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NASA NTRS2005

Contingency Management Requirements Document: Preliminary Version. Revision F

This is the High Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) Remotely Operated Aircraft (ROA) Contingency Management (CM) Functional Requirements document. This document applies to HALE ROA operating within the National Airspace System (NAS) limited at this time to enroute operations above 43,000 feet (defined as Step 1 of the Access 5 project, sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). A contingency is an unforeseen event requiring a response. The unforeseen event may be an emergency, an incident, a deviation, or an observation. Contingency Management (CM) is the process of evaluating the event, deciding on the proper course of action (a plan), and successfully executing the plan.

Source record↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Corridor Design and Analysis for UAM Operations

The Urban Air Mobility (UAM) concept is a part of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), a joint initiative between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NASA, and industry to develop an air transportation system that uses new electric (i.e., green) air vehicles in geographical areas previously underserved by traditional aviation. Market forecast studies predict that there will be demand for alternate modes of air transportation using electric Vertical Take-off and Landing aircraft. UAM expands transportation networks by introducing short flights to move people and goods around metropolitan areas​. UAM is expected to improve mobility for the public, decongest road traffic, reduce trip time, and decrease strain on existing public transportation networks. Various challenges exist to make the introduction of UAM operations successful in the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). These include but are not limited to integration with existing airports and airspace, provision of air traffic services (e.g., separation), vehicle design and certification, and community acceptance. The focus of this paper is on integration of UAM operations into the NAS via introduction of new airspace structures. UAM will operate within a regulatory, operational, and technical environment that is incorporated into the NAS​. As per the UAM Concept of Operations (ConOps), the FAA retains regulatory authority and is responsible for establishing operational parameters and maintaining oversight. The FAA’s UAM ConOps describes flights at low altitudes (below 5,000 ft) with minimal disruption to established conventional aircraft traffic and limited voice interactions with the Air Traffic Control (ATC). Early stages of UAM may use existing procedures to safely integrate UAM with conventional flights. This would involve flying under Part 91 Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and using voice for communications. The initial UAM ecosystem will utilize the current infrastructure such as routes, helipads, and ATC services, where practicable. ​A NASA study explored the use of existing helicopter routes in Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) airspace for initial UAM operations with a Letter of Agreement (LOA) that included procedures to request a Class B (controlled airspace) clearance. The research showed that the chosen approach was feasible for near-term, low-demand UAM traffic, but was not scalable. The growth of operations in today’s aviation system has resulted in airspace reorganization and procedures to ensure safety and efficiency as traffic rates increase. One proposed operating innovation that can help with the scalability of UAM is establishing routes and corridors. This may look similar to the Area Navigation (RNAV) procedures used today to streamline operations into busy airports. However, instead of FAA automation systems and ATC managing the flow of traffic, some UAM concepts envision a third-party service provider performing this role as part of the Provider of Services for UAM (PSU) network. The FAA’s UAM ConOps posits that new airspace structures such as UAM corridors include the following design criteria: 1) Minimal impact on existing NAS operations, 2) no or minimal additional ATC services, 3) public interest considerations such as noise, safety, and security, and 4) customer needs. The airspace available in urban environments is limited by the height of buildings, the effect of weather including wind gusts, privacy needs, and a clearance envelope. The new airspace structure would need to be designed around large airports and urban areas where the initial market demand is likely to exist. NASA has started evaluating airspace in the Dallas Fort Worth area to design new airspace structures, keeping the first two design criteria in mind. It is assumed that there will be an on-board pilot-in-command, and the flights will operate under VFR in Visual Meteorological Conditions. Corridors will be required in controlled airspace, whereas UAM operations can fly in uncontrolled Class G and E airspace using current day rules. Keeler et. al identified factors and heuristics for development of routes for UAM operations for integration with airspace close to large airports such as Dallas Fort Worth and Dallas Love Field. This paper describes the heuristics applied to define the corridors, analyzes them with respect to legacy traffic and presents key results.

Urban Air Mobility↗
NASA NTRS2013

NASA GRC UAS Project: Communications Modeling and Simulation Status

The integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace represents new operational concepts required in civil aviation. These new concepts are evolving as the nation moves toward the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) under the leadership of the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), and through ongoing work by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The desire and ability to fly UAS in the National Air Space (NAS) in the near term has increased dramatically, and this multi-agency effort to develop and implement a national plan to successfully address the challenges of UAS access to the NAS in a safe and timely manner is well underway. As part of the effort to integrate UAS in the National Airspace, NASA Glenn Research Center is currently involved with providing research into Communications systems and Communication system operations in order to assist with developing requirements for this implementation. In order to provide data and information regarding communication systems performance that will be necessary, NASA GRC is tasked with developing and executing plans for simulations of candidate future UAS command and control communications, in line with architectures and communications technologies being developed and/or proposed by NASA and relevant aviation organizations (in particular, RTCA SC-203). The simulations and related analyses will provide insight into the ability of proposed communications technologies and system architectures to enable safe operation of UAS, meeting UAS in the NAS project goals (including performance requirements, scalability, and interoperability), and ultimately leading to a determination of the ability of NextGen communication systems to accommodate UAS. This presentation, compiled by the NASA GRC team, will provide a view of the overall planned simulation effort and objectives, a description of the simulation concept and status of the design and development that has occurred to date.

Kubat, Greg↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA GRC UAS Project - Communications Modeling and Simulation Development Status

The integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace represents new operational concepts required in civil aviation. These new concepts are evolving as the nation moves toward the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) under the leadership of the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), and through ongoing work by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The desire and ability to fly UAS in the National Air Space (NAS) in the near term has increased dramatically, and this multi-agency effort to develop and implement a national plan to successfully address the challenges of UAS access to the NAS in a safe and timely manner is well underway. As part of the effort to integrate UAS in the National Airspace, NASA Glenn Research Center is currently involved with providing research into Communications systems and Communication system operations in order to assist with developing requirements for this implementation. In order to provide data and information regarding communication systems performance that will be necessary, NASA GRC is tasked with developing and executing plans for simulations of candidate future UAS command and control communications, in line with architectures and communications technologies being developed and or proposed by NASA and relevant aviation organizations (in particular, RTCA SC-203). The simulations and related analyses will provide insight into the ability of proposed communications technologies and system architectures to enable safe operation of UAS, meeting UAS in the NAS project goals (including performance requirements, scalability, and interoperability), and ultimately leading to a determination of the ability of NextGen communication systems to accommodate UAS. This presentation, compiled by the NASA GRC Modeling and Simulation team, will provide an update to this ongoing effort at NASA GRC as follow-up to the overview of the planned simulation effort presented at ICNS in 2013. The objective of presentation will be to describe the progress made in developing both a NAS-Wide simulation architecture application and the detailed radiocomm system models for this research, and will present interim data and information compiled in the process of developing these simulation capabilities to date.

Modeling and Simulation↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) In-Trail Procedures (ITP)

Aircraft in oceanic and remote non-radar airspace frequently fly for extended periods of time in the same direction, at the same time, along similar flight paths as other aircraft. Since there is no radar surveillance, controllers use procedural separation to ensure that aircraft remain separated. Procedural separation distances are typically larger than radar separation distances and as a result aircraft operating in oceanic airspace are sometimes held at non-optimal flight levels due to conflicting traffic at intervening flight levels. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) In-Trail Procedures (ITP) were developed to enable flight level change maneuvers that would otherwise not be possible with current procedural separation standards. Aircraft operators choosing to equip with an ADS-B transceiver and an appropriate onboard decision support system would be able to take advantage of these procedures when operating in proximity to aircraft equipped with a suitable ADS-B transmitter (“ADS-B Out”). The ability to perform in-trail maneuvers to achieve more time at optimum altitudes could result in more efficient and predictable flight profiles thereby saving fuel and in some cases allowing operators to make beneficial operational decisions. NASA first began developing ADS-B ITP in 2003 as a result of a desire to develop methodologies, concepts, and procedures to reduce separation requirements for future air transportation systems using airborne ADS-B. The objectives were to provide insight into the details necessary to reduce separation requirements for the future and to develop applications that could provide incentives for operators to voluntarily equip with transformational technologies. From 2003 to 2008, NASA conducted research that supported the development of ITP including batch simulations, human-in-the-loop experiments and avionics and separation standards development. This research showed enough maturity and benefit that in 2008, the FAA Surveillance and Broadcast Services (SBS) program adopted ADS-B ITP as one of their three key, near-term applications to make use of ADS-B-In. The FAA developed an agreement with NASA to transition the technology and established an FAA project for the purpose of performing an operational trial of ADS-B ITP in revenue service in the summer of 2011. The objectives of the project are to a) validate the operational performance and economic benefits of ITP; and b) develop and validate ADS-B ITP Minimum Operational Performance Specifications (MOPS) material. As a part of this project, the FAA established agreements with United Airlines and Honeywell. The agreements include the work necessary for the development, certification and installation of onboard systems for twelve United Airlines 747-400s. ITP system development is nearly complete and certification activities are underway. The FAA project has also been working with Oakland Oceanic Control Center (ZOA) and the FAA’s Oceanic and Offshore Operations Office to develop controller procedures and safety analyses that are required to support the flight trial. The FAA has also been working on the development of an ITP Operational Specification that should be approved this April. The presentation will cover some of the key aspects of the development, challenges, and integration required to successfully transition ADS-B ITP from a concept in 2003 to flight trials in revenue service in 2011.

Kenneth M Jones↗
NASA NTRS2019

Ground Risk Assessment Service Provider (GRASP) Development Effort as a Supplemental Data Service Provider (SDSP) for Urban Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Operations

NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) project aims to enable the integration of new aviation paradigms such as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) while providing the necessary infrastructure for future concepts such as On-Demand Mobility (ODM) and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). In order to do so, the UTM project has developed an architecture to allow communication among UAS operators, UAS Service Suppliers (USS), Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP), and the public. As part of this framework, the Supplemental Data Service Providers (SDSP) are envisioned as model and/or data based services that disseminate essential or enhanced information to ensure safe operations within low-altitude airspace. These services include terrain and obstacle data, specialized weather data, surveillance, constraint information, risk monitoring, etc. This paper highlights the development efforts of a non-participant casualty risk assessment SDSP called Ground Risk Assessment Service Provider (GRASP) which assists operators with preflight planning. GRASP is based on the previously introduced UTM Risk Assessment Framework (URAF) and allows UAS operators to simulate and visualize potential non-participant casualty risks associated with their proposed flight. The risk assessment capability also allows operators to revise their flight plans if the casualty risks are determined to be above acceptable thresholds. GRASP is configured to account for future improvements including servicing airborne aircraft as part of NASA’s System-Wide Safety (SWS) project.

Ancel, Ersin↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Theoretical and Simulated Capacity of Urban Air Mobility Airspace Characteristics

As interest in urban air mobility grows, as are the optimistic predictions for potentially hundreds of simultaneous operations within a given metropolitan airspace. This high density of traffic poses a challenge for safe, efficient, and timely operations, particularly when realistic airspace restrictions, fleet sizes, and fluctuating demand are considered. Routes for urban air mobility aircraft, similar to automotive roadways more than other types of airways, are one proposed solution for traffic management. This paper identifies several potential components of urban air mobility routes and compares their numerically predicted maximum capacity with what is achieved in a realistic simulation that includes airspace restrictions, parking limitations, fleet sizes, and uneven demand.

Urban Air Mobility↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Theoretical and Simulated Capacity of Urban Air Mobility Airspace Characteristics

As interest in urban air mobility grows, as are the optimistic predictions for potentially hundreds of simultaneous operations within a given metropolitan airspace. This high density of traffic poses a challenge for safe, efficient, and timely operations, particularly when realistic airspace restrictions, fleet sizes, and fluctuating demand are considered. Routes for urban air mobility aircraft, similar to automotive roadways more than other types of airways, are one proposed solution for traffic management. This paper identifies several potential components of urban air mobility routes and compares their numerically predicted maximum capacity with what is achieved in a realistic simulation that includes airspace restrictions, parking limitations, fleet sizes, and uneven demand.

Urban Air Mobility↗
NASA NTRS2005

A Potentially Useful for Airborne Separation in 4D-Trajectory ATM Operations

An aircraft equipped with Airborne Separation Assistance System functions and 4- dimensional trajectory management capabilities can have significant, potentially transforming, value to Air Traffic Management at the local and system levels. This paper discusses how certain vital characteristics envisioned in the Next Generation Air Transportation System enable some Air Traffic Management functions to be distributed to properly equipped aircraft, and it defines and illustrates this equipage level in a potential application. The new equipage level, perhaps the most capable of many levels permitted, enables an effective implementation of both near- and long-term 4-dimensional trajectory operations in complex airspace, with the aircraft providing the near-term tactical functions and conforming to the long-term trajectory attributes coordinated with ground-based Traffic Flow Management authorities. NASA s recent research and development of this proposed aircraft equipage for en-route and terminal-arrival operations is summarized. The role the equipage level may play in addressing key implementation challenges of reducing ground infrastructure cost, building in security and safety, and scaling to traffic demand is discussed.

Wing, David J.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Lessons Learned: Using UTM Paradigm for Urban Air Mobility

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) aims to reduce congestion on the roads and highways by offering air taxi as an alternative to driving on surface roads. Integration of UAM operations in the National Airspace System (NAS) has been the focus of the research conducted at NASA Ames Research Center. A simulation was performed in collaboration with Uber Technologies Inc to investigate if NASA’s UTM architecture and its implementation as demonstrated in the 2019 UTM field tests were extensible for UAM operations, and if the data exchange between multiple operators as planned under UTM were adequate for UAM operations in the shared airspace. In order to explore these research questions, three Use Cases were defined to investigate different airspace management challenges. This paper will describe the lessons learned from exercising the uses cases and the airspace management services including scheduling and separation developed to facilitate initial UAM operations.

Urban Air Mobility↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lessons Learned: Using UTM paradigm for Urban Air Mobility Operations

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) aims to reduce congestion on the roads and highways by offering air taxi as an alternative to driving on surface roads. Integration of UAM operations in the National Airspace System (NAS) has been the focus of the research conducted at NASA Ames Research Center. A simulation was performed in collaboration with Uber Technologies Inc to investigate if NASA’s UTM architecture and its implementation as demonstrated in the 2019 UTM field tests were extensible for UAM operations, and if the data exchange between multiple operators as planned under UTM were adequate for UAM operations in the shared airspace. In order to explore these research questions, three Use Cases were defined to investigate different airspace management challenges. This paper will describe the lessons learned from exercising the uses cases and the airspace management services including scheduling and separation developed to facilitate initial UAM operations.

Urban Air Mobility↗
NASA NTRS2023

Procedure Automation Rating Matrix

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Campaign (NC) is researching the means by which future Urban Air Mobility (UAM) aircraft will operate safely in an integrated and scalable airspace architecture. Consistent with this objective, the NASA NC Airspace Procedures team designed a matrix to evaluate UAM instrument flight procedure design, flyability and interoperability of candidate departure, enroute, and approach architectures in live flight or simulation. The Procedure Automation Rating Matrix (PARM) is a multi-dimensional rating scale designed to provide direct feedback from test pilots and operators to airspace procedure designers developing airspace constructs for the integration and scalability of AAM operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). The PARM is assessed using a hierarchical decision tree that guides the operator through a ten-point alpha-numeric rating scale initiated either with or without the use of automation.

National Campaign↗
NASA NTRS2004

DAG-TM Concept Element 11 CNS Performance Assessment: ADS-B Performance in the TRACON

Distributed Air/Ground (DAG) Traffic Management (TM) is an integrated operational concept in which flight deck crews, air traffic service providers and aeronautical operational control personnel use distributed decision-making to enable user preferences and increase system capacity, while meeting air traffic management (ATM) safety requirements. It is a possible operational mode under the Free Flight concept outlined by the RTCA Task Force 3. The goal of DAG-TM is to enhance user flexibility/efficiency and increase system capacity, without adversely affecting system safety or restricting user accessibility to the National Airspace System (NAS). DAG-TM will be accomplished with a human-centered operational paradigm enabled by procedural and technological innovations. These innovations include automation aids, information sharing and Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance (CNS) / ATM technologies. The DAG-TM concept is intended to eliminate static restrictions to the maximum extent possible. In this paradigm, users may plan and operate according to their preferences - as the rule rather than the exception - with deviations occurring only as necessary. The DAG-TM concept elements aim to mitigate the extent and impact of dynamic NAS constraints, while maximizing the flexibility of airspace operations

Raghavan, Rajesh S.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Airspace Integration Considerations for Increasingly Autonomous Flight and Operations

There is much interest in autonomous systems and their operations. When it comes to autonomous systems, it is critical to understand various levels of proposed autonomy, reasons for selecting autonomous capabilities, certification approaches and various challenges or research needs associated with the integration of autonomous systems in the National Airspace System (NAS). Furthermore, there are levels of autonomous systems proposed for different types of aircraft including: single pilot operations, remotely piloted operations, fully autonomous operations, and multiple aircraft managed by a single, remote pilot. This preliminary article aims to provide a broad overview rather than concentrate on a specific element of autonomous flight. Hence, the focus of this article is on enabling various types of increasingly autonomous aircraft and their operations routinely within the next five to ten years, consistent with the FAA’s Info-Centric NAS (ICN) vision. Under ICN, a fully integrated information environment supports collaboration across diverse traffic management services and shifts decision-making to the most appropriate actor supported by automation. However, the roles and responsibilities of Air Traffic Services (ATS) personnel providing traditional services are likely to be very similar to today in that humans will still be responsible for majority of decision making. There is another NASA research effort beyond ICN is underway called Sky For All which is not covered in this article as it is in the planning stages.

autonomy↗
NASA NTRS2004

NASA Programs in Advanced Sensors and Measurement Technology for Aeronautical Applications

There are many challenges facing designers and operators of our next-generation aircraft in meeting the demands for efficiency, safety, and reliability which are will be imposed. This paper discusses aeronautical sensor requirements for a number of research and applications areas pertinent to the demands listed above. A brief overview will be given of aeronautical research measurements, along with a discussion of requirements for advanced technology. Also included will be descriptions of emerging sensors and instrumentation technology which may be exploited for enhanced research and operational capabilities. Finally, renewed emphasis of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in advanced sensor and instrumentation technology development will be discussed, including project of technology advances over the next 5 years. Emphasis on NASA efforts to more actively advance the state-of-the-art in sensors and measurement techniques is timely in light of exciting new opportunities in airspace development and operation. An up-to-date summary of the measurement technology programs being established to respond to these opportunities is provided.

Conway, Bruce A.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Methods to Reduce Communication Workload for UAM Operations

Implementation of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) operations, or air passenger transportation systems within densely populated metropolitan areas, seeks to mitigate increasing traffic congestion. However, the development and integration of UAM operations into the national airspace system comes with its own unique challenges, such as vehicle requirements, flight planning and scheduling, and coordination between UAM flights and air traffic controllers. In particular, verbal coordination will play an integral part in the determined success of UAM operations and its ability to meet projected high consumer demands. In order to meet demands and higher traffic volumes on UAM routes, verbal communication between the UAM pilot and controller must be streamlined to reduce the controller's workload while helping to maintain safety within a given airspace. One method of reducing verbal workload are Letters Of Agreement (LOAs) that outline responsibilities and procedures for operations in an airspace. These LOAs will specify the operations, procedures, and routes for UAM flights. The proposed study will examine the usability of two route formatting styles for LOAs; (i) Verbal route descriptions and (ii) Tower En Route Control (TECs) routes. Verbal route descriptions will include the route name and associated visual cues on the route. The TEC route versions will include relevant waypoints and charts outlining the route with waypoints marked. The study will be part of a UAM X1 human in the loop (HITL) simulation. Controller participants will handle traditional air traffic including moderate levels of UAM traffic on current and modified helicopter routes within the Dallas Fort-Worth area. Scenarios will be counterbalanced and repeated to test both route formatting versions. After each trial, participants will rate the usability of the LOA used in the previous trial via a subjective questionnaire. We expect that controllers will prefer the LOA with TEC routes due to simplicity and visual elements available.

aerospace human factors↗
NASA NTRS2022

Sharing Operational Intent with Containment Confidence Level for Negotiating Deconfliction in Upper Class E Airspace

Community-based Cooperative Separation Management (CSM) is expected to provide separation services in Upper Class E airspace (near and above FL600). Under CSM, operators are responsible for maintaining separation. The CSM concept is enabled by sharing Operational Intent (OI) among the operators to ensure common situation awareness. The OI is represented as four-dimensional (time and space) information that indicates where an aircraft would be contained within the space and time, with a known level of confidence. However, each vehicle’s ability to stay within its region of OI may differ based on each vehicle’s performance characteristics, resulting in varying OI sizes among the vehicles. Such varying OI size could adversely affect efficient and fair access to the airspace. In this paper, an OI-generation algorithm under varying OI size restriction with Containment Confidence Level (CCL) is presented. High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) balloon operations are used as an example application. A framework is presented by which CCL information is used in the deconfliction process. A fast-time simulation experiment is conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed framework. The simulation results show a reduced number of unnecessary deconfliction actions.

Upper Class E Traffic Management↗
NASA NTRS2022

Sharing Operational Intent with Containment Confidence Level for Negotiating Deconfliction in Upper Class E Airspace

Community-based Cooperative Separation Management (CSM) is expected to provide separation services in Upper Class E airspace (near and above FL600). Under CSM, operators are responsible for maintaining separation. The CSM concept is enabled by sharing Operational Intent (OI) among the operators to ensure common situation awareness. The OI is represented as four-dimensional (time and space) information that indicates where an aircraft would be contained within the space and time, with a known level of confidence. However, each vehicle’s ability to stay within its region of OI may differ based on each vehicle’s performance characteristics, resulting in varying OI sizes among the vehicles. Such varying OI size could adversely affect efficient and fair access to the airspace. In this paper, an OI-generation algorithm under varying OI size restriction with Containment Confidence Level (CCL) is presented. High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) balloon operations are used as an example application. A framework is presented by which CCL information is used in the deconfliction process. A fast-time simulation experiment is conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed framework. The simulation results show a reduced number of unnecessary deconfliction actions.

Upper Class E Traffic Management, ETM, Cooperative↗