The Celera 500L, according to Chief Technology Officer David Bogue, is “designed for maximum aerodynamic efficiency, and is coupled with a very effective propulsion system.”
It might not sound like much, but Benkoski and his team just demonstrated solar thermal propulsion, a previously theoretical type of rocket engine that is powered by the Sun’s heat.
Among the many areas of investment where Deloitte anticipates continued growth over the next decade, for example, is electric propulsion systems and aircraft, urban air mobility and fully automated flight decks.
Other far-out ideas include building and launching a lens-like spacecraft that focuses sunlight onto an asteroid’s surface, thus creating a makeshift propulsion system from vaporized dust.