NASA has extended its support for three Vertical Lift Research Centers of Excellence (VLRCOE) for another five years under the Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology project.
Three teams each led by Georgia Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Maryland will continue long-term basic research on vertical lift aircraft, the space agency said Tuesday.
In partnership with the U.S. Army and Navy, the academic teams will train future vertical lift engineers and build a dual-use technology base that the military aviation community and the wider aerospace industry can tap into.
"Among other objectives for the Army and Navy, the tasks that have been selected will cover a wide range of research areas that support NASA’s mission in advanced air mobility," explained Susan Gorton, the manager of the agency's Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology project.
The teams first received the VLRCOE designation in 2011 under an Army-administered broad agency announcement and secured a five-year extension in 2016.