UAV Sector Faces Sweeping Changes On-Orbit Servicing: the New Focus
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coverAPR-alt1-2012_Layout 1 3/14/12 12:06 PM Page 1 4 AMERICA AEROSPACE April 2012 APRIL 2012 UAV sector faces sweeping changes On-orbit servicing: The new focus A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS AIAA Continuing Education Home Study Courses Self-Paced Courses in the Convenience of Your Home or Office 1 July – 31 December 2012 Registration is now open for the following AIAA Continuing Education Home Study Courses Important Deadlines: Advance Registration: 1 June 2012 • Regular Registration: 1 July 2012 Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics Computational Fluid Turbulence Fundamentals of Aircraft Performance and Design Advance Registration Regular Registration Advance Registration Regular Registration Advance Registration Regular Registration AIAA Member $1,140 $1,250 AIAA Member $1,245 $1,350 AIAA Member $1,050 $1,190 Nonmember $1,245 $1,355 Nonmember $1,350 $1,455 Nonmember $1,155 $1,295 Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics Introduction to Space Flight Advance Registration Regular Registration Advance Registration Regular Registration AIAA Member $1,185 $1,295 AIAA Member $1,050 $1,190 Nonmember $1,290 $1,400 Nonmember $1,155 $1,295 12-0221 CE HomeStudy full page ad for AA.indd 1 3/16/12 3:18 PM TOC.APR2012_AA Template 3/14/12 11:29 AM Page 1 April 2012 Page 4 dEpARTMENTS COMMENTARY 3 Opening the skies to UAVs. INTERNATIONAL BEAT 4 ICAO: The best hope for settling carbon warfare. wAShINgTON wATCh 10 Space, defense face funding uncertainties. ASIA updATE 14 The lure of Eastern promise. CONVERSATIONS 16 With Patrick Ky. Page 10 INduSTRY INSIghTS 20 UAV sector faces sweeping changes. ENgINEERINg NOTEBOOk 24 STORRM watch: Improving space navigation. OuT OF ThE pAST 46 CAREER OppORTuNITIES 48 FEATuRES gETTINg FROM gATE TO gATE 28 NASA is developing and testing advanced tools aimed at streamlining all aircraft movements. Page 14 by Jim Banke Page 20 ON-ORBIT SERVICINg: ThE NEw FOCuS 34 Despite the complexity and high costs, some companies see on-orbit satellite servicing as a profitable pursuit. by J.R. Wilson EARTh OBSERVATIONS LEAd TO hEALThIER LIVES 40 Data from Earth observation and remote sensing programs contribute to growing improvements in public health. Page 34 by Lyn D. Wigbels BuLLETIN AIAA Meeting Schedule B2 AIAA Courses and Training program B4 AIAA News B5 Meetings programs B11 Call for papers B33 Page 40 COVER NASA is developing technology and software aimed at streamlining all aspects of commercial flight, from departure to destination. Turn to page 28 for details. Image created by Romanet & cie. between 1890 and 1900. Aerospace America (ISSN 0740-722X) is published monthly, except August, by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. at 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, Va. 20191-4344 [703/264-7500]. Subscription rate is 50% of dues for AIAA members (and is not deductible therefrom). Nonmember subscription price: U.S. and Canada, $163, foreign, $200. Single copies $20 each. Postmaster: Send address changes and subscription orders to address above, attention AIAA Customer Service, 703/264-7500. Periodical postage paid at Herndon, VA, and at additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2012 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., all rights reserved. The name Aerospace America is registered by the AIAA in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 40,000 copies of this issue printed. This is Volume 50, No. 4. AIAA Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics AIAA’s popular book series Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics features books that present a particular, well- defi ned subject refl ecting advances in the fi elds of aerospace science, engineering, and/or technology. NEW RELEASES Tactical and Strategic Missile Guidance, Sixth Edition Paul Zarchan 900 pages (Available April 2012) This best-selling title provides an in-depth look at tactical and strategic missile guidance using common language, notation, and perspective. The sixth edition includes six new chapters on topics related to improving missile guidance system performance and understanding key design concepts and tradeoffs. New in 2012 – the original FORTRAN has been converted into the widely used MATLAB language. ISBN: 978-1-60086-894-0 List Price: $134.95 AIAA Member Price: $104.95 “AIAA Best Seller” Morphing Aerospace Vehicles and Structures John Valasek 320 pages Morphing Aerospace Vehicles and Structures is a synthesis of the relevant disciplines and applications involved in the morphing of fi xed wing fl ight vehicles. The book is organized into three major sections: Bio-Inspiration; Control and Dynamics; and Smart Materials and Structures. Most chapters are both tutorial and research-oriented in nature, covering elementary concepts through advanced – and in many cases novel – methodologies. ISBN: 978-1-60086-903-7 List Price: $134.95 “Features the work of leading researchers in AIAA Member Price: $94.95 the fi eld of morphing fl ight.” 12-0169 Find these books and many more at www.aiaa.org april comment_AA Template 3/13/12 12:57 PM Page 1 ® is a publication of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Elaine J. Camhi Editor-in-Chief Patricia Jefferson Associate Editor Greg Wilson Production Editor Opening the skies to UAVs Jerry Grey, Editor-at-Large Christine Williams, Editor AIAA Bulletin I recently served on a panel discussion on the topic “Exploring the Future Correspondents of Unmanned Flight—Innovation and Imagination in the 21st Century,” with Robert F. Dorr, Washington colleagues from industry and the FAA. The presentations and the question- Philip Butterworth-Hayes, Europe and-answer session that followed prompted consideration of the future of Michael Westlake, Hong Kong unmanned aerial vehicles and systems (UAV/UAS) and how commercial Contributing Writers aviation will be affected by their presence. It seems fairly certain that UAS Richard Aboulafia, James W. Canan, will transform the way we use aviation to improve our lives and generate Marco Cáceres, Craig Covault, economic benefit. Leonard David, Philip Finnegan, NASA researchers flying Global Hawks and Ikhanas already understand Tom Jones, James Oberg, their value for science. Now, a new fleet of pilotless vehicles is helping to David Rockwell, J.R. Wilson ensure our national security, and the success the military is experiencing Fitzgerald Art & Design with these systems is eliciting fresh enthusiasm among civilian entrepreneurs Art Direction and Design willing to invest in this technology. So many tasks—weather and Earth observation, crop monitoring, law Brian D. Dailey, President enforcement, even package delivery—someday could be accomplished with Robert S. Dickman, Publisher remotely piloted drones that cost less to operate than their crewed counterparts Craig Byl, Manufacturing and Distribution and whose configuration can be tailored to specific missions. The potential STEERING COMMITTEE uses for UAS are limited only by our imagination. Col. Neal Barlow, USAF Academy; There are, of course, political, technological, and regulatory challenges Michael B. Bragg, University of Illinois; to overcome before these flying robots are granted unfettered access to our Carol Cash, Carol Cash & Associates; Basil national airspace system (NAS). If the business world ultimately is to profit Hassan, Sandia; Mark Lewis, University of from UAS, multiple government agencies, including the DOD, the Dept. of Maryland; Robert E. Lindberg, National In- stitute of Aerospace; Mark S. Maurice, Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration, and NASA must AFOSR; Vigor Yang, Georgia Institute of work together to lower the barriers to NAS access. Technology; Susan X. Ying, Boeing NASA’s primary role is to look at technology solutions for integrating UAS in the airspace. Coordinated through its Aeronautics Research Mission EDITORIAL BOARD Directorate’s Integrated Systems Research Program, the agency’s UAS work Ned Allen, Jean-Michel Contant, complements the contributions being made to the modernization of the Eugene Covert, L.S. “Skip” Fletcher, Michael Francis, Cam Martin, nation’s air traffic control system, widely referred to as NextGen. In fact, Don Richardson, Douglas Yazell NextGen’s advancements in satellite-based navigation and digital communi- cation are the tools that will enable future UAS access to the NAS. ADVERTISING Technology alone cannot satisfy all of the unique requirements for opening National Display and Classified: our skies to these systems. We must address public safety concerns by ensuring Robert Silverstein, 240.498.9674 that the vehicles’ communications links to their control stations cannot be [email protected] West Coast Display: Greg Cruse, broken, that there is sufficient redundancy in all of their critical systems, and 949.361.1870 / [email protected] that they constantly maintain a safe distance from other aircraft. Although NASA has been working on UAS technology for more than a Ross B. Garelick Bell, Business Manager decade, our current project to help integrate unmanned systems into the airspace is generating unprecedented interest from aviation’s entrepreneurial Send materials to Craig Byl, AIAA, 1801 and academic communities. Their strong desire is for government to make an Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 500, Reston, VA 20191-4344. Changes of address should be immediate impact. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to conceive and sent by e-mail at [email protected], or by fax nurture a nascent segment of the aviation industry that will create jobs,