The world’s longest plane - what will it fly?

Welcome to another issue of Aerospace. This week we take a look at Winrunner. Once built, it will be the world’s longest and largest aircraft. Ironically, that massive aircraft will help the world transition away from fossil fuels. Read more below to find out how.

Barely a week goes by where Elon Musk and SpaceX aren’t in the news, and this week we also take a look at SpaceX’s Starlink. Is the internet satellite megaconstellation a force for good, or do the negatives outweigh the positives?

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AEROSPACE ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT

Radia’s WindRunner is the world’s longest plane

Colorado-based Radia built the world’s longest aircraft. The company is an energy firm, but not in the traditional sense. Instead of building windfarms, the firm is helping to tackle one of the biggest problems related to renewable energies.

Radia’s aircraft, the WindRunner is over 360 feet (110 m) long, making it longer than a standard American football field. Its internal volume capacity is equivalent to 12 Boeing 747s. Like many cargo aircraft, its nose can be lifted to make it easier to insert cargo.

So what exactly does the WindRunner carry?

Radia’s aircraft was built to transport long wind turbine blades to wind farms throughout the US. According to estimates, an average trip from a factory or port to a wind farm in the US will be nearly 600 miles (590 km).

Transporting these massive turbine blades is a challenge via road, where bridges, tunnels, and curved roads can block the way.

Radia claims its aptly-named WindRunner aircraft can easily transport turbine blades that are roughly as long as 345 feet (105 m). It can also transport several smaller blades, with Radia stating it could carry three blades measuring about 280 feet (85 m). As a point of reference, the largest turbine blade that can be carried by road is ~230 feet (70 m).

While we’ve focused mainly on the WindRunner’s length, it will also be the world’s largest aircraft. It will dwarf the 275-foot (84-m) long Antonov An-225 Mriya, which was sadly destroyed in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Radia was founded by former MIT engineer Mark Lundstrom in 2016. The company came out of steal in March to reveal its WindRunner aircraft. It plans to build dozens of WindRunners to help with the required fast transition to renewable energies.

AERO BULLETIN

SpaceX’s Starlink scrutinized? Here’s why

SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites have brought connectivity to thousands. It has connected civilians and soldiers in wartorn Ukraine and allowed people to live enviable off-grid lifestyles in the US.

However, the satellite megaconstellations have also faced heavy criticism due to their impact on astronomy and their pollution of the atmosphere. Here are two of the latest stories on Starlink from this week, showcasing the technology’s potential for good and bad.

US Space Force keeps an eye on Starlink

The US Space Force is keeping an eye on SpaceX’s Starlink direct-to-cell service. According to Space Force colonel Eric Felt, the US Space Force views “direct-to-cell as a really disruptive thing. How that technology develops is going to play out in how we provide service to the narrowband users.”

In other words, commercial direct-to-cell provides a similar service to the one provided by Space Force’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS). But SpaceX’s technology is more accessible, meaning it could one day succeed the military’s billion-dollar MUOS.

Cybersecurity could be a concern, Felt said. However, this would likely be outweighed by the high accessibility. I.e. the fact that troops could instantly connect without requiring special equipment.

Satellites could cause 646% surge in damaging atmospheric metals

Scientists recently announced that satellite megaconstellations like Starlink could damage the ozone layer. Starlink satellites are designed to last for about five years in Earth’s orbit. Once an individual satellite is no longer operational, it is burned up in Earth’s atmosphere.

This leaves behind damaging aluminum oxide particles in Earth’s atmosphere. Given the fact, that thousands more satellites are planned to go to orbit, the scientists estimated that there will be a 646% increase in aluminum oxide over natural levels in orbit in the coming years.

These particles will slowly drift downwards over decades. When they reach the stratosphere, they will interact with ozone molecules, causing destructive chemical reactions. In other words, satellite megaconstellations could create a cumulative destructive effect that might not be felt until decades later.