“…This summer, Centaur, Aurora’s Optionally Piloted Aircraft (OPA) system, participated in test flight operations at the Lone Star Unmanned Aircraft System Center of Excellence & Innovation (LSUASC) at Texas A&M University, one of seven FAA UAS test sites in the United States. These flight tests supported the FAA’s Advanced Air Mobility Beyond Visual Line of Sight National Airspace System Evaluation (BNE) project to better understand the impact of large UAS (over 55 lbs.) Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations in the national airspace system. Centaur is an ideal platform for the development and testing of autonomous technology and unmanned operations. It is cost-efficient and can accelerate the progression from development to flight test. In hybrid flight mode, Centaur is piloted remotely from a ground station while also carrying an on-board safety pilot to comply with regulations and ensure a safe flight. Centaur’s flexible payload architecture allows integration for a variety of sensors for testing and data collection, and its highly accurate and repeatable autopilot features help ensure quality data collection…”