AIRSPACE%20SYSTEMS%20PROGRAM%20Overview

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AIRSPACE SYSTEMS PROGRAMOverview

• Dr. Karlin Toner
• Director, Airspace Systems Program
• NASA Headquarters
• December 10, 2008

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Aeronautics Programs
Fundamental Aeronautics Program
Aviation Safety Program
Conduct cutting-edge research that will produce
innovative concepts, tools, and technologies to
enable revolutionary changes for vehicles that
fly in all speed regimes.
Conduct cutting-edge research that will produce
innovative concepts, tools, and technologies to
improve the intrinsic safety attributes of
current and future aircraft.
Airspace Systems Program
Directly address the fundamental ATM research
needs for NextGen by developing revolutionary
concepts, capabilities, and technologies that
will enable significant increases in the
capacity, efficiency and flexibility of the NAS.
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Airspace Systems Program

• Objective Develop and demonstrate future
  concepts, capabilities, and technologies that
  will enable major increases in air traffic
  management effectiveness, flexibility, and
  efficiency, while maintaining safety, to meet
  capacity and mobility requirements of the NextGen.

NextGen - Airportal Project
NextGen - Airspace Project
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RD Challenges for Mobility

• Shortfalls associated with the state-of-the-art
  will have to be overcome to achieve mobility
  during the decades ahead. Some of the major
  challenges addressed by the Airspace Systems
  Program include
• Reducing separation distances between aircraft to
  increase traffic density and determining
  functions that can be moved to the cockpit to
  improve operations without compromising safety.
• Dynamically balancing airspace capacity to meet
  demand by allocating airspace resources and
  reducing adverse impacts associated with weather.
• Increasing airport approach, surface, and
  departure capacity.
• Defining appropriate roles for humans (notably
  air traffic controllers and pilots) in relation
  to automation, and developing automation that
  humans can reliably and fluidly interact with,
  monitor, and, when appropriate, override.

Reference National Plan for Aeronautics RD and
Related Infrastructure, Dec. 2007.
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Research Focus Areas (RFA)
NextGen - Airspace
NextGen - Airportal

• Dynamic Airspace Configuration
• Traffic Flow Management
• Separation Assurance
• Super Density Operations
• Performance-Based Services
• Trajectory Prediction, Synthesis Uncertainty
• System-Level Design, Analysis Simulation Tools

• Safe Efficient Surface Operations
• Coordinated Arrival/Departure Operations
  Management
• Airportal Transition and Integration Management

• Both projects conduct system-level design and
  analysis.
• Results of the two projects are integrated to
  ensure gate-to-gate solutions that are aligned
  with NextGen needs.

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Integration of Advanced Vehicles and Concepts
into NextGen

• Two 18-Month NRAs seek to understand tradeoffs
  involved for both vehicles and the ATM system,
  including safety considerations, system
  performance, environmental constraints
• Integration of Advanced Concepts and Vehicles
  into NextGen Study, Raytheon Company (PI Ed
  Stevens)
• Advanced Vehicle Concepts and Implications for
  NextGen, Sensis Corporation (PI Fred Weiland)
• Joint Kick-Off held at NASA Headquarters, July 24
• Workshop held at Volpe Center, Sept. 9, to
  discuss application of the Aviation Environmental
  Design Tool
• First of three community Workshops held at the
  Fundamental Aeronautics Program Annual Meeting in
  Atlanta, GA, Oct. 8-9

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User and Stakeholder Workshop

• The workshop, aimed at gaining user and
  stakeholder perspectives, was held Oct. 8-9
• Gather input on vehicle business case, designs,
  procedures, safety and trade-space analyses
• Update the community on early decisions and
  results for five classes of vehicles
• Explore safety approach in a panel format

• Over 79 participants shared ideas across the
  community
• (16) NASA
• (45) Industry
• (13) FAA JPDO
• (15) Academia
• (5) US Government Labs
• (3) DoD
• (3) International

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A Framework for NextGenATM Decisions
Ref Figure 2-2 ATM Decisions-Interactive and
Integrated Across Time Horizons JPDO Concept of
Operations for the Next Generation Air
Transportation System, Draft 5 V1.2, Feb. 28,
2007.
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Historical Roadmap for ATM

• NextGen

Research Products

• UAV Operations in the NAS

• Rogue Evaluation and Coordination Tool

• Arrival Metering

• 2000

• Traffic Management Advisor Build 1

• Intelligent Software

• Flight Management Systems

• 1990

• Scheduling Algorithms

• 1980

• Simulations

• 1970

• Research Spectrum

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RD Progression
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Going Forward - Experiments using NextGen Testbeds
DFW is 3rd busiest US tower (movements) per FAA
2007

• NextGen requires tests of multiple, integrated
  concept capabilities such as
• Linking surface, arrival and departure flows
• Interaction of flow management with separation
  assurance

DAL is 50th busiest US tower (movements) per FAA
2007

• North Texas Facility (NTX) embeds NASA research
  assets in an interesting metroplex operational
  environment
• Concept definition activities support experiments
• System analyses enable consideration of future
  aircraft fleets and operations