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Uber taps NASA vet to design flying taxi
Uber wants to develop flying cabs that would lift passengers above congested city streets and whisk them to their destinations.
And the e-hail company has hired a NASA engineer to help make that dream a reality, Uber said in a report released Monday.
Mark Moore, chief technologist at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, is leaving his post to join Uber this week after 30 years with the space agency.
The engineer, who specialized in conceptual designs for advanced aeronautic aircraft, will be working on the Uber Elevate project to develop a vehicle with vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities that can travel up to 200 mph about 250 feet in the air.
Uber tapped him because of his work on innovative flying projects, including NASA’s X-57 plane design. Nicknamed “Maxwell,” the plane would be equipped with 14 electric motors on its wings.
“Uber continues to see its role as a catalyst to the growing developing VTOL ecosystem,” said Nikhil Goel, head of product for advanced programs at Uber. “We’re excited to have Mark join us to work with companies and stakeholders as we continue to explore the use case described in our white paper.”
A trip that would take two hours by car could be covered in 15 minutes by a flying taxi, the Uber re- port estimates. And a 1¹/2-hour trip in heavy stop-and-go traffic could be made in six minutes.
Uber did not say how long it would take before it could bring flying cars to the Big Apple, but officials close to the industry said it is at least a few years away.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission declined to comment on whether its rules would prevent the company from introducing flying cabs in the city.
Officials at the Federal Aviation Administration said they would consider a proposal when they get one.
“We are taking a flexible, openminded and risk-based approach to integrating new technologies into the world’s busiest, most complex — and safest — aviation system,” spokesman Jim Peters said.