Accelerates the use of advanced composites, additive manufacturing, and metamaterials, with direct transition to industry and the broader AAM community.
What is Atoms to Aircraft to Spaceship?
The Atoms to Aircraft to Spacecraft (A2A) project advances thermoplastic unidirectional tape–based structures to enable fastener-free assembly through fusion bonding. By pairing multi-scale computational tools with experimental manufacturing and validation, the team is building the capability to design, fabricate, and join aerospace-quality thermoplastic composite components at rates needed for next-generation urban air mobility.
What We're Building
Materials (Atoms) | Manufacturing (Aircraft) | Validation (Spacecraft) |
|---|---|---|
| Thermoplastic tape/material systems designed for performance and manufacturability. | High-rate processes for forming and joining aerospace-grade parts.
| Testing and verification so designs translate to real flight structures. |
Research Areas
Thermoplastic Materials and Tape Design
Development of custom unidirectional thermoplastic tape as the foundation for all structural components.
Focus on materials that enable reversible fusion bonding across the full lifecycle.
Integration of material science and processing design to improve manufacturability and performance.
Creation of scalable material systems to support high-rate aerospace production.
Fusion Bonding & Joining
Advancement of fastener-free assembly methods using thermoplastic fusion bonding.
Exploration of joining techniques that reduce weight, cost, and complexity in aircraft structures.
Study of bonding behavior through thermo-rheological analysis of materials.
Enabling repeatable and durable connections for aerospace-quality components.
High-Rate Processing & Tooling
Development of manufacturing processes capable of scaling production rates for UAM vehicles.
Integration of multiple manufacturing technologies into a unified production approach.
Design of tooling and workflows that support efficient, repeatable fabrication.
Focus on reducing production time while maintaining structural integrity and quality.
Modeling & Simulation
Use of multi-scale computational modeling to guide material and process design.
Simulation of fusion bonding behavior and manufacturing processes before physical testing.
Development of predictive tools for thermo-mechanical and material performance.
Tight integration between modeling and experiments to improve design accuracy and efficiency.
Testing & Validation
Experimental validation of materials, processes, and structures at multiple scales.
Quantification of thermo-rheological properties for aerospace-grade components.
Testing to ensure repeatability, durability, and structural performance.
Alignment of results with real-world aerospace requirements and standards.
Demonstrator Components
Design and fabrication of representative structural components for urban air mobility vehicles.
Validation of the full workflow from material → manufacturing → final structure.
Development of demonstrators to prove scalability and real-world application.
Focus on translating research into flight-ready systems and technologies.
Impact of A2A
Urban air mobility is emerging as a transformative industry, but scaling production to meet demand requires entirely new approaches to aircraft design and manufacturing. This work enables agile, affordable, and high-rate production of reliable airframes, positioning the U.S. to lead in next-generation aerospace innovation. The technologies developed may also extend to space-based manufacturing, supporting future lunar missions.
