Principal Investigator R Hansman
Micro unmanned areal vehicles (micro-UAVs) are an increasingly important component of research, commercial and military air fleets. However, most micro-UAVs are limited to low-speed flight. Many applications require higher flight speeds: joint missions with manned aircraft, reconnaissance in hostile air space, or serving as a target or decoy. This project addresses the need for more agile micro-UAVs. We develop key technologies for micro-UAVs capable of sustained transonic flight:
(*) Propulsion - Ultra-slow-burn solid rocket motors for sustained thrust at any flight Mach number(*) Aerodynamics - Computational and experimental techniques for transonic stability and control analysis(*) Deployment - Folding wings and control surfaces for compact packaging; launch and stabilization devices
We integrate these technologies in a demonstration vehicle. Called Firefly, this micro-UAV is about the size of a football and launches from a manned fighter aircraft. After launch, Firefly performs a joint mission with the fighter during several minutes of autonomous, transonic flight. Developing technology in the context of a demonstration vehicle enforces realistic mission and integration requirements on our work. These systems engineering considerations are especially important in the tightly integrated, densely packeted configuration of a micro-UAV.