National Aeronautics and Space Administration AOSP Newsletter Airspace Operations and Safety Program (AOSP) JUL–SEP 2015 | Quarter 4 NASA Participates in 4 UTM Convention NRA First Year Review 14 www.nasa.gov 2 AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2015 // Q4 AOSP IN THE NEWS NASA Tech Transfer NASA to Test UAV Air NASA Sleep Research Helps the FAA Improve Traffic Control System Shows Benefits of Naps Air Traffic Efficiency On August 10, the Associated Press Eric Barker wrote at TIME on In the June 30 issue of NextGov reported that a project managed by July 1 about sleep, citing NASA Hallie Golden reports that when NASA Ames Research Center will research finding that “pilots who NASA handed over Terminal have 12 groups test unmanned aerial take a 25 minute nap in the cockpit Sequencing and Spacing (TSAS) vehicle (UAV) software at the agency’s – hopefully with a co-pilot taking software to the Federal Aviation Crows Landing Airport as part of over the controls – are subsequently Administration (FAA), it was the testing “an air traffic control system 35% more alert, and twice as fourth time NASA helped the for drones.” Richard Kelley, chief focused, than their non-napping agency improve its air traffic engineer at the University of Nevada- colleagues.” He sums up the efficiency. By better controlling Reno’s (UNR) Nevada Advanced findings: “NASA found that naps spaces between planes, the software Autonomous Systems Innovation made you smarter — even in the should allow aircraft to follow Center, said the goals would be “to absence of a good night’s sleep.” fuel-efficient, continuous-descent create a system the Federal Aviation arrival procedures while passing Administration (FAA) can use to through airspace surrounding an monitor fast-flying manned and airport. Ms. Golden notes that the unmanned aircraft that operate at FAA “plans to deploy TSAS between altitudes of 500 feet and below.” 2018 and 2022 in nine key airports, including those in Atlanta, Seattle, The Las Vegas Sun reported that San Francisco and Las Vegas.” UNR researchers, who wrote software that allows its test drone to communicate with NASA’s system, will run their test with Flirtey, a company that conducted the first FAA-approved delivery via drone in July, and Drone America, a Reno-based firm that operates and manufactures unmanned aircraft hardware. AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2015 // Q4 3 AOSP IN THE NEWS Alaska Airlines, Virgin America NASA, UK Discuss UAV Traffic North Dakota Helps Benefit From NASA Software Management System NASA Develop UTM In an article published by An article written on September The Bismarck (N.D.) Tribune Aviation Week, writer John Croft 16 by Madhumita Murgia in the reported on September 18 in an reported that Alaska Airlines and Telegraph newspaper noted that article written by Jessica Holdman Virgin America will be the first two that the United Kingdom (UK) that NASA has given the North commercial carriers that will use and NASA are now in talks for Dakota Department of Commerce “a new generation of empowered developing an unmanned aerial a contract to help develop its airline employees flying increasingly vehicle (UAV) traffic management unmanned aerial systems (UAS) connected aircraft.” These airlines will system. Lord Ahmad Tariq, the traffic management system (UTM). utilize “a NASA-built software engine UK’s Under Secretary of State Gov. Jack Dalrymple said in a that constantly searches for a more for Transport, said that he hopes statement that the NASA contract “is fuel-efficient or quicker route anytime the discussion “will lead to a UK more confirmation that our ongoing the aircraft is above 10,000 feet.” involvement in the development of work to establish North Dakota as that system and the participation of a national hub for UAS research, UK industry in future trials to test development and commercialization the robustness of the technology.” is gaining more traction every day.” Murgia wrote that the move is being Other local partners for the project spurred on by “widespread anxiety test include Sensurion Aerospace, about the possibility of a mid-air Altavian and Botlink, all of which collision between small drones and will provide corporate feedback. commercial aircraft. The Associated Press also covered the story. 4 AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2015 // Q4 TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS NASA Participates in tions for privacy concerns and issues, to discuss, understand and define UTM Convention safety and security, and the future UAS impacts and the challenges POCs: JOEY RIOS AND MARCUS JOHNSON impact of low-altitude flight on the ahead. Highlights from the UTM emerging business sector, as well as Convention are listed in the following On July 28-30, NASA and the indoor and outdoor flight demos of NASA social media links listed below. Silicon Valley Chapter of the UAS applications. Association of Unmanned Vehicle #UTM2015 Systems International (AUVSI) Keynote speakers included NASA Twitter: @NASAAmes and partnered in cosponsoring the Associate Administrator for Aero- @NASAAero 2015 UTM Convention: A New nautics Dr. Jaiwon Shin; the Federal Facebook: NASA Ames Era in Aviation, at NASA Ames Aviation Administration’s Assistant Research Center Research Center. About 1,000 Administrator for the Next Gen- Instagram: @nasaames people registered and participated in eration Air Transportation System the event, including representatives Ed Bolton; Gur Kimchi of Amazon NASA LANGLEY HOSTS ATD-1 from the unmanned aerial system Prime; and Dave Vos from Google’s AVIONICS PHASE 2 KICKOFF (UAS) community, agriculture, film Project Wing initiative. ACTIVITIES and other industries, conventional POC: SHERI BROWN aviation, government and academia. The three-day gathering brought together a broad international and In a meeting held July 16-17, Topics at the convention included U.S. audience of government and NASA Langley Research Center discussions of the latest develop- civilian representatives, including kicked off activities related ments in UAS technology, solu- leaders from industry and academia, to the $10.9 million, two-year Boeing Company contract award entitled “Air Traffic Management Technology Demonstration-1 (ATD-1) Avionics Phase 2.” ATD-1 is a major applied research and development activity of NASA’s Airspace Operations and Safety Program (AOSP), and the first of a series of subprojects advancing the technology readiness level of inno- vative NASA technologies through system-level demonstrations in relevant environments. A primary goal of ATD-1 is to operationally demonstrate an integrated set of NASA arrival management tech- nologies for planning and execut- In this image, an unmanned aircraft system is operated in Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, California during Coastal Trident 2015 field experimentation and exercise activities. The exercises included a ing efficient arrival operations in the demonstration of UTM concepts. Image credit: NASA terminal environment of a high- AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2015 // Q4 5 TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS density airport. These technologies ect, NASA Langley’s Aeronautics On Sept. 24, NASA Langley hosted are intended to assist flight crews, Research Directorate, the FAA, a preliminary design review. At the controllers, and air traffic managers Boeing, Honeywell and United meeting, the Boeing team provided with meeting the Next Generation Airlines. The Boeing team provided a presentation that reviewed and Air Transportation System objective a presentation facilitating the review discussed aircraft selection, pro- of increased fuel efficiency during and discussion of the project objec- posed modifications, system archi- periods of high runway throughput. tives, approach (i.e., project sched- tecture, including hardware and ule, milestones, deliverables), and software approaches, and instal- NASA Langley researchers developed the desired outcomes and tangible lation requirements. Presentation the Airborne Spacing for Terminal products. All agreed the discus- topics include assumptions, require- Arrival Routes (ASTAR) algorithms sion was fruitful and informative. ments, trades, interfaces, a detailed for trajectory-based control law for design plan, hardware locations, time-based spacing of Flight Deck Day 2 of the meeting included a preliminary verification and valida- Interval Management (FIM) opera- half day of briefings provided by the tion plans, schedule and margins, tions. The Avionics Phase 2 task ATD-1 project team presenting a and risks and mitigation plans. leverages Phase 1-identified historical overview of the project, solutions for equipping existing the current state of ASTAR tech- The meeting was attended by a in-service aircraft with FIM equip- nology, and an introduction to an total of 37 individuals (11 remotely ment, an airborne spacing tool ongoing experiment followed by representing leadership, engineers, leveraging technology under a demonstration in the Air Traffic researchers, and key stakeholders development at NASA, for a fis- Operations Laboratory (ATOL). The from the ATD project, the ATD-1 cal year 2017 second quarter flight demonstration included an experi- subproject, Langley’s Aeronautics test demonstration. The Avion- ment scenario used for training Research Directorate, and the ics Phase 2 team is comprised of pilots on FIM operations. Permit- FAA. All review board members organizations and individuals from ting Boeing team members to fly agreed the technical discussion each organization that are recog- simulated aircraft and to manipulate was fruitful