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Assessment of the Airspace Systems Program
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BACKGROUND
The first five sections of this chapter describe and
assess the Airspace Systems Program (ASP) and the
process used to review research in this area. They also
set forth program-level findings and recommendations
that are largely based on project-level assessments in
the sixth and final section of the chapter. Additional
findings and recommendations at the project level and
task level appear in the sections focused on project-
level detail.
Program Information
. .. . an.
The goal of ASP is to enable major increases in the
capacity and mobility of the air transportation system
through the development of revolutionary concepts for
operations and vehicle systems that will do the follow-
ing:
.
Improve throughput, predictability, flexibility,
collaboration, efficiency, and access to the Na-
tional Airspace System (NAS), including the
enabling of general aviation and runway-inde-
pendent aircraft operations
Maintain system safety, security, and environ-
mental protection, and
Enable modeling and simulation of air trans-
. .
portat~on operations.
43
ASP research and development are performed at
NASA's Ames Research Center, Langley Research
Center, and Glenn Research Center. Program manage-
ment resides at Ames. The program is organized into
four projects, as follows:
· The Advanced Air Transportation Technolo-
gies (AATT) project focuses on the develop-
ment of air traffic management (ATM) tools to
improve the capacity of transport aircraft op-
erations at and between major airports. This
multiyear project was initiated in 1996 with a
project life of ~ years. Most of the NASA staff
working on AATT reside at Ames; the rest re-
side at Langley and Glenn.
· The Small Aircraft Transportation Systems
(SATS) project focuses on the development and
demonstration of technologies to improve pub-
lic mobility through increased use of local and
.
regional airports. This multiyear project was
initiated in 2001 with a project life of 4 years.
All of the NASA staff working on SATS reside
at Langley.
The Virtual Airspace Modeling and Simulation
(YAMS) project focuses on the development of
models and simulations to conduct trade-off
analyses among concepts and technologies for
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operational concepts
44
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ASSESSMENT OF THE AIRSPACE SYSTEMS PROGRAM
TABLE 3-1 Net Funding and Direct NASA Staffing Levels for the Airspace Systems Program
45
Federal Funding from Project Start
Through FY04 (million $)
NASA Staffing Through FY04
(full-time equivalent)
Annual Annual
Project Duration Total Average FYo4a Total Average FYo4a
AA1Y FY96-FY04 317 35 41 634 70 69
VAMS FY02-FY06 46 9 14 65 13 24
AOS FY00-FY06 96 14 8 515 74 28
SATS FY01-FY05 49 10 15 105 26 34
Total 508 79 1,319 155
aData for FY04 are planned, as of April 2003.
SOURCE: NASA.
.
the air transportation system of the future. This
multiyear project was initiated in 2002 with a
project life of 4 years. Most of the NASA staff
working on VAMS reside at Ames; the rest re-
side at Langley.
The Airspace Operations Systems (AOS)
project focuses on the development of better
understanding, models, and tools to enhance the
efficient and safe operation of aviation systems
by human operators. This multiyear project be-
came part of ASP in 2000 and has a project life
of 6 years. All of the NASA staff working on
AOS reside at Ames.
The ASP organization is shown in Figure 3-1.
Funding and NASA staff levels are summarized in
Table 3-1.
Review Process
The Panel on the Airspace Systems Program of the
Committee for the Review of NASA's Revolutionize
Aviation Programs met for the first time on February
24-26, 2003, in Washington, D.C. Before that first
meeting, the 12 panel members had the opportunity to
review the brief write-ups provided by the principal
investigators of each of the tasks in response to a short
questionnaire generated by NRC. The questionnaire
asked for a brief description of the task, development
of goals, key progress, technical issues, major publica-
tions, and roadblocks. It also asked each principal in-
vestigator to address the issue of transition, describe
the relevancy of the research to NASA missions, and
provide a list of internal and external customers. A
blank questionnaire is shown in Appendix D.
At the first meeting, panel members received tech-
nical briefings in the form of overviews from the ASP
program manager and the four project managers. A
number of selected tasks were also presented by the
principal investigators. The panel subsequently formed
four subpanels, one for each of the four projects. Fol-
low-up questions were generated by the panel mem-
bers and forwarded to the NASA program and project
managers. Each subpanel made a site visit to either
NASA Langley or Ames. NASA staff from Glenn par-
ticipated in the Langley site visit. The purpose of these
site visits was to review NASA's response to the ques-
tions raised by the panel, to speak directly with the re-
searchers working on each task, and to get additional
detailed briefings on tasks not reviewed in detail at the
first meeting. The site visits also provided an opportu-
nity for the panel members to observe the research fa-
cilities and demonstrations of some of the products.
In addition to the site visits, a few panel members
met or had telephone conversations with members of
the user community, primarily FAA staff. The purpose
of these meetings was to understand their views of
NASA's ASP research.
The panel then met a second time, in Irvine, Cali-
fornia, on April 30 and May 1, 2003, to finalize its
results. The panel provided input to the parent commit-
tee in the form of a working report. Five members of
the panel served as members of the committee.
46
PORTFOLIO
The Advanced Air Transportation Technologies
project is nearing completion and has many near-term,
mature tasks that are nearing transition to implementa-
tion. The Virtual Airspace Modeling and Simulation
project is in an early stage of work and has longer-term
tasks that are in the concept development and evalua-
tion phase. The Airspace Operations Systems project
supports mostly basic research. Most of the research
supported by the Small Aircraft Transportation System
project is best described as mid-term. NASA research
facilities are world-class, as are many of the research-
ers. The researchers have a good idea of what they hope
to accomplish and how to meet the objectives.
.
AN ASSESSMENT OF NASA 'S AERONA UTICS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
space research but increase the effort on the air-
borne sitle, including research to enable autono-
mous separation. NASA should explore revolution-
ary concepts and issues related to distributed
air-ground airspace systems, including the distribu-
tion of decision making between the cockpit and
ground systems, reorganization of how aircraft are
routed, and the predicted effect of new concepts on
airspace and airport capacity.
PROGRAM PLAN
Advanced Air Transportation Technologies Pro ject
Finding: Support for Basic Research. Although the
research portfolio is reasonably balanced, the focus
is on the near- and mid-term.
Program Recommendation: Support for Basic Re-
search. The Airspace Systems Program should sup-
port basic research relevant to long-term FAA/
NASA objectives and other research with a far-
sighted vision, even if some present-day users would
be reluctant to adopt operational systems arising
from the research. Planning for long-term research
should take into account user inputs and concerns,
but user endorsement of individual long-term re-
search projects should not be viewed as a require-
ment for starting work.
Finding: Portfolio of the Airspace Systems Pro-
gram. Most of the decision support tools being de-
veloped by NASA are designed to improve ground-
based air traffic management. Not enough emphasis
is placed on research in support of free flight and
the self-separation of aircraft.
Program Recommendation: Portfolio of the Air-
space Systems Program. NASA should plan air-
space research based on a top-down understanding
of the air transportation system. Research should
focus on areas of greatest payoff, in terms of their
ability to relieve choke points and other constraints
to more efficient air transportation.
Program Recommendation: Airborne Research.
NASA should continue distributed air-ground air-
The AATT project is quite mature. It contains
many tasks that are at a stage where heavy user in-
volvement is expected. In many cases, they are almost
ready for transition to the FAA and are the subject of
NASAIFAA transition agreements. The FAA Office of
Air Traffic Services instituted a requirement for the
FAA's internal research and development organization,
NASA, the MITRE Corporation, and other research
organizations to use Research Management Plans
(RMPs) to identify research tasks and to get assistance
from the various FAA organizations that may benefit
from the research. The use of RMPs is also intended to
prevent unnecessary duplication of efforts among the
researchers. The RMP prepared for each task describes
the research, research goals, operational uses, linkages
to FAA planning documents, roles ant} responsibilities
of participating organizations, plans for resolving spe-
cific research issues, and a plan for transitioning re-
search results to the appropriate FAA system develop-
ment organization. Developing an RMP at the concept
development stage of research tasks directed at improv-
ing FAA operational capabilities increases the likeli-
hood that NASA research will be responsive to FAA
needs, thereby increasing the probability that applied
airspace research by NASA will be incorporates! in the
NAS.
The FAA's Free Flight Phase II Office uses Re-
search Transition Plans (RTPs), which are similar to
RMPs in that they outline the roles and responsibilities
of NASA and the FAA in the transfer of research re-
sults from NASA to the FAA. Once the Free Flight
Phase II office is disbanded, the RTP process will cease
unless a similar process is established by some other
FAA user of NASA research or the unique elements of
the RTPs are merged into the broader RMP process.
ASSESSMENT OF THE AIRSPACE SYSTEMS PROGRAM
Neither RMPs nor RTPs commit the FAA to imple-
menting new technology. That responsibility rests with
senior FAA acquisition executives and usually requires
the appropriation of funds.
Finding: Research Management Plans and Re-
search Transition Plans. RMPs and RTPs are both
intended, at least in part, to facilitate transition of
technology from NASA and other research organi-
zations to the FAA.
A` ¢.
Program Recommendation: Research Transition
Plans. The RTP process should be examined to see
if it contains worthwhile elements that should be
included in the Research Management Plans.
Program Recommendation: Research Management
Plans. NASA and FAA program directors and ex-
ecutives should vigorously adhere to a structured
interagency approach, such as the RMP process, for
coordinated planning, oversight, and periodic re-
view of airspace research that NASA intends to
transfer to the FAA for advanced development and
implementation. If either party determines that the
research results from a particular project will not
be implemental, the interagency agreement for that
project should be canceled and NASA should for-
mally reassess the merits of continuing to develop a
product that is not likely to achieve the intended
goal of improving the operation of the National Air-
space System.
NASA is establishing a new project, NASA Ex-
ploratory Technologies for the NAS (NExTNAS), to
continue some ongoing research tasks and start some
new tasks. NASA is in the process of defining the re-
search that will be included in NExTNAS, which is
expected to run from FY04 to FY08.
Finding: Continuation of Ongoing Tasks. Many ex-
isting airspace research tasks will not be completed
before the expiration of the projects under which
they are currently funded.
Program Recommendation: Continuation of Ongo-
ing Tasks. NASA should include many ongoing
tasks in the NExTNAS Project so they can be com-
pleted. Areas particularly worthy of continuation
include the following:
47
.
En Route Descent Advisor task,
Surface Management System task,
Distributed Air-Ground Traffic Manage-
ment subproject,
· Traffic Flow Management task, and
The most promising elements of the pre-
ferred operational concept coming out of the
VAMS project.
Small Aircraft Transportation System Pro ject
The committee welcomes the initiative taken by
NASA over the last few years to redefine the objective
of SATS to emphasize mobility rather than capacity.
The current focus of SATS technology development
to improve the capabilities and utility of general avia-
tion and business aircraft is appropriate. More work
to understand and mitigate the impact of SATS on the
NAS and the environment would be beneficial. In-
creased use of SATS aircraft could increase total air-
craft emissions because small aircraft consume more
fuel and produce more emissions per passenger mile
than large commercial transports. The demand projec-
tions for SATS technologies, however, are generally
unconvincing. Projecting air travel demand with
enough accuracy is difficult at best the current state
of the aviation industry shows the tremendous impact
of unexpected events.
Virtual Airspace Modeling and Simulation Project
The planning of the entire VAMS project seems to
have focused initially on a suite of open models and
simulation tools that researchers could use to evaluate
any new airspace system concept. Development of a
core modeling capability for the evaluation of future
operational concepts is a challenge that NASA is well
suited to meet. However, experience in other fields
demonstrates the difficulty of developing generic mod-
els; chances for success are improved when models are
more specific. Now that new operational concepts are
taking shape, the Airspace Systems Program is syn-
chronizing the development of concepts and models.
The competence of the model developers and a well-
executed systems evaluation and assessment effort has
the potential to mitigate much of the risk created by the
early development of the models (before future opera-
tional concepts have been well defined).
48
Airspace Operations Systems Project
~ . ~
There was general consensus that the relationship be-
tween NASA and the FAA has improved significantly
over the years. NASA researchers generally are skilled,
easy to work with, and dedicated to what they do. In
the past, airspace researchers were focused more on
advancing the state of the art than on developing opera-
tionally useful products capable of meeting specific
functional requirements. NASA is now very interested
in working with the FAA to take research products into
the field for testing. This is a very positive change and
should he continued. It is important, however, for
NASA researchers to develop a better appreciation of
what it takes to transform technology into products that
meet all of the safety, reliability, operability, and
affordability requirements faced by the FAA and the
nonstop operations of the NAS. In particular, systems
must be fail-safe, and the overall acceptability of new
products may be defined by what happens during ab-
normal or emergency operating conditions caused by
equipment failures, human errors, and/or adverse
weather conditions. In addition, more NASA managers
than FAA managers see interactions between the two
. ~~ .
agencies as effective.
NASA should recognize that implementation deci-
sions rest with FAA management and that advocacy by
NASA, when it runs counter to FAA implementation
plans, is not helpful. In particular, NASA efforts to
"sell" the Direct-to-Controller tool, which is under de-
velopment by the AATT project, to controllers in the
field have been viewed with concern by some FAA
managers.
AN ASSESSMENT OF NASA 'S AERONA UTICS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
researchers understand and are able to respond to user
Most of the human factors research tasks in AOS perspectives.
The panel Interviewed many FAA staff to under-
are baste and should provide useful knowledge and be
stand their perception of NASA's airspace research.
applicable to concepts of airspace operations that have
humans in the loop. The researchers are highly moti-
vated about their work. Many AOS tasks are focused
on developing formal methods and tools that can be
used to evaluate human interaction with advanced au-
tomation. The work can best be characterized as ad-
vancing the state of the art in aviation human factors
research rather than meeting specific requirements, and
some research is driven by the interests of individual
researchers. Even so, some of the results have been
applied by large airframe manufacturers. AOS research
deliverables often take the form of published papers
and talks at technical conferences. An integrated plan
should be developed to explain how the AOS tasks are
organized and work together to support the achieve-
ment of ASP objectives.
~ , . 1
TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE
The Airspace Systems Program is well executed.
The goals and objectives of each project are well de-
fined, and the researchers are very knowledgeable
about the NAS. However, some opportunities for im-
provement exist. Researchers generally lack the imple-
mentation experience that comes from working with
operational systems. Previous activity has shown that
final implementation of new air traffic control (ATC)
technologies (such as those developed by NASA) can
be exceedingly difficult because of stringent safety and
training requirements. The record is mixed. The transi-
tion of some tools, such as the Traffic Management
Advisor (TMA), to the FAA has been a great success,
whereas other tools, such as the passive Final Approach
Spacing Tool (pFAST) will not be incorporated into
the NAS. Notwithstanding the existence of the RTPs
and RMPs, NASA and the FAA have different percep-
tions of how to move NASA research results into op-
erational FAA concepts.
USER CONNECTIONS
Users (e.g., controllers, pilots, and air traffic man-
agers) are directly involved in much of NASA's air-
space systems research, but in some cases user involve-
ment earlier in the process would be beneficial. User
involvement throughout the process would ensure that
Finding: Success Criteria. NASA tends to view suc-
cess in terms of its ability to mature technology and
get the FAA to implement it for operational use.
Some FAA users, however, believe this view of suc-
cess sometimes leads NASA to focus too much on
implementation issues, which NASA may not be
well qualified to resolve given its limited operational
experience.
Program Recommendation: Success Criteria.
NASA and the FAA should develop a common def~l-
nition of what constitutes the successful completion
of an applied airspace research task. Success of
ASSESSMENT OF THE AIRSPACE SYSTEMS PROGRAM
NASA applied research tasks should not be mea-
sured strictly in terms of implementation.
ASSESSMENT BY PROJECT
Advanced Air Transportation Technologies Pro ject
Background
The AATT research is organized as follows:
i
49
Terminal/Surface subproject
Multi-Center Traffic Management Advisor
(McTMA) task
- Expedite Departure Path (EDP) task
—Surface Management System (SMS) task
En Route subproject
En Route Descent Advisor (EDA) task
Regional Metering task
Traffic Flow Management (TFM) task
Direct-to-Controller Tool (D2) task
Distributed Air-Ground Traffic Management
(DAG-TM) subproject
—DAG-TM Airborne task
—DAG-TM ATM task
DAG-TM Flight Deck and Cockpit Display
of Traffic Information task
Advanced Communications for ATM task
Po~fo/io
The FAA and NASA Administrators have ap-
proved establishment of a joint project office to coordi-
nate efforts to develop new aviation systems. This of-
fice will report to a newly established interdepartmental
policy committee, whose membership will include the
Secretary of Transportation, the FAA Administrator,
the NASA Administrator, and officials from the De-
partments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Com-
merce. The policy committee will be responsible for
establishing national goals and objectives, reviewing
policies guiding modernization of the NAS, proposing
legislation, and supporting budget requests. A key goal
is to establish a transformation program for the NAS
that goes beyond current modernization efforts, which
include the FAA's Operational Evolution Plan. The
joint project office also has the potential to bring to-
gether efforts by RTCA committees, industry, FAA,
and NASA to develop future operational concepts. The
establishment of a joint project office is an important
initiative deserving full support by NASA and the
FAA, including assignment of senior personnel from
NASA and the FAA, who should be physically located
in the same office. It remains to be seen how existing
research projects, such as AATT, and existing coordi-
nation efforts, such as RMPs, RTPs, and the Inter-
agency Integrated Product Team (IAIPT),2 will fit into
the work of the new joint project office.
McTMA, D2, and SMS have the potential for near-
term application. They are part of the FAA's Opera-
tional Evolution Plan for Free Flight Phase II, and
NASA and the FAA's Free Flight Phase II Office have
AATT research includes a mix of tasks that pro- signed an RTP for each of these tasks.
vice decision support tools for use by air traffic con- Other AATT tasks have a longer-term focus.
trollers (D2, EDA, EDP); technologies that support the
management of air traffic (Regional Metering, TFM,
McTMA); and technologies that suggest paradigm
shifts from today's ground-based environment to a mix
of ground and airborne environments for aircraft con-
tro] (DAG-TM and Advanced Communications for
ATM).
These tasks represent an excellent mix of near- and
long-term research and a good array of concepts, espe-
cially with regard to improving the ground-based por-
tion of the NAS. However, only a small portion of the
tasks (in the AATT project and the other projects) di-
rectly support free flight and self-separation of aircraft.
Some tasks, such as EDP, reflect a farsighted vision
that present-day users may be reluctant to adopt. How-
ever, this is the type of project NASA should pursue
because it sets the stage for long-term breakthroughs.
NASA has submitted the Regional Metering and En
Route Descent Advisor tasks to the FAA's Air Traffic
Services organization with the intent of preparing
RMPs for each of these tasks. This would make it more
iRTCA, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization that functions as a
Federal Advisory Committee to advise the FAA on issues related to
communications, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic manage-
ment systems.
2The IAIPT was established by a memorandum of understand-
ing between the FAA and NASA and includes representatives from
the FAA, NASA, MITRE Corporation, the Volpe National Trans-
portation System Center, and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology's Lincoln Laboratory. The mission of the IAIPT is to
help coordinate and improve the effectiveness of research related
to air-based and ground-based ATC and traffic flow management.
so
likely that the FAA will make facilities and controllers
available to assist in these tasks.
Program Plan
;
;
AN ASSESSMENT OF NASA 'S AERONA UTICS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
The AATT project has an extensive plan in place
to track each task. TRLs are used to quantify the matu-
rity of research (see Figure 2-34. Tasks D2, McTMA,
and SMS each have an RTP and are scheduled to go to
TRL 6, at which point NASA will transfer the research
results to the FAA. Current plans call for the remaining
tasks to be matured to TRL 4. There appears to be suf-
ficient funding for all tasks to reach their respective
TRLs, ant! all tasks appear to be progressing on sched-
ule. The AATT project will end in FY04, although
some tasks will continue as part of the new NExTNAS
project.
Technica/ Performance
The airspace research facilities at NASA Ames and
Langley are world-class. A mix of highly qualified
NASA researchers and contractors is assigned to each
AATT task. When appropriate, tasks are supported by
extensive human-in-the-loop testing using retired and
former air traffic controllers and retired and current
pilots with various aviation ratings. NASA maintains a
field test site at the Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Con-
tro! Center (ARTCC) to test ATC and ATM tools. Test-
ing of McTMA is being conducted at the New York,
Cleveland, Boston, and Washington ARTCCs. A com-
bination of various fidelity simulators at Ames and
Langley provides a good balance of capabilities. NASA
also uses FAA simulators and facilities throughout the
aviation industry.
Moving AATT tasks to TRL 6 sometimes requires
flight tests in addition to high-fidelity simulations.
NASA flight test capabilities are somewhat limited and
expensive to maintain, but few if any alternatives exist
(few other organizations maintain flight test capabili-
ties suitable for testing some AATT research, such as
the Approach Spacing system, which was recently
flight tested as part of DAG-TM at Chicago O'Hare
airport).
It is difficult for the FAA to provide active-duty air
traffic controllers for human-in-the-Ioop testing be-
cause of cost and availability issues. This may limit the
amount of human-in-the-loop testing conducted and,
hence, the quality of the overall test program.
Some AATT tasks suggest that current operational
procedures, such as "Miles in Trail," should be replaced
by a time-based metering concept or a new decision
support tool for controllers. However, achieving con-
sensus on the need for and the nature of- changes to
safety-critical controller procedures and systems is dif-
ficult for many reasons. ATM decision support tools
are more readily accepted because they do not directly
affect controllers and are much less critical to flight
safety.
Although most AATT tasks are taking advantage
of previously completed basic research, the Advanced
Communication for ATM and DAG-TM tasks still re-
quire some basic research, all of which is well within
the capabilities of the teams working on those tasks.
User Connections
The principal user for the AATT research is the
FAA. Other elements of the aviation community would
use the results of other tasks, such as SMS, TFM, and
DAG-TM, although some FAA officials believe that
NASA should view the FAA as the only customer for
its airspace research because the FAA is the entity that
will decide whether the research results will be incor-
porated in the NAS.
Pilots contacted by the Airspace Systems Panel in-
dicated that pilots are generally satisfied with the in-
volvement of the pilot community with AATT re-
search.
NASA and the FAA signed a memorandum of un-
derstanding in September of 1995 essentially making
NASA's airspace research one of the FAA's research
arms. As a result, NASA participates in meetings of
RTCA committees and the IAIPT to discuss NAS is-
sues. The MITRE Corporation is also part of these
meetings, where research ideas are discussed with the
goal of avoiding unnecessary duplication. New opera-
tional concepts developed by NASA are intended to
improve the performance of the NAS. NASA typically
involves the FAA at TRL 3 or 4, when the concept is
judged to be ready for simulation testing. Comments
from some FAA officials indicate the desire for closer
involvement at earlier stages of NASA research, which
would likely increase FAA buy-in to NASA research.
The FAA has adopted TMA and implemented it at
several ARTCCs. Some airline operations centers have
adopted the Future ATM Concepts Evaluation Tool
(FACET), which was developed as part of the TMA
task. Of the three tasks with RTPs scheduled to be
transferred to the FAA, two- McTMA and SMS,
ASSESSMENT OF THE AIRSPACE SYSTEMS PROGRAM
which are ATM tools will most likely continue once
transfer to the FAA has occurred. Comments from the
FAA indicate that (1) the FAA may delay or forgo
implementation of D2 research in the NAS because D2
is not included in the plan for En Route Automation
Modernization (ERAM)3 and (2) NASA programs that
integrate with operational ATC systems are difficult to
implement because of cost, timing, and controller ac-
ceptance. NASA has transferred to the FAA one other
decision support tool (pFAST) that was not imple-
mentecl, at least in part because of problems integrating
pFAST with the current air traffic automation system.
Finding: Early Involvement of Users. Delaying user
involvement makes it much more difficult for the
concept or system design to accommodate unex-
pected user concerns.
Recommendation: Early Involvement of Users.
NASA should involve the FAA and other users, as
appropriate, early in the development of new op-
erational concepts and airspace systems research to
properly account for the need to maintain safe, con-
tinuous operations in both routine and unexpected
situations.
Assessment by Subproject
Terminal/Surface Subproject
Multi-Center Tragic Management Advisor Task
This task is an enhancement to TMA, which has
already been delivered to the FAA. Its goals and objec-
tives are clear and concise. The FAA is fully involved,
and an RIP between the FAA and NASA is in place. A
fully functional laboratory is in place at NASA and a
prototype system is in place at several key FAA facili-
ties. Budget and time lines are adequate to fulfill the
RIP.
Field testing is under way and TRL 6 should be
achieved on time. The task is using proven logic from
the TMA project. The concept is supported by users at
3ERAM has been planned, budgeted, and approved through the
FAA' s formal decision making process and is the program for mak-
ing improvements to the en route portion of the NAS. Trying to
insert D2 in ERAM now would increase cost, delay the schedule,
and perhaps increase Me risk of ERAM. D2 and other new capabili-
ties not included in ERAM will probably not be implemented until
2009 at the earliest.
51
the field test sites, and there are plans to continue re-
search to expand the concept beyond the current effort
involving the Boston, New York, Cleveland, and
Washington ARTCCs.
The airline industry is also involved. NASA per-
sonnel are on site at the field test sites and interface
daily with the FAA and airline users. TMA is already
deployed at several ARTCCs, and McTMA is also ex-
pected to be accepted by the FAA.
McTMA is an excellent example of user-driven
research. Live field testing is ensuring that real-world
problems are being addressed.
Finding: Multi-Center Traffic Management Advi-
sor. The McTMA task makes excellent use of field
testing. The research team is very knowledgeable
and is quite familiar with FAA operations. How-
ever, TMA and McTMA use a time-based metering
concept that is not fully endorsed by many FAA Air
Route Traffic Control Centers, which could limit
the actual use of this concept by FAA controllers
and traffic management coordinators.
Recommendation: Time and Workload Savings of
the Multi-Center Traffic Management Advisor.
NASA should thoroughly analyze the time and
workload savings created by the TMA time-based
metering concept to validate its potential benefits.
Expedite Departure Path Task
EDP goals and objectives are clear and potential
user benefits are well understood, although technology
off-ramps (i.e., the point at which research results will
be incorporated in future research, implemented in op-
erational NAS systems, or terminated) have not been
well defined. EDP researchers recognize that control-
ler acceptance of new tools such as EDP and human
factors are major concerns. However, to some extent
this is an implementation problem that goes beyond
technology, meaning that the FAA ultimately wild be
responsible for solving it.
EDP is being field tested at Dallas-Fort Worth us-
ing human-in-the-loop simulations with controllers
because TMA and related tools are already imple-
mented there and Dallas-Fort Worth has high-density
air traffic. The EDP research team has an excellent mix
of academic involvement, drawing on studies of simu-
lation, noise abatement, and trajectory synthesis,
among others.
52
\,.
AN ASSESSMENT OF NASA 'S AERONAUTICS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
EDP will contribute to greater automation of the
NAS, with tools to guide controller decision making.
This is a project with a farsighted vision, not necessar-
ily one that present-day users would be willing to adopt.
However, this is the type of project NASA should do
because it sets the stage for long-term breakthroughs.
The project appears to leverage work of others. How-
ever, since it is farsighted, it may not be perceived as
acceptable to present-day users and may not retain po-
litical support.
Finding: Expedite Departure Path. EDP is the type
of research that befits NASA because it has a far-
sighted vision that goes beyond the constraints of
current operational concepts and sets the stage for
potential breakthroughs. EDP also has the poten-
tial to hasten the adoption of noise- and emission-
reducing departure paths.
Recommendation: Environmental Benefits of Expe-
dite Departure Path. Acknowledging that the ben-
efits of EDP are described primarily in terms of the
potential to reduce delays, NASA should also char-
acterize the benefit in terms of potential to mitigate
the environmental effects of aviation.
Surface Management System Task
SMS research is well planned, with clear goals and
objectives. Execution has been highly successful. The
expertise of the contractors doing the work and the
funding are adequate to complete the program. Exter-
nal participation in SMS research has been excellent.
Personnel from the FAA and airline operations centers
have been involved with design and testing. This sys-
tem seems ripe for implementation. Simulations and
prototype demonstrations have been successfully com-
pleted, and the research will be ~ansitioned to the FAA
in FY04.
SMS research has minimized the need to custom-
ize SMS installations at different airports to accommo-
date local airport configurations. The system will
complement current FAA programs related to ASDE-X
displays and the use of digital maps for ASDE-X as
part of the Safe Flight 21 program.4
4Airport Surface Detection Equipment Model X, better known
as ASDE-X, is an advanced traffic management system for aircraft
on the ground.
NASA estimates the benefit-cost ratio of SMS is
12.6 for an initial deployment at 18 sites; the comm~t-
tee did not independently verify this estimate. The SMS
would do an excellent job of predicting aircraft arrival
times at airport gates. It also has the potential to hal-
ance departure traffic among multiple runways and
departure points once an aircraft is under way. How-
ever, given the short time for aircraft to reach runways
once they begin taxiing and the disparate start points
that exist at many airports, optimization of the depar-
ture process will be somewhat limited without reliable
predictions of aircraft pushback and/or taxi start
times information that is not readily available at most
large airports.
Finding: Surface Management System. SMS has
strong user support, site adaptation requirements
should be minimal, and the system should be able
to take advantage of other FAA programs (e.g.,
ASDE-X displays and digital maps). However, SMS
would benefit from better predeparture prediction
capabilities.
Recommendation: Continuation of Surface Man-
agement System. NASA research on SMS should
continue beyond the planned end date to add more
predeparture prediction capability.
En Route Subproject
Regional Metering Task
Goals and objectives are clearly defined through
TRL 4/FY04, but plans for further research have yet to
be defined, although the Regional Metering task has
been propose(l for inclusion in NExTNAS. Research
personnel are very knowledgeable, progress metrics
have been defined, human factors are fully integrated,
and required laboratory facilities and support contrac-
tors are in place. Modeling and human-in-the-Ioop test-
ing are well planned, but human-in-the-loop testing is
expensive and is limited by budgets.
Regional Metering is an enhancement to TMA. The
Regional Metering enhancement will take time-based
metering to more local airports, so the more TMA be-
comes accepted by users, the better understood the
Regional Metering concept will be. NASA is well
aware that user acceptance of time-based metering (as
opposed to miles in trail) is critical to ultimate success
of Regional Metering. Regional Metering addresses
ASSESSMENT OF THE AIRSPACE SYSTEMS PROGRAM
real-world problems and the hypotheses upon which it
is based are highly plausible.
Finding: Regional Metering. NASA and the FAA
understand that automated traffic flow manage-
ment tools have the potential to provide important
benefits, thereby justifying the effort to take Traffic
Management Advisor, Regional Metering, and
Multi-Center Traffic Management Advisor re-
search a step further. However, like Multi-Center
Traffic Management Advisor, Regional Metering
!
' A; · ,
uses a time-based metering concept that is not fully
endorsed by the FAA controllers at many Air Route
Traffic Control Centers, which could limit the ac-
tual use of this concept by FAA controllers and traf-
fic management coordinators.
Recommendation: Time and Workload Savings of
Regional Metering. NASA should thoroughly ana-
lyze the time and workload savings created by the
Regional Metering time-based metering concept to
validate its benefits. NASA should decide whether
to continue support of Regional Metering research
under the NExTNAS project after this analysis has
been completed.
En Route Descent Advisor Task
EDA works in conjunction with TMA and uses the
logic of the Center TRACON (Terminal Radar Ap-
proach Control) Automation System (CTAS)s and D2
to enhance these tools. The EDA task has well-defined
goals and objectives; it is focused on reducing control-
ler workload and aircraft flight times through automa-
tion. User benefits have been validated through simu-
lation, but the FAA has not yet endorsed the concept.
Support contractors are in place for coding and testing.
Researchers working on this task are well aware of con-
troller concerns about active advisory tools. NASA re-
searchers are knowledgeable, and laboratory facilities
are adequate to support research through TRL 4. There
is a very good plan to take EDA to TRL 4 and to con-
tinue research beyond FY04 as part of NExTNAS.
SlThe goal of CTAS is to provide automation tools that help con-
~ollers reduce aircraft delays, increase airport capacity, aIld reduce
fuel consumption without reducing safety or increasing controller
workload.
53
EDA research is using active and retired control-
lers for human-in-the-loop testing. Lessons learned
from pFAST are improving user acceptance. Human
factors studies have been included from the beginning.
EDA is applied research at this point. Real-world
problems are defined and well addressed.
Finding: En Route Descent Advisor. NASA is mak-
ing good use of existing software as the core of the
EDA concept and is taking advantage of new con-
cepts, such as datalink, that are included in the
FAA's Operational Evolution Plan. However, the
FAA has not committed to support EDA develop-
ment past technology readiness level 4. Also, FAA
controllers seem reluctant to accept decision sup-
port tools that provide active advisories; they pre-
fer tools they can call on when needed.
Recommendation: Transition Plan for En Route
Descent Advisor. NASA and the FAA should agree
to a Research Transition Plan or Research Manage-
ment Plan for EDA to ensure continued FAA sup-
port before NASA commits to including EDA in the
NExTNAS project.
Direct-to-Controller Tool Task
D2 research has clear goals and objectives with real-
istic deliverables. Early operational testing of CTAS in-
dicated the need for a tool to help controllers identify
conflict-free direct routes to downstream fixes. This test-
ing serves as the underlying system-level assessment that
demonstrates the need for and value of tools like D2. D2
software has been integrated in the release version of
CTAS that is in use at the Fort Worth en route center,
and NASA's D2 research is almost complete.
To avoid the implementation problems encoun-
tered by pFAST, researchers would like to stay con-
nected to the research after it is turned over to the FAA
by serving as "high-powered consultants." However,
as discussed above, implementation of D2 will be de-
layed or canceled because the FAA did not include D2
in ERAM.
NASA D2 researchers are very focused on user
adoption, and a prototype D2 tool has been success-
fully tested under operational conditions at one of the
FAA's ARTCCs. NASA researchers have demon-
strated that a too! like D2 that automatically generates
optimum flight paths without prompting by controllers
can be more effective (at, for example, reducing air-
60
AN ASSESSMENT OF NASA 'S AERONA UTICS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
while and should be pursued, regardless of current
trends and expectations of future demand for commer-
cial air transportation or business jets.
In 1996, aircraft of all types (civil and military,
commercial and general aviation) operating under in-
strument flight rules (IFR) made 14.8 million trips
through the NAS. About half of these trips (7.2 mil-
lion) were by commercial air carriers and about one-
fifth (3.1 million) were by air taxis.~4 In 2000, com-
mercial air carriers made 9.0 million trips of all kinds
(IFR and visual flight rules).~S By one estimate, the
SATS project could lead to 31 million trips annually by
SATS aircraft 22 years after the technology becomes
operational. This tremendous increase in the number
of flight operations would be a huge burden for the
NAS, given the capacity and delay problems that the
system was experiencing from the normal expansion
of commercial aviation until 9/11.
One of the objectives of the SATS project is to
"assess SATS' economic viability and impact on Na-
tional airspace and airport infrastructure."~7 Demand
projections seem focused on accomplishing the first
part of this objective; the last part is being addressed by
the En Route Integration operational capability (see
Table 3-2~. Given (1) the questionable accuracy and
utility of long-term demand projections for a new trans-
portation system and (2) the challenging technical is-
sues that would need to be overcome to allow the NAS
and local air torts to accommodate a large fleet of SATS
aircraft, the committee believes that the resources and
expertise that NASA is devoting to the demand oroiec-
i4FAA. 1997. FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation 1996. Table
2.2, Air traffic activity at ARTCCs, by aviation category, fiscal
years 1992 to 1996. Available online at
ASSESSMENT OF THE AIRSPACE SYSTEMS PROGRAM
At!
AN." I, "' _ -
'. ';
The SATS project seems to have been redirected
during the 2002 to 2003 time frame. NASA has em-
phasized that SATS is more about mobility than capac-
ity and should be considered as an alternative to travel
on existing commercial carriers and other modes of
transportation. SATS technologies could increase use
of on-demand air taxis for passenger traffic. However,
widespread use of SATS aircraft could also have nega-
tive environmental effects given that SATS aircraft
may consume more fuel and produce more emissions
per passenger-mile than either large commercial trans-
ports or private automobiles. SATS aircraft may also
result in higher levels of aviation noise at small air-
ports. It will be difficult for the SATS project to dispel
ongoing uncertainty about the ultimate impact of SATS
on congestion and delays at hub airports; the ability of
rural and suburban populations to access the air trans-
portation system via small, minimally equipped air-
ports; aviation safety; and the environmental effects of
aviation globally, regionally, and in the vicinity of
small and large airports.
User Connections
The National Consortium for Aviation Mobility
has created a network of over 150 interested organiza-
tions, including aircraft and equipment manufacturers,
aircraft operators, airports, academia, state and local
government agencies, and academic institutions. Many
of these outside organizations have already participated
in the SATS project by providing goods or services to
support accomplishment of the SATS vision, and more
plan to do so. The SATS project is well connected to
the small communities with airports and current air taxi
operators who would be critical to the success of the
first-phase of operational deployment of SATS aircraft
and technologies.
Finding: Outreach Efforts by the Small Aircraft
Transportation System Project. The SATS outreach
effort does not include air taxi companies or other
commercial operators who have publicly stated
their intention to incorporate in their operations
SATS technologies and systems as they become
available.
Recommendation: Membership of the Small Air-
craft Transportation System Alliance. To enhance
the credibility of deliverables produced by the SATS
Alliance, NASA should expand the SATS Alliance
61
with potential SATS customers that is, current or
potential air taxi companies and other commercial
operators that are willing to publicly state their in-
tention to incorporate SATS technologies and sys-
tems in their operations by modifying existing air-
craft and/or acquiring new aircraft.
Virtual Airspace Modeling and Simulation Pro feet
Background
The VAMS project was initiated in November of
2001 to improve the ability to identify and assess capa-
bilities that will increase the capacity of the NAS while
maintaining safety and affordability. The project is
motivated by shortcomings in current capabilities for
assessing the systemwide impacts of proposed im-
provements. The VAMS project builds on ongoing
near-term technology development and system mod-
ernization efforts by the FAA, NASA, and industry.
The objectives of the VAMS project are to define
and evaluate new operational concepts, generate
roadmaps for developing and enabling applicable tech-
nologies, and establish the capability to assess these
concepts. Products will include advanced airspace sys-
tem operational concepts at the domain and system lev-
els, a validated modeling and simulation capability to
assess new operational concepts at the domain and sys-
tem level, preliminary evaluations of the concepts, and
technology roadmaps to implement proposed concepts.
These preliminary evaluations will identify gaps and
transitional issues.
The VAMS project supports research in four areas,
as follows:
.
Systems Level Integrated Concepts (SLIC) sub-
project
Advanced Airspace Concept task
Automated Airport Surface Traffic Control
task
Centralized Terminal Operation Control task
—Massive Point-to-Point and On-Demand Air
Transportation System task
Surface Operation Automation Research task
System Level Capacity Increasing Concept
Research task
—Systemwide Optimization of the National
Airspace System task
Terminal Area Capacity Enhancement Con-
cept task
62
.. r: ~ jet .
: . ~ I.
. . .
.
Virtual Airspace Simulation Technologies
(VAST) subproject
Communications, Navigation, and Surveil-
lance task
Non-Real-Time Modeling task
Real-Time Modeling task
System Evaluation and Assessment (SEA) task
Wake Vortex Avoidance System (WakeVAS)
task
NASA Ames has the lead for all of the above re-
search, except for the Communications, Navigation,
and Surveillance portion of VAST (Glenn, and
WakeVAS (Langley).
Po~fo/io
The VAMS portfolio is focused on three interre-
lated areas: developing revolutionary operational con-
cepts at least 10 to 15 years in the future; developing
modeling capabilities to evaluate these and other fu-
ture concepts; and establishing metrics to support the
concept evaluations. The VAMS tasks are well bal-
anced across these three areas. As discussed in the fol-
lowing section, close linkage of the work in all three
areas is essential to take full advantage of this balance.
Program Plan
Planning of the VAMS project seems to have fo-
cused initially on a suite of open models and simula-
tion tools that are intended to allow researchers to
evaluate any airspace system concept. Shortly after the
program was initiated, NASA funded industry to de-
velop new airspace system concepts.
The models are being developed in an iterative
fashion, with the first increment consisting of generic,
low-fidelity models linked together in an architecture
for assessing NAS-wide impacts. The first increment is
intended to validate systemwide processing while the
various operational concepts are being developed in
parallel. Past efforts to develop generic models in other
fields have failed, and the generic models and simula-
tions developed by VAMS will not be able to accu-
rately mode] all of the new concepts. Accordingly, sub-
sequent increments will replace the generic models
with increasingly higher-fidelity representations of the
new elements of the operational concepts. However,
given the relatively large number of concepts being
developed and the large number of elements in marry
AN ASSESSMENT OF NASA 'S AERONA UTICS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
of the concepts, VAMS will not have sufficient re-
sources to represent all elements of all models at equal
fidelity. The program plan calls for a synthesis of the
most promising concept elements into one or more pre-
ferred operational concepts.
Finding: Virtual Airspace Simulation Technologies
Models. Modeling efforts are more likely to succeed
when the modelers know what concepts they will be
required to model.
Recommendation: Virtual Airspace Simulation
Technologies Models. Model development by the
VAST task should be closely tied to the operational
concepts that the models are intended to evaluate,
primarily by concentrating on the most promising
elements of the preferred operational concept as
they are identified.
Technica/ Performance
NAS Ames has highly capable systemwide model-
ing capabilities for evaluating future ATM concepts.
The VAMS project is making full use of these capabili-
ties. The models produced by VAMS are intended to
far exceed the capabilities of most current models,
which generally represent only a single entity within
the national airspace system (such as an airport) and
thus are not capable of evaluating systemwide impacts.
Although some existing models do evaluate system-
wide impacts, the capabilities of VAMS models will
also go beyond existing systemwide modeling capa-
bilities.
User Connections
Many of the operational concepts under develop-
ment by VAMS were initially defined by processes
outside the auspices of the VAMS project that had sub-
stantial user involvement. Now, however, development
of these concepts has little user involvement. More user
involvement would be helpful and hopefully would
lead to broad support from the user community.
Finding: User Connections to the Virtual Airspace
Modeling and Simulation Subproject. User involve-
ment is a crucial ingredient in evaluating and se-
lecting elements of various operational concepts for
integration into a preferred concept.
ASSESSMENT OF THE AIRSPACE SYSTEMS PROGRAM
Recommendation: User Connections to the Virtual
Airspace Modeling and Simulation Subproject.
NASA should work with the user community to
identify criteria for downselecting operational con-
cepts, prioritizing features to be included in the
modeling and evaluation tools being developed by
the Virtual Airspace Simulation Technologies task,
synthesizing the operational concepts, and deter-
mining what further technical investigations are
. . . . ~
~ i
it. i. . . ( .
- .
required to support development of each element of
the preferred concept.
Assessment by Subproject
Systems Level Integrated Concepts Subproject
The objective of the Systems Level Integrated Con-
cepts Subproject is to identify revolutionary operational
concepts with the potential for large increases in ca-
pacity at the system and domain levels over a 20-year
time frame. The intent is to evaluate the concepts using
VAST and, ultimately, more in-depth technical inves-
tigations.
NASA is sponsoring the development of a broad
set of operational concepts by academia, industry, and
government to complement NASA's established in-
house programs for operational concept development.
These concepts currently exist at varying levels of ma-
turity, from new, outside-the-box ideas to broadly co-
ordinated concepts that are already gaining wide ac-
ceptance in the stakeholder community.
Fourteen concepts are under development, but the
available resources (budget, time, and staff) will not
allow developing all of them to the level of detail re-
quired for VAST to evaluate them at an acceptable level
of fidelity. The current plan for the integration (or syn-
thesis) of the operational concepts needs to be en-
hanced, especially in terms of downselect criteria and
cost-benefit analyses.
The intent is to integrate individual operational
concepts into a preferred, comprehensive, NAS-level
operational concept. However, an integration process
has not been developed. In addition, NASA should gen-
erate a plan for involving stakeholders and gaining their
support for the resulting integrated concept, especially
with respect to existing operational concepts developed
by RTCA and the FAA and concepts that will be devel-
oped or endorsed by the new joint project office.
63
Finding: Systems Level Integrated Concepts. The
process being used to develop new operational con-
cepts is sound, and the concepts under development
are comprehensive in scope. Although none of the
concepts targets the en route domain, this domain
appears to be adequately addressed within the sys-
tem-level concepts. Also, although future interac-
tions are planned, to date there has been no linkage
between the concept development activities and the
Virtual Airspace Simulation Technologies task,
which is intended to develop the models and simula-
tions that will be used to evaluate the concepts. Also,
there is no plan for including the concept develop-
ers in the evaluation process, which may limit its
effectiveness.
Recommendation: Interactions between Virtual
Airspace Simulation Technologies and Systems
Level Integrated Concepts. NASA should foster an
ongoing interchange between the SLIC and VAST
development teams to ensure that VAST models will
contain the features needed to fully evaluate new
operational concepts.
Recommendation: Use of Virtual Airspace Simula-
tion Technologies by Concept Developers. NASA
should establish a plan for supporting Virtual Air-
space Modeling and Simulation concept developers
in their use of VAST models.
Recommendation: Assessment of Virtual Airspace
Modeling and Simulation Operational Concepts.
NASA should review and better define the process
that will be used to select which concepts will be
integrated into a preferred, comprehensive system-
level operational concept that will provide the basis
for future technical investigations. This process
should include constraints on available resources,
clear decision criteria, and the inputs from stake-
holders.
Virtual Airspace Simulation Technologies Subproject
VAST includes separate efforts focused on real-
time and non-real-time modeling. The non-real-time
portion of VAST seeks to create and assemble agent-
based models, simulations, and tools (federates) to
form a high-level collection of models (a federation)
64
AN ASSESSMENT OF NASA 'S AERONAUTICS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
that will support fast-time assessment of new opera-
tional concepts at both the domain and systemwide lev-
els.~9 This is an ambitious goal.
The real-time portion of VAST is intended to play
a major innovative role in the modeling of the NAS
through the integration of distributed real-time simula-
tion models and human-in-the-loop simulators (of air-
craft and air traffic control centers). The resulting sys-
tem is intended to support the assessment of proposed
operational concepts that involve human ATC person-
nel and aircraft crews.
VAST is supported by a well-qualified staff, and
NASA has demonstrated a strong commitment to main-
taining an in-house core capability in airspace model-
ing. The staff is well acquainted with the Department
of Defense (DoD) High Level Architecture (HLA)20
and employs the processes and tools developed for use
within DoD.
Agent-based models could enhance the flexibility
of the federates that are created, allowing their rapid
adaptation to both the current system and its future
embodiments. The use of agent-based models in the
real-time portion of VAST is especially important be-
cause it can also reduce the number of human operators
required for some concept evaluations, offering the
potential to significantly reduce the cost of using the
federation and increasing its availability.
Although VAST is intended to support the evalua-
tion of operational concepts, VAST staff have not ac-
tively collaborated with concept developers. The lack
of interaction could lead to the creation of operational
concepts that cannot be evaluated by the simulation
tools under development. Moreover, NASA has made
little effort to involve the intended user community
(i.e., the FAA) in this program.
Finding: Use of Existing Models for Virtual Air-
space Modeling and Simulation. At the outset of the
Virtual Airspace Simulation Technologies task,
NASA considered whether existing models should
be incorporated into the federation being developed
by the non-real-time portion of this task to reduce
i9"Domain" refers to an area or set of activities, such as ATC
operations for aircraft approaching an airport, that deals with com-
mon capabilities and data.
20HLA allows the assembly of different models to address a
simulation requirement.
costs and accelerate development. Based on infor-
mation provided by the contract proposals NASA
received for VAMS work and a quick internal as-
sessment, NASA determined that few, if any, exist-
ing models could be employed without extensive
work and that most models should be developed
from scratch because of the difficulty of adapting
existing models and because many models are pro-
prietary and cannot be used to produce the open
model environment envisioned by NASA. The com-
mittee was unable to independently evaluate this
determination.
Recommendation: Use of Existing Models for Vir-
tual Airspace Modeling and Simulation. NASA
should initiate a more detailed study to reevaluate
the merit of including existing models in the Virtual
Airspace Simulation Technologies (non-real-time)
federation.
Recommendation: Integration of NASA Modeling
EiTorts. NASA should develop large-scale models
that integrate submodels of multiple aircraft ve-
hicles (including aerodynamics, propulsion, and
avionics); geometry of airports and physical terrain;
weather, environmental, and ecological variables;
humans (pilots, controllers, and other operational
decision makers); procedures; and other elements
of the overall system. Ultimately, these large-scale
mathematical models would be executable pro-
grams capable of being run with iterative changes
in variables to explore the erects of changes in sys-
tem design variables. In the near future they would
be mainly qualitative but contain some quantitative
elements. The effort to define such models should
be done in conjunction with formulating a far-
reaching vision for NASA research.
Finding: Simulator Modeling. Simulator model de-
velopment by the Aviation Safety Program has simi-
larities with modeling research by the Virtual Air-
space Simulation Technologies task.
Recommendation: Simulator Modeling. Modeling
research by the Virtual Airspace Simulation Tech-
nologies task and the Aviation Safety Program
should be coordinated.
Over the past 3 years, the U.S. Air Force's Distrib-
uted Mission Training Program has developed the abil-
ASSESSMENT OF THE AIRSPACE SYSTEMS PROGRAM
ity to link aircraft simulators to enable multiple air-
crews to operate in the same simulated airspace while
occupying simulators in diverse locations. VAST per-
sonnel have had no interactions with this effort, which
is directly related to the real-time portion of VAST.
The federation object model being used by the Distrib-
uted Mission Training Program is particularly relevant
(see
66
. ~
, ,
AN ASSESSMENT OF NASA 'S AERONA UTICS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
as a function of aircraft weight, engine size, and
weather have been going on for many years, and the
time frame for operational benefits remains uncertain,
although the FAA may be approaching the point where
a better understanding of wake vortices will lead to
relaxed separation standards during approach, landing,
and takeoff, thereby increasing runway utilization rates
and system capacity.
It seems that WakeVAS intends to mitigate the ef-
fect of wake vortices on the operation of parallel run-
ways by allowing paired approaches in IMC, which
relies on option 3 above. However, closely spaced par-
allel approaches in IMC would create safety hazards
even if wake vortices were not a concern. In other
words, option 3 would require the development of
many technologies not related to wake vortices to al-
low aircraft to operate on closely spaced parallel run-
ways in IMC. Since these other technologies seem un-
likely to become operational in the near term, it may be
more worthwhile to pursue research that supports op-
tions 1 and 2, above.
Finding: Wake Vortex Avoiclance System. NASA
has been a leading organization with world-class
researchers working in this area, and the WakeVAS
task builds on the results of previous NASA re-
search, such as the Aircraft Vortex Spacing System.
However, the limited scope of WakeVAS may re-
duce its payoff.
Recommendation: NASA/FAA Wake Vortex
Avoidance System Coordination. NASA's wake vor-
tex research plans should do the following:
Describe how WakeVAS research fits into
the total context of wake vortex research by
NASA and the FAA (e.g., wake vortex detec-
tion and avoidance, displays, and reducing
wake at the source).
Take into account the need for separation
technology unrelated to wake vortices to al-
low aircraft to operate in close proximity to
each other in instrument meteorological con-
tIitions.
Consider the merit of wake vertex research
to (1) predict the position of wake vortices
produced by a given aircraft in real time and
(2) detect the position of wake vortices using
an airborne system.
Airspace Operations Systems Pro ject
Background
Safely achieving long-term goals for mobility and
capacity of the air transportation system may require
complex, highly automated tools, technologies, and
operational procedures. Careful consideration of hu-
man capabilities throughout the research and develop-
ment process is necessary to minimize the cognitive,
perceptual, and physiological workloads of future pi-
lots and controllers. The AOS project intends to mini-
mize human error and enhance the performance of the
future air transportation system by improving the de-
sign of human-centered automation and interfaces, de-
cision-support tools, training protocols, team practices,
and organizational procedures. Areas of particular in-
terest include the following:
Computational models for optimizing operator
sensory-motor interactions with automated sys-
tems,
Collaboration among systems designers and
human factors experts to identify, mitigate, anal
or eliminate automation-related errors during
the design phase,
Mitigation and/or elimination of operator con-
fusion about functions and modes of operation
of automated systems,
Improved understanding of how cognitive limi-
tations combine with fatigue to cause human
error, and
Improved understanding of how risk and un-
certainty affect team decision making.
The AOS project supports 11 research tasks
grouped in three subprojects:
.
· Human-Automation Integration Research
(HAIR) subproject
—Prototyping for Evaluation of Automation:
Data Link Human Factors task
Human Automation Theory (Degani) task
—Human Automation Theory (Meyer) task
State Awareness and Prediction task
Supervisory Control task
System Design and Analysis/Design of
Displays and Procedures task
Psychological and Physiological Stressors and
Factors (PPSF) subproject
ASSESSMENT OF THE AIRSPACE SYSTEMS PROGRAM
Perceptual Models and Metrics task
Cognitive Models and Metrics task
Physiological Factors task
Human Error Countermeasures (HEC) sub-
project
Fatigue Countermeasures task
Managing Risk and Uncertainty in Team
Decision Making task
.
NASA Ames has the lead for all AOS research.
.-, Portfolio
AOS human factors research provides a useful
knowledge base that applies to many operational con-
cepts where humans are in the loop. NASA has been a
worldwide leader in aviation human factors and has
contributed significantly to national achievements in
. .
space anc aviation.
Many AOS research tasks are focused on develop-
ing principles, formal methods, and tools for evaluat-
ing human interaction with advanced automation tech-
nologies and systems. These tasks can best be described
as advancing the state of the art in aviation human fac-
tors research rather than meeting specific user require-
ments. Research results typically take the form of pub-
lished articles and presentations at technical
conferences. However, some of the research for ex-
ample, the Design of Displays and Procedures task and
research into spatial reasoning and ATC communica-
tions by the Cognitive Models and Metrics task has
found applications in cockpit data link and display de-
signs that are being used by a large airframe manufac-
turer. Also, some of the research findings have been
used by airlines (to improve the safety of operations)
and avionics manufacturers (to support product devel-
opment).
The research is primarily conducted in-house,
which the committee believes is appropriate given the
nature of the work and the expertise of NASA's scien-
tists. Researchers work cooperatively with air traffic
controllers, pilots, airline operations center personnel,
industry, and universities.
Finding: Balance of the Airspace Operations Systems
Project. Unlike most of the elements of NASA's Aero-
nautics Technology Programs, much of the AOS
project's human factors research is basic in nature.
Recommendation: Balance of the Airspace Opera-
67
tions Systems Project. The AOS project should
place more emphasis on the development of precise
guidelines, specifications, and tools that can be used
to support product design and implementation.
Program Plan
The AOS program plan seems to be well developed
and specified, with clearly defined goals, objectives, and
metrics and a good roadmap for reaching those goals
and objectives. For some program elements, research is
focused on advancing science and not on supporting
near-term FAA requirements or goals. Program
deliverables consist primarily of journal articles, re-
search papers, and professional presentations. The util-
ity of the AOS project would be enhanced by (1) estab-
lishing closer ties to other programs at DoD and NASA
(including other projects within the Airspace Systems
Program), (2) improving coordination among the three
AOS subprojects, and (3) coupling project objectives
more closely to the goals of the Aeronautics Technology
Program. This would also provide a more compelling
justification for continued funding of the AOS project' s
valuable basic research into human factors. This is espe-
cially true for PPSF research, which is more basic than
the rest of the AOS research portfolio.
The investment in AOS human factors research has
been very modest; the budget for many tasks is less
than $100,000 per year. The modest funding of some
tasks limits their ability to contribute to Airspace Sys-
tems Program objectives. Many research tasks require
additional resources to support research related to tech-
nology validation, technology transition, team decision
making, distributed performance, and multicultural
aviation human factors issues.
Finding: Funding for the Airspace Operations Sys-
tems Project. The biggest challenge to program
planning and execution is uncertainty over current
and future funding for many tasks, particularly to
support validation and transition activities and to
assess key neglected areas for example, team deci-
sion making and cross-cultural issues, tower head-
mounted display issues, and the effects of acute
stress on flight crew performance.
Recommendation: Funding for the Airspace Opera-
tions Systems Project. NASA should couple the ob-
jectives of AOS applied research more closely to
Aeronautics Technology Program goals to provide
68
a more compelling justification for continued fund-
ing and should include AOS basic research in a new
aeronautics base research program.
Technica/ Performance
The AOS project has had a good track record over
the last few years, as measured by research results used
by industry and/or published in the open literature. AOS
facilities are world-class, and AOS research staff seem
to be highly declicated, experienced, and motivated. Most
principal investigators have many years- of experience in
their respective areas, and the project has some of the
leacling researchers in the world in various areas of hu-
man factors. NASA has established a worldwide, first-
class reputation for aviation and space human factors,
although that has been threatened in recent years by the
departure of many senior human factors researchers from
the Aviation Safety Program. The continued success of
the AOS project requires that NASA continue to attract
and retain top-level scientists.
User Connections
It seems that some AOS research is driven by the
interests and/or the experience of individual research-
ers. Another approach would be to integrate some AOS
research with the AATT, YAMS, and SATS projects
to, for example, produce human factors design guides.
Finding: User Connections to the Airspace Opera-
tions Systems Project. Some research tasks have a
weak user focus in that they are not closely tied to
user requirements.
Recommendation: User Connections to the Air-
space Operations Systems Project. The AOS pro-
gram should have more user involvement and es-
tablish formal mechanisms (e.g., Research
Transition Plans) for transitioning research find-
ings into NASA product and tool development.
Finding: Coordination of Research by the Airspace
Operations Systems Project. The AOS project does
not have an integrated plan that explains how the
AOS research tasks are organize`] and work to-
gether to achieve the overall objectives of the Air-
space Systems Program.
AN ASSESSMENT OF NASA 'S AERONAUTICS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
Recommendation: Coordination of Research by the
Airspace Operations Systems Project. The AOS
project should make a more concentrated effort to
coordinate applied research by each AOS sub-
project with related research by the other projects
included in the Airspace Systems Program (Ad-
vanced Air Transportation Technologies, Virtual
Airspace Modeling and Simulation, and the Small
Aircraft Transportation System).
Assessment by Subyroject
Human Automation Integration Research Subproject
HAIR is developing cognitive models for analyz-
ing and predicting human performance in complex
aerospace systems. The goal is to predict workload and
human error more accurately, reduce design time, and
minimize design-induced errors. HAIR research is car-
ried out using analytical and laboratory studies coupled
with computational modeling and field surveys. The
luxury of employing full motion simulation was rarely
available because of limited resources.
One HAIR task is developing a model to predict
the impact of display design on the workload and situ-
ation awareness. This will be a useful tool, especially
when it is made available to academia, industry, DoD,
and the FAA. It is not clear whether Boeing, Airbus,
and other aircraft and avionics manufactures have simi-
lar models. In any case, models that belong to the pri-
vate sector are likely to be proprietary and closed to
other users.
Some HAIR research, which is focused on devel-
oping formal mathematical methods to verify the ad-
equacy of the human-machine interface, is basic and
very pertinent. It will help to reveal safety inadequa-
cies, if any, of automation. The committee agrees with
NASA that this effort would be a success if the FAA
were ultimately to use these concepts in regulatory
materials and certification criteria.
The supervisory control task under HAIR focuses
on developing computational architectures that can rep-
resent human capabilities and limitations. It is focused
on advancing science and is not tied directly to achiev-
ing ASP objectives. One tool being developed by HAIR
can rapidly apply known characteristics of human per-
formance to evaluating the performance of candidate
systems. NASA claims that the tool has been used re-
cently to reduce by at least a factor of 10 the time re-
ASSESSMENT OF THE AIRSPACE SYSTEMS PROGRAM
quired to model human-system interactions. This
would significantly reduce the cost to airframe manu-
facturers, avionics manufacturers, and system integra-
tors of assessing the impact of advanced control and
display concepts and automation schemes. It is ex-
pected that the tool will benefit ASP in the long term.
Development of a tool that provides software
instantiation of display layout guidelines would sup-
port the design of advanced controls.
:\ ~
Psychological and Physiological Stressors and Factors
Subproject
PPSF research is developing perceptual, cognitive,
and physiological computational models and tools to
enable designers of aviation systems and high-fidelity
displays to predict, assess, and enhance human perfor-
mance. This subproject contains three tasks:
Perceptual Models and Metrics
Cognitive Models and Metrics
Physiological Factors
The Perceptual Models and Metrics task is focused
on developing new methods, computational models,
and metrics that will enable the optimization of opera-
tor (pilot and controller) sensory-motor interactions
with display and controls to enhance the safety and
capacity of the NAS. This task has eight subtasks, one
of which is developing auditory displays that could be
used to prioritize and spatially segregate auditory in-
formation. NASA has made significant advances in
three-dimensional audio displays, which might ulti-
mately be used to assess controller situational aware-
ness and workload as part of the DAG-TM subproject
of the AATT project.
The Cognitive Models and Metrics task is support-
ing basic research to better understand fundamental
human performance limitations and how they lead to
error. This requires improving the understanding of the
human cognitive resources, which would facilitate the
development of error-tolerant systems and improved
training curricula. This task, which has resulted in the
publication of more than 40 peer-reviewed articles, in-
cludes research on spatial reasoning and ATC commu-
nications to reduce miscommunication between flight
crews and air traffic controllers.
The goal of the Physiological Factors task is to
develop tools and procedures to predict cognitive fa-
69
tigue, which can lead to lapses in situational aware-
ness. The research is trying to define an integrated
measure of brain, heart, and autonomic nervous system
activity that will lead to a reliable, noninvasive tech-
nique to predict cognitive fatigue. The ultimate objec-
tive is to allow operators to take appropriate counter-
measures before their performance suffers. It is
primarily an analytic study, focused more on advanc-
ing science than on solving any particular problem. The
task was initiated in 2000 with very modest funding. In
the past 3 years this research effort has not led to imple-
mentation guidelines, but it shows future promise for
providing tools and methods for assessing human per-
formance and reducing the occurrence of human errors
due to fatigue or loss of situational awareness.
The ultimate value of tools developed by the Physi-
ological Factors task will be determined by their ability
to support the design of flight decks, controller stations,
simulations, training systems, and crew procedures.
AOS research is supported by researchers who are
definitely leaders in their fields. For example, Cogni-
tive Models and Metrics researchers have strong ties to
academia and the user community, including airlines
and the FAA.
The Cognitive Models and Metrics task shows
promise; it is going in the right direction and should
continue. The results of Cognitive Models and Metrics
research have been employed by many users. ATC pro-
cedures at two airports were changed based on this re-
search, resulting in significant operational improve-
ments, and two major airlines have also used the results
of this research to improve performance.
Finding: Coordination of the Airspace Operations
Systems Project with the Small Aircraft Transpor-
tation System and Advanced Air Transportation
Technologies Projects. The AOS Physiological Fac-
tors task is not well integrated with the SATS and
AATT projects.
Recommendation: Coordination of the Airspace
Operations Systems Project with the Small Aircraft
Transportation System and Advanced Air Trans-
portation Technologies Projects. NASA should in-
tegrate research by the Physiological Factors task
with the SATS project and, separately, with the
AATT project. Such integration would allow the
Physiological Factors task to obtain empirical data
under more realistic conditions; analysis of these
70
data by the Physiological Factors task would ben-
efit the SATS and AATT projects by providing ad-
ditional information to validate their system con-
cepts.
Human Error Countermeasures Subproject
AN ASSESSMENT OF NASA 'S AERONA UTICS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
HEC research is developing training protocols,
operational procedures, and technologies to help pilots
manage concurrent tasks, improve the quality of deci-
sion making, overcome the effects of fatigue and dis-
ruption of the circadian rhythm, and facilitate accurate
pilot-controller communications during flight-critical
operations.
More so than other AOS research, HEC research is
concerned with enhancing the safety and operational
efficiency of the airspace system. To be of significant
use, research results must be able to predict the safety
and operational impacts of new hardware and software
during the design process.
The Fatigue Countermeasures task is focused on
developing techniques and tools for assessing fatigue
during long flights and other work assignments and on
mitigating the consequences of fatigue. This work is
also relevant to the space industry. The research in-
cludes a combination of analytical and laboratory stud-
ies, coupled with simulation and field studies. Much of
it is conducted in collaboration with researchers from
universities and airlines.
The Managing Risk and Uncertainty in Team De-
cision Making task is an attempt to understand the fac-
tors that influence decisions made by the pilots under
dynamic, high-stress conditions. The results of the re-
search will be used to develop training guidelines and
training programs for pilots and crews. Like the PPSF
subproject, HEC research on managing risk and uncer-
tainty would benefit from integration with the AATT
and SATS projects.
Human Error Countermeasures research is the most
operational of the three AOS subprojects and could be
immediately useful to end users. The success of this
subproject will require that industry accept the guide-
lines it develops and incorporate them in cockpit de-
signs, simulations, and training systems.
Finding: Coordination between the Airspace Op-
erations Systems Project and Virtual Airspace
Modeling and Simulation Project. Human Error
and Countermeasures research on managing risk
and uncertainty does not focus adequately on dis-
tributed team performance issues in coordination
with research by the Virtual Airspace Simulation
Technologies task, which is part of the VAMS
project.
Recommendation: Coordination between the Air-
space Operations Systems Project and Virtual Air-
space Modeling and Simulation Project. NASA
should integrate research by the Managing Risk and
Uncertainty in the Team Decision Making task with
VAMS research.
