NASA Signs Agreements With 17 Companies For Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge Written 4 March 2020
Artist’s rendition of an Urban Air Mobility environment | NASA
Aviation Today reports that 17 companies have signed Space Act Agreements with NASA in order to compete in the Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge, “a series of technology demonstrations meant to test the readiness of vehicles and systems intended for use in low-altitude, urban airspace.” Joby Aviation was the only company “selected to provide a vehicle to fly in the initial event, termed the Grand Challenge Developmental Test (GC-DT).” GC-DT “is meant as a preparatory event for the first official Grand Challenge (GC-1) event, slated for fiscal year 2022.” Five companies – Bell, The Boeing Company, NFT, Prodentity and Zeva – “were selected to participate in the ‘vehicle provider information exchange,’ providing the agency with information about their aircraft with the intent of participating in GC-1.” NASA’s Grand Challenge is similar to the Air Force’s recently announced “Agility Prime” competition.
Full Story (Aviation Today)