Frost & Sullivan gives magniX Technology Innovation Leadership Award – Aerospace Manufacturing and Design
Through in-depth and extensively researched analysis, Frost & Sullivan industry analysts evaluate companies in two key categories: technology leverage and business impact. The award process measures how companies demonstrate leading development and successfully introducing high-tech solutions to customers’ most pressing needs, all while making a profound impact on the industry or business landscape where they operate.
magniX is recognized for its innovative electric propulsions systems that display high client value by addressing the key fuel efficiency and emissions-related challenges that conventional jet fuel applications present across the aviation industry.
“2020 brought many challenges, but also a wealth of opportunity for the aviation industry,” said Roei Ganzarski, CEO of magniX. “At magniX, we are grateful that our vision to change how the world views transportation achieved significant milestones despite a turbulent year. We are honored by this recognition from Frost & Sullivan and we are more motivated than ever to transform the commercial aviation landscape to a more sustainable one, without compromise.”
The new agreement will support the transportation of government and non-government passengers, cargo, and other payloads for orbital and suborbital space missions in a safe and cost-effective manner, as well as streamline spaceflight standards and requirements.
Under the MOU, NASA and the FAA will focus on building a clear framework for private industry to follow for commercial launch and re-entry, as well as coordinating an approach for sharing safety data with the public to enhance understanding of the known risks of commercial space travel. NASA also will collaborate with the FAA on the licensing of orbital and suborbital flights, facilitating new space technologies and research opportunities, and advancing point-to-point commercial suborbital pilot programs. The FAA is responsible for the regulations governing commercial space launch and re-entry licensing. An FAA license is required to conduct any commercial space launch or reentry, the operation of any launch or reentry site by U.S. citizens anywhere in the world, or by any individual or entity within the United States.
Continuing this partnership is critical to achieving the goals and objectives of multiple U.S. space policies. The MOU also builds upon existing collaborations, such as the FAA and NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, which helped develop a framework for flying researchers from industry and academia on commercial suborbital flights, allowing them to propose to fly with their NASA-sponsored payloads for the first time.
NASA also is collaborating with the FAA on commercial suborbital spaceflight activities through the Commercial Crew Program’s
Palo Alto, California-based Metawave Corp. has been awarded a prime, phase one contract by the United States Air Force (USAF) to provide a high-precision, all-weather sensing solution for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The initial Metawave study outlined by the contract will identify modifications needed for the company’s existing Spektra radar for aerial operations, all of which will be applied to development of next-generation eVTOL air-vehicles.
The USAF’s Agility Prime initiative seeks to advance the development of applicable technologies for operational, human-rated eVTOL aircraft by 2023. In addition to traditional aerospace companies, the USAF is directly engaging with innovative new sector entrants, such as Metawave, that have demonstrated their ability to provide “enabling technologies” that will advance the requirements of Agility Prime.
Metawave’s Spektra automotive, analog beamsteering radar can distinguish between objects that are next to each other, in difficult driving scenarios, and in all-weather conditions. The current long-range high-resolution Spektra enables critical features for next-generation cars, including adaptive cruise control, lane change assist, and automated emergency braking. Based on the level of precision required to safely deliver these features in all-weather conditions, Spektra is a candidate for a rugged sensor system for future eVTOL aircraft and will enable precision eVTOL navigation and obstacle avoidance.
As part of the phase one effort, Metawave, in partnership with the Arizona State University Center for Wireless Information Systems and Computational Architectures, will modify the Spektra radar for longer ranges and navigation in three-dimensional space.
“Both the automotive and eVTOL markets require the highest level of precision delivered by Spektra. For both applications, the ability to reliably distinguish between several objects close together in all weather and light conditions is an important capability for all phases of transport, including flight. The most significant difference is the operational range of the radar,” said Maha Achour, Metawave CEO and founder.
The Agility Prime initiative was launched by AFWERX, the USAF’s rapid innovation branch. AFWERX is devoted to quickly fielding emerging commercial technologies for a variety of future-facing applications. AFWERX’s eVTOL project is its biggest program to date, awarding $38 million thus far to more than 250 selected proposals for aircraft and flight-enabling technologies.
The Washington, D.C.-based start-up company Rhea Space Activity (RSA) worked with Metawave to develop the Spektra concept as a parallel application for its well-established commercial automotive uses.
Shawn Usman, astrophysicist and Founder of RSA, said, “Spektra is versatile enough to support unmanned VTOL operations as well as fixed-wing flight.”