Aerospace Technology 1: Revolutionize aviation

Enable the safe, environmentally friendly expansion of aviation.

Other Information:

NASA aims to improve global civil aviation by improving passenger safety, throughput, and mobility and by reducing aircraft emissions and noise. Increase Safety: The projected increase in the number of air travelers will make the need for improved aviation safety even more pressing. AST aims to reduce the aircraft fatal accident rate such that, even with air traffic growth, the number of accidents will decline. Strategies to achieve this objective include technologies to identify, understand, and correct aircraft system problems before they lead to accidents, technological interventions to address specific accident causes such as human error and weather, and aircraft modifications to minimize injury in the event of an accident. These efforts will rely on NASA partnerships with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the aviation community. Reduce Emissions: NASA is committed to helping the aviation community achieve significant reductions in nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. Without effective action, carbon dioxide emissions from aviation are projected to increase, and potentially accelerate climate change. Similarly, nitrogen oxides generated during airport operations are a suspected cause of ground-level ozone, contributing to air pollution problems. NASA’s goal is to reduce the impact of aviation-related emissions even given the projected increase in aircraft operations. Strategies center on developing more energy-efficient aircraft, engines, and air traffic management tools. Reduce Noise: Aircraft noise is a quality-of-life issue to millions living near airports. Noise-related concerns constrain the aircraft industry by inhibiting airport construction and expansion, preventing full use of U.S. aerospace products in the world market, and rendering some aircraft obsolete. Noise concerns also limit available flights, which affects consumer choice, convenience, and cost. NASA’s strategies for noise reduction focus on quieter airframes and engines and on improved procedures such as glide slopes and flight paths that reduce ground-level noise. NASA will continue working with the FAA and industry to accelerate technology development and adoption for a win-win solution, for both the aviation and airport neighbor communities. Increase Capacity: NASA is working to safely move significantly more passengers through the Nation ’s air transportation system with fewer delay. This is critical if the U.S. is to accommodate the continued increases in air travel that are projected. Key strategies for achieving this objective include: improvements to aircraft and the air traffic control system to enable the movement of passengers more quickly and reliably, day and night in all weather conditions without compromising safety; better information exchange across the national airspace system; new aircraft and airport configurations that would make it possible to transport more people without requiring new infrastructure; and new concepts for better use of the airspace itself. This effort employs close collaboration with the FAA and U.S. air carriers to integrate NASA technologies into actual operations. Increase Mobility: NASA aims to improve the mobility of U.S. citizens by reducing travel time for both short and long journeys. This requires a wide range of innovations and improvements. For example, NASA is working on methods to integrate small aircraft and all public use landing facilities into the National Air Transportation System to significantly reduce travel time into and out of every community. This will require improvements to both aircraft and the network of small airports. For long journeys, affordable supersonic travel will be essential, but the technological challenges are significant. NASA is working to resolve specific technology problems such as sonic booms, engine noise, and emissions, as well as assessing new vehicle-design concepts. NEAR TERM PLANS: - Develop technologies to reduce the aviation fatal accident rate - Demonstrate technologies to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions - Demonstrate technologies to reduce noise impact by 5 decibels (dB) - Complete near-term advancements in terminal area productivity, and support the Federal Aviation Administration’s National Airspace System modernization - Develop technologies for general aviation aircraft and infrastructure improvements and - Explore new innovative supersonic technologies

Objective(s):

1: Increase Safety

2: Reduce Emissions

3: Reduce Noise

4: Increase Capacity

5: Increase Mobility

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