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Planetary Radio • Jun 17, 2026

Flying on Titan: The engineering of Dragonfly

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On This Episode

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Felipe Ruiz

Lead Rotor Engineer and Mechanical Implementation Lead at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

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Elizabeth "Zibi" Turtle

Planetary Scientist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab and Dragonfly Principal Investigator

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Bruce Betts

Chief Scientist / LightSail Program Manager for The Planetary Society

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Sarah Al-Ahmed

Planetary Radio Host and Producer for The Planetary Society

Saturn's moon Titan is one of the most Earth-like worlds in our Solar System, with a dense nitrogen atmosphere, weather cycles, methane rivers, and vast organic dune fields. It also happens to be the perfect place to fly a drone. NASA's Dragonfly mission is doing exactly that, sending a car-sized, nuclear-powered rotorcraft to explore Titan's surface starting in 2034. With just two years until launch, the team is deep in the work of making it happen.

This week, we're joined by two members of the Dragonfly team from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Felipe Ruiz is the mission's lead rotor engineer and mechanical implementation lead, responsible for designing the eight-rotor system that will carry Dragonfly across Titan's skies. Zibi Turtle is the mission's principal investigator, a planetary scientist whose career has spanned missions from Galileo to Cassini to Europa Clipper.

Together, they walk us through the engineering challenges of flying a thousand-kilogram rotorcraft in an alien atmosphere, how the team is testing and validating the design here on Earth, and what the spacecraft's instruments will look for on Titan's surface.

Then Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, joins us for What's Up, where we pay tribute to the Ingenuity Mars helicopter and the legacy of the first powered, controlled flight on another world.

Felipe Ruiz with Dragonfly's first production rotor
Felipe Ruiz with Dragonfly's first production rotor Felipe Ruiz, Dragonfly's rotor lead engineer, poses with the first production rotor fresh off the mill at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Each of Dragonfly's rotors measures 1.35 meters in diameter and is machined monolithically from a single block of aluminum, featuring hollow internal blade cavities carefully engineered to optimize mass and rotational inertia for flight on Saturn's moon Titan.Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
Dragonfly In-Flight artist's concept
Dragonfly In-Flight artist's concept This artist’s impression of NASA's upcoming Dragonfly mission shows the spacecraft flying over the dunes of Saturn’s moon Titan. NASA has authorized the mission team to proceed with final design and development, aiming for a July 2028 launch date.Image: NASA / Johns Hopkins APL / Steve Gribben
Dragonfly wind tunnel testing at NASA Langley
Dragonfly wind tunnel testing at NASA Langley Engineers set up a full-scale, semi-span wind tunnel model of NASA's Dragonfly rotorcraft at the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel facility at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. The model features flight-like rotors, allowing the team to conduct extensive aeromechanics and aerodynamics testing in a heavy gas atmosphere that simulates the conditions Dragonfly will encounter on Saturn's moon Titan.Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
Dragonfly semi-scale full-span wind tunnel test model
Dragonfly semi-scale full-span wind tunnel test model A semi-scale, full-span wind tunnel test model of NASA's Dragonfly rotorcraft undergoes testing at the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel facility at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. The model features roll and pitch capabilities, allowing engineers to evaluate Dragonfly's performance across the full range of flight conditions it will encounter in Titan's thick atmosphere.Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
Dragonfly integrated test platform
Dragonfly integrated test platform Dragonfly's Integrated Test Platform, a scale model of the rotorcraft lander, is used for flight testing here on Earth. The ITP allows the Dragonfly team to validate the vehicle's flight performance and gather real-world data ahead of the mission's journey to Saturn's moon Titan.Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
Dragonfly thermal development test model at APL's Titan Chamber
Dragonfly thermal development test model at APL's Titan Chamber The full-scale Thermal Development Test Model of NASA's Dragonfly rotorcraft stands in front of the Titan Chamber at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. The model is used to verify the thermal performance of the Dragonfly lander under the cryogenic surface conditions it will encounter on Saturn's moon Titan, where temperatures average around minus 179 degrees Celsius.Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
Dragonfly flight electronics integration on open frame lander
Dragonfly flight electronics integration on open frame lander Engineers install the Integrated Electronics Module and Power Switching Unit on Dragonfly's open frame lander structure at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. The Integrated Electronics Module serves as the spacecraft's brain, housing its core avionics, while the Power Switching Units control and distribute power to Dragonfly's instruments and systems. Flight avionics integration and testing is proceeding in parallel with the fuselage build and qualification tests as the mission progresses toward its 2028 launch.Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
Dragonfly lander fuselage sine vibration testing at APL
Dragonfly lander fuselage sine vibration testing at APL The Dragonfly lander fuselage is prepared for z-axis sine vibration testing at the Spacecraft Environmental Test Facility at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. This testing verifies that the spacecraft structure can withstand the intense vibrations it will experience during launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in 2028.Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
Dragonfly entry, descent, and landing concept of operations
Dragonfly entry, descent, and landing concept of operations An illustration depicting NASA's Dragonfly entry, descent, and landing sequence at Saturn's moon Titan. The spacecraft will enter Titan's thick atmosphere protected by a heat shield, deploy a series of parachutes to slow its descent, and then separate from the backshell to fly autonomously to the surface under its own rotor power, guided by lidar systems.Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
Dragonfly's first flight concept of operations
Dragonfly's first flight concept of operations An illustration depicting the concept of operations for Dragonfly's first flight on Saturn's moon Titan. Following separation from its backshell during entry, descent, and landing, Dragonfly will use its eight rotors to fly autonomously to its initial landing site in the Shangri-La dune fields, marking the first powered flight of the rotorcraft on another world.Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

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