The Overview — Flow
Fueling the next generation of aerospace engineers
Flow
The continuous motion of a fluid subjected to unbalanced forces, resulting in dynamic behaviors that shape its movement and interaction with the environment
Welcome back to The Overview! This week, we’re diving into breakthroughs in fluid dynamics simulation with an exciting new podcast episode with some special guests. Plus, we’ve got updates on aerospace news in supersonic travel, reusable rockets, and the latest aerospace innovation. Let’s get into it!
💨 Join Cameron and Evan from Navier AI, a cutting-edge startup transforming computational fluid dynamics (CFD) through 1000x faster simulations using their physics-ML solver, enabling engineers to create high-performance designs.
🛫 Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 reached a top speed of 629 mph and performed critical steps, bringing us closer to the future of commercial supersonic travel!
🚀 Blue Origin’s reusable rocket, New Glenn, is closer to launch, with the first and second stages fully integrated.
🛫 Featured Technology
Navier AI Talk
In this episode, Tagg and Isaac sit down with Evan and Cameron, the cofounders of Navier AI—a groundbreaking company revolutionizing CFD simulations with machine learning, making engineering simulations 1000x faster.
Evan and Cameron share their fascinating journey, from leading a student rocketry team, to interning at SpaceX, to finally launching Navier AI with support from Y Combinator after years of dreaming and brainstorming.
Here’s what you’ll learn from them in this inspiring conversation:
The whirlwind of starting a company and navigating the early challenges
How aerospace students can approach their education to create impactful businesses
Their biggest wins and toughest lessons as first-time founders
How they chose to create Navier AI (and what other ideas they almost pursued instead)
The transition from working at established companies to becoming startup entrepreneurs
With Navier AI growing rapidly, they’re also looking for talent to join their team. Don’t miss this episode to hear how machine learning is transforming CFD and how you can be part of the future. Watch the podcast below, or find us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!
🚀 Aerospace News
Vulcan Centaur’s Successful Certification Flight
On October 4th, the Vulcan Centaur’s second certification launched successfully! Although there was an anomaly with one of the solid rocket boosters, the rocket still managed perfect orbital insertion. It's a good indicator that we’ll see more Vulcan launches, hopefully at an increasing cadence!
The Impact of the U.S. Presidential Election on Space Policy
Another significant topic in the aerospace community over these past two weeks has been the repercussions of the U.S. Presidential Election on space policy. As the president appoints the NASA administrator, the transition could lead to key changes to decisions affecting programs like Artemis. Adding complexity to this transition is the role of Elon Musk, as he is now both SpaceX CEO and a member of President-elect Trump’s inner circle, introducing potential conflicts of interest. We’ll have to wait and see as bystanders, but many US space missions will likely change soon!
Boom Supersonic’s Testing Success
Boom Supersonic is a high-profile startup working on what Concorde first showed the world a few decades ago: commercial supersonic jets. The Concorde flew passengers at supersonic speeds, but the downside was sonic booms over populated areas and high ticket prices. Boom’s mission is to mitigate these issues and bring back commercial supersonic travel!
The first step they’re taking is with their test aircraft named XB-1. Across various tests, Boom has been proven out of various vehicle portions. In their most recent test flight, XB-1 reached a top speed of 629 mph at Mach 0.82. It also reached an altitude of 23,015 feet.
The goal of this test flight was to perform some flutter analysis and perform cockpit pressurization tests. Now that this test was successful, they aim to continue pushing to higher altitudes and eventually reach 30,000 feet, where XB-1 will attempt to fly at supersonic speeds (> Mach 1).
Overall, XB-1 is a proving ground for the company to start developing its technologies and manufacturing procedures. Eventually, Boom Supersonic will work on making Overture, their commercial supersonic airliner, a reality. Source
New Glenn’s Nears Launch
We’re getting close to the first launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn! The launch was originally scheduled for around mid-October and was slated to carry NASA’s ESCAPADE mission, twin science satellites meant to study the Martian magnetosphere. However, due to integration and testing delays with the rocket, the launch was pushed to a later date.
But the team and Blue Origin have been working hard, and as per their recent posting on X, the first stage (code-named GS-1) and the second stage (GS-2) have been mated! This is the first time this has occurred, giving us the first look at how New Glenn will look as a fully integrated rocket. The expected next milestones before launch include the payload integration, transport to the launch pad (LC-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station), and a static fire test.
Due to the delay in the timeline, NASA could no longer launch the ESCAPADE mission on board the first launch of New Glenn. So, Blue Origin is now launching a technology demonstrator for its future in-space mobility vehicle, Blue Ring, which is meant to provide in-space propulsion and computation resources to the payloads it carries. It’s unclear what this technology demonstrator will include.
New Glenn’s first stage is also designed to be reusable and to return to land on a landing barge at sea, similar to Falcon 9’s booster landings. The hope is that New Glenn is successful in this landing, and we can finally have another (partially) reusable rocket!
💬 Quote of the Week
“Flow is a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”
— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Thanks for reading The Overview—The Flow edition. In this late November, what brings you flow? Whether it’s aerospace or a different pursuit, we hope you continue to pursue them with your greatest passion and joy!
Enjoyed this edition? Share The Overview with a friend or colleague who loves aerospace! As always, feel free to reach out at admin@theoverview.org with any feedback or requests for topics you’d like to see in the future!
Stellar vibes,
Cameron, Evan, Tagg, Anshuk, Maggie, Isaac