High-Speed Horizons: A Strategic Alliance for the Future of Flight

Imagine hypersonic aircraft that could whisk VIPs from Los Angeles to New York in under an hour. Or suborbital "spaceplanes" that could gather valuable data for atmospheric science or test new space technologies before they are deployed on orbital missions.

Aerospace companies around the world are already hard at work developing these and other high-speed flight capabilities. At the same time, Congress, federal agencies, and even local governments have launched efforts to prepare the way for this amazing future. 

Midland, Texas, is one local entity leading the charge toward that goal, and they've asked MITRE—operator of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) federally funded R&D center—to partner with them in the effort.

Midland is home to Midland International Air and Space Port (MAF), the only U.S. commercial airport that also holds an FAA commercial spaceport license. 

MAF's aim is to become a hub for innovation and development in the high-speed flight sector, offering infrastructure that aerospace companies can use to test their commercial space and high-speed flight technologies.

"We’re partnering with the Midland Development Corporation [MDC]—the city's economic development organization—to support future operational high-speed flight testing and demonstrations at MAF, and ultimately to integrate these operations safely and seamlessly into the National Airspace System," says Elizabeth Pappas, who is overseeing MITRE's work with MDC.

"This five-year effort is just beginning, but we've already created a high-fidelity model of the airspace using MITRE's advanced toolsets. And we've interviewed potential high-speed flight operators to better understand their needs from a business and technical perspective," adds John Belanger, who is leading the technical effort. "Soon we'll be able to overlay proposed high-speed flights with existing and future air traffic in the region to understand gaps in how airspace is designed and performs for supersonic and hypersonic flights." 

Ultimately, he says, our work will extend to airspace design updates, collaboration with the FAA on approvals of operations, and test and simulation of those changes in MITRE's laboratory facilities—laying the groundwork for flight testing to begin.

Midland's mayor and other high-ranking city executives, along with representatives from MAF, MDC, Inter Flight Global, and several U.S. Senate and House offices, got a chance to see MITRE's initial modeling efforts up-close during a visit to our Immersion Lab in McLean, Virginia, on Oct. 15.

"We demonstrated the airspace models we've developed for Midland and shared our progress in gathering operational requirements from launch operators to support future flight testing at MAF," Belanger says.

"They were impressed with our ability to quickly model a pilot's environment for a supersonic flight from MAF, and several members of the delegation not only experienced the virtual capabilities but also actively flew the simulation aircraft through Mach 1," Pappas adds. 

Establishing a Foundation for Nationwide Operations

MITRE's work with MDC and MAF has implications that reach far beyond West Texas.

"Our work with MAF is in alignment with both FAA and congressional goals for advancing high-speed flight operations throughout the country," Pappas notes.

In the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, Congress directs the FAA to identify places where high-speed flight operations can be safely tested.

MAF fits the bill. In addition to being the only FAA-licensed spaceport and commercial airport, it's located in West Texas, where population densities are low, so it offers a safe place to conduct high-speed flight testing. 

A variety of entities have taken notice of these advantages. Several aerospace technology development companies—including Kepler Aerospace, Firehawk Aerospace, and Starfighters Space—have already set up facilities in Midland. Development of capabilities at Midland will also be positioned to take advantage of other R&D efforts in the future. NASA testing of technology to reduce the noise—or sonic booms—that supersonic aircraft generate could help future operational approvals in West Texas. NASA's goal is to enable supersonic flight over land in the U.S., which is currently prohibited due to its noise impact. 

The FAA Reauthorization Act also directs the FAA to outline a pathway to integrating high-speed aircraft into the NAS—everything from establishing testing facilities to researching the policies, standards, regulations, and recommended practices that would be needed to govern these activities.

The MAF/MITRE partnership touches on all that and more.

"This work will inform not only MAF operations but also those of other U.S. spaceports," Pappas says. "It’s creating the opportunity to test the technology, validate the results of lab scenarios, and test the procedures necessary to enable the future of high-speed aerospace transportation for American travelers."

The partnership also plans to explore the feasibility of creating a network of spaceports providing point-to-point high-speed flight-testing opportunities between certified facilities. Spaceport America, located just 250 nautical miles from Midland, is an early opportunity for those types of flight tests. 

"Findings from that research will inform the entire industry," Pappas says.