1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA / Scott Anders / Lillian Gipson / Rich Wahls
The purpose of the Subsonic Flight Demonstrator (SFD) project is to engage with industry and other government organizations to identify, select, and mature key airframe technologies, such as new wing designs, that have a high probability of transition to the next generation single-aisle seat class airliner.
Moving technologies from a research environment to a production environment can be a real challenge for industry manufacturers and frequently these promising technologies do not get adopted due to a variety of technical and economic risks.
NASA in partnership with industry plan to:
Develop and flight test an advanced airframe configuration and related technologies to dramatically reduce aircraft fuel burn.
Obtain ground data that will be used by the NASA/industry teams to validate the benefits of the new technologies.
Use the research results to help industry make decisions associated with next generation single-aisle airliner.
SFD Project Leadership
Project Manager
Sarah Waechter
Deputy Project Manager
Rich DeLoof
Chief Engineer
Dr. Renee Horton
Technology Development
Tony Washburn
Program Planning and Control (PP&C) Lead
Stephanie Hamrick
IASP
ARMD
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Last Updated
Mar 09, 2026
Editor
Jim Banke
Contact
Sasha Ellis
sasha.c.ellis@nasa.gov
Related Terms
Subsonic Flight Demonstrator
— Source: NASA News (https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/armd/iasp/sfd/about-sfd/)