Jane Edwards
Spire Global has been named a subcontractor in a potential eight-year, $29 million contract that NASA awarded to Harris Miller Miller & Hanson to support the second and third phases of the space agency’s Low-Boom Flight Demonstration initiative using the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology research aircraft.
“As NASA develops supersonic technology and aircraft, we join with them in recognizing the need to lessen the auditory impact on citizens and appreciate the opportunity to support the agency and HMMH on this project,” Theresa Condor, chief operating officer of Spire, said in a statement published Thursday.
Under Phase 3, NASA will fly its X-59 plane over communities to collect feedback from residents over the aircraft’s sonic boom. The agency will share aircraft’s acoustic data and community feedback with U.S. and international regulators as they work to come up with sound-based rules for supersonic flights.
Spire will quantify variables impacting noise exposure, provide weather forecasting support and gather and share data on winds, temperature, humidity, pressure and other factors associated with sonic boom wave propagation.
Condor said the company’s weather data and forecasting capabilities align with the research effort aimed at minimizing sonic boom impact.
Other subcontractors on the NASA contract are Blue Ridge Research and Consulting, Envirosuite, Crown Consulting, Westat, Senzig Engineering and the Center for Atmospheric Sciences at Hampton University.
