Solar-Powered Fixed-Wing Aircraft Design; A Comparison of the Space Launch System and Private Alternatives

While not directly related, my technical capstone project and STS paper are both centered on the concept of efficiency. For my technical capstone, our team chose to tackle the initial design phase of a solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The design was chosen to fill the market for an autonomous aerial vehicle that can stay up in the air for long periods of time like a satellite, but is far more maneuverable, and more importantly, very affordable. For my STS paper, I researched and analyzed the differences between NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS), comparing it to the far cheaper and more powerful SpaceX Starship. While the topics are loosely related, both are centered around creating the most efficient design to reach the largest target audience.

SPARC or the Solar Powered Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft was created with the intent to one day create a highly efficient, high-altitude platform able to stay in the air for days at a time due to its solar powered systems. The market that the project aimed to fill was something having both the advantages of satellites and conventional aircraft. Reconnaissance satellites are used by both military and civilian contractors because of their extremely long durations in orbit. However, satellites are very expensive to launch and extremely limited when it comes to changing their course. Conventional aircraft and UAVs are much more maneuverable and significantly cheaper to operate but have very limited range and loiter time. Our aircraft uses solar energy to increase its range and loiter time exponentially, while remaining very easy and cheap to operate. The SPARC project also aims to provide a step towards an important social problem. The aviation industry makes up 2.5% of global CO2 emissions. While work is being done on sustainable aviation fuels and electrically powered aircraft, both options are currently nowhere close to providing a feasible solution for manned aircraft. However, since unmanned aircraft are far lighter and require much less power than manned aircraft, SPARC will be able to achieve its mission goals using currently available technology.

For my STS paper I began my research with the goal of finding a justification for sending humans to Mars. I have always been passionate about space exploration and wanted to write a paper explaining why more people should be interested in it as well, and be content with their tax dollars going to NASA. However, while reading, I became fascinated with SpaceX’s fast pace of development, especially when compared to NASAs slower and more expensive approach with the SLS. This topic was very complex and interesting, so I decided to shift the research approach from a historical analysis to more of a case study to compare the two side by side. Choosing the case study over a broad industry analysis helped me discover more details about what makes private space companies more efficient than the public agency. When compared side by side, the research revealed that there are a variety of factors including politics, public image, testing approach, and contract incentives that cause NASA to move at a slower pace than the private sector.

The analysis of NASA and SpaceX is interesting when put alongside the SPARC project because of the design choices made for both rockets. SPARC seeks to use new technologies to increase the efficiency of an aircraft. While the STS paper does not touch on solar technology, it is centered on the difference between NASA using outdated and less powerful technology while SpaceX continues to innovate and produce rockets that are more powerful and far cheaper.

School of Engineering and Applied Science

Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering

Technical Advisor: Aldo Gargiulo

STS Advisor: Sean Murray

Technical Team Members: Miles Beam, Victoria Camacho, Michael Chou, Larry Egalla, Graham Guerette, Declan Long, Nathan Ong, Christopher Recupero, Defne Savas, Adam Snyder, Muhammad Vasal