 flights per week. The fuel is produced from used cooking oil.

The U.K. government is studying policy proposals to encourage increased use of SAF.

DHL has already introduced SAF in San Francisco and Amsterdam and said it plans to equip more airports with SAF this year.

Kuehne+Nagel said the new SAF option for shippers is available on all air freight quoting platforms and channels. The price is instantly calculated based on weight, rather than per liter or CO2 ton avoided, and presented as a selectable choice.

Lufthansa Cargo and German logistics giant DB Schenker recently extended their weekly carbon-free freighter flights between Frankfurt and Shanghai, China, until March 22. Under the program, the trip’s fuel requirements are covered by SAF, amortized over time through other flights that use a mix of biofuel and jet fuel. The companies purchase SAF, which is fed into the refueling system at Frankfurt Airport so that each aircraft subsequently refueled has a small blend of SAF, enabling them to claim credit for a carbon-neutral flight. Telecommunications network provider Nokia has signed up for DB Schenker’s fuel option.

Over the next five months, Nokia will ship 10 tons of communications network equipment each week from a production facility in Shanghai to its European hub in Tilburg in the Netherlands. The shipment is entirely covered by SAF to reduce 100 percent of carbon emissions during the life cycle, avoiding any offsetting. Land transport elements will be covered utilizing another advanced type of biofuel, hydrogenated vegetable oil.

The alternative fuel flights save around 174 tons of conventional kerosene every week, according to Lufthansa Cargo. During the summer flight schedule, the initiative achieved a net reduction of 20,250 tons of greenhouse gases. In the upcoming winter flight schedule, from the end of October to the end of March, another 14,175 tons are expected to be diverted from the atmosphere.

All-cargo operator Cargolux last month announced the start of a SAF program, but provided no details about how it works.

British Airways earlier this week demonstrated the capabilities of SAF, powering the airline’s first flight back to the U.S. since border restrictions were lifted, with a 35 percent blend of SAF. That is the highest level for a commercial transatlantic flight ever, according to London Heathrow Airport. It is urging the U.K. government to introduce a price stability mechanism to foster investment in production, as well as mandate 10% usage by 2030 and at least 50 percent by 2050.

Air Canada is following the lead of United and FedEx Express (NYSE: FDX), which are investing heavily in carbon capture and sequestration in geologic formations. The carrier said it will work with Carbon Engineering to commercialize its carbon capture technology. The carbon can be stored underground or used to produce ultra-low carbon SAF by combining the CO2 with clean hydrogen, the companies said.

Ahead of COP26, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and United became founding members of the Aviation Climate Taskforce. The nonprofit organization, made up of 10 global airlines and the Boston Consulting Group, was established to accelerate research and advance innovation related to emerging decarbonization technologies, including SAF.

Also, AirFlo and Tiger Freight joined Air France KLM Martinair Cargo’s SAF program to reduce the carbon emissions they produce when shipping flowers and perishables from Kenya and Zimbabwe. Their fixed annual investment will help procure SAF by covering the price difference between conventional jet fuel and SAF, the airline said.

Borrowing From Bike Racers

On Tuesday, Airbus conducted the first long-haul demonstration of formation flight in commercial airspace with two A350 aircraft flying 3 kilometers apart from Toulouse, France, to Montreal. The concept is similar to how bicycle or auto racers tuck close behind another racer to take advantage of a low pressure pocket and expend less energy.

The aircraft manufacturer said more than six tons of CO2 emissions were saved on the trip, confirming the potential for more than a 5 percent fuel saving on long-haul flights.

The ability for the second plane to closely follow the leader was made possible with new flight control systems developed by Airbus. The systems position the follower aircraft safely in the wake updraft of the leader, allowing it to reduce engine thrust and fuel consumption. The principle can be observed with large migrating birds, such as geese, which fly together in a distinct V-shaped formation.

Airbus officials said they are optimistic that the technology will be deployed for passenger aircraft around the middle of this decade. The operational concept needs to be certified by aviation authorities before airlines can adopt it.

Getting approval in Europe will bear watching. Regulators there have yet to adopt the Single European Sky concept, which IATA says would shorten flight patterns and immediately reduce emissions by 6 percent. The inefficiency in the current air traffic control system in Europe contributes 10 percent to 12 percent in excess fuel use and CO2 emissions, according to the group.

New operational efficiencies were also at the heart of an Etihad Airways flight from London to Abu Dhabi last month. Using a combination of SAF and improved flight management the flight reduced CO2 emissions by 85,980 pounds and fuel burn by 3,968 pounds. Etihad’s fleet is being used by Boeing as a testbed for sustainability improvements.

Etihad said the Boeing 787 flight was the first commercial flight to explore contrail avoidance. Working with U.K-based data analytics firm Satavia, engineers identified areas of ice supersaturated regions in the atmosphere where harmful contrails are likely to form, and adjusted the flight route to avoid these areas. The strategy avoided the production of approximately 70.5 tons of CO2e, with a fuel penalty of only 220 pounds.

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The amount of cash on hand was $44.8 million less than that reported at the end of the second quarter of 2021, according to the company. Gevo also reported $14.7 million third-quarter loss from operations, more than twice the $6.1 million reported during the same period in 2020.

The financial announcement late Wednesday comes following a series of new strategic partnerships and agreements for the Englewood, Colorado-based company. On October 25, Gevo signed a memorandum of understanding with Archer-Daniels-Midland Company for the production of sustainable aviation fuel and other low carbon-footprint hydrocarbon fuels.

Since early September, Gevo also announced:

• An agreement with Axens North America, Inc. that establishes an alliance utilizing production technology that converts ethanol to hydrocarbons
• A partnership with Kiewit Energy Group, Inc. to lead the Front End Engineering Design effort for its Net-Zero 1 Project in South Dakota
• An acquisition of patents through an asset purchase agreement with Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC and its affiliate Danisco US Inc.
• That they’ve signed a letter of intent with Chevron U.S.A. Inc., to invest in building and operating facilities that process inedible corn for SAF production.

Under the agreement with Chevron, the fuel giant would take up 150 million gallons of hydrocarbon fuels, and correspondingly invest in production assets to produce those fuels, Gevo CEO Dr. Patrick R. Gruber said Wednesday.

The customer pipeline is growing, he added.

“The pipeline of potential contracts is now well over a billion gallons per year,” he said. “We’re negotiating these contracts. The interest in SAF has definitely increased, especially since the White House meeting a couple of months ago.”

Net Zero 1

Gevo is “on the crusade for net-zero drop-in fuels,” and has set an ambitious goal of delivering 1 billion gallons or more of sustainable fuel by 2030, Gruber said.

In early 2021, Gevo announced its Net Zero Projects, which aims to transform renewable energy into energy-dense liquids and all with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions over the whole lifecycle of the fuel product.

As part of project development, the company optioned the right to purchase a 240-acre parcel of land in South Dakota, and it has said it expects front-end engineering will be completed by the end of 2021. Once operational, the company said it expects Net-Zero 1 will have the capacity to produce about 45 million gallons per year (MGPY) of liquid hydrocarbons in the form of jet fuel and renewable gasoline.

“We’ve made great progress; the pieces are coming together,” Gruber said. “We are seeing demand for our products increase and we are establishing alliances that, we expect, will help us accelerate growth beyond our Net-Zero 1 project. We are pleased that Net-Zero 1 appears to be on track, too. Overall, a very good quarter.”

Gevo has been delivering SAF to the general aviation market since its first forays into it in December 2020.

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