Overview briefing of Airspace Operations and Safety Program (AOSP) and Airspace Technology Demonstration (ATD) project

Cavolowsky, John A.

Kopardekar, Parimal

Quon, Leighton

NASA Technical Reports Server

New Directions
NASA’s Airspace Operations and Safety 
Program
John A. Cavolowsky
Leighton Quon
Parimal Kopardekar
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20150010980 2019-08-31T08:02:22+00:00Z
Traditional measures of 
global demand for mobility—
economic development, 
urbanization—are growing 
rapidly
Severe energy and climate 
issues create enormous 
affordability and 
sustainability challenges
Revolutions in automation, 
information and communi-
cation technologies enable 
opportunity for safety critical 
autonomous systems
Three mega-drivers have emerged 
that are shaping the future of aviation
2
NASA Aeronautics Research Six Strategic Thrusts
Safe, Efficient Growth in Global Operations
• Enable full NextGen and develop technologies to substantially
reduce aircraft safety risks
Innovation in Commercial Supersonic Aircraft
• Achieve a low-boom standard
Ultra-Efficient Commercial Vehicles
• Pioneer technologies for big leaps in efficiency and 
environmental performance
Transition to Low-Carbon Propulsion
• Characterize drop-in alternative fuels and pioneer 
low-carbon propulsion technology
Real-Time System-Wide Safety Assurance
• Develop an integrated prototype of a real-time safety 
monitoring and assurance system
Assured Autonomy for Aviation Transformation
• Develop high impact aviation autonomy applications
3
What is the Airspace Operations and Safety Program?
4
Continues Airspace Systems 
Program research, and the 
aircraft state awareness 
research and system wide 
safety research that was 
previously conducted within 
the Aviation Safety Program.
Develops and explores 
fundamental concepts, algorithms, 
and technologies to increase 
throughput and efficiency of the 
National Airspace System safely. 
Provides knowledge, concepts, 
and methods to the aviation 
community to manage increasing 
complexity in the design and 
operation of vehicles and the air 
transportation system. 
Airspace 
Operations 
and Safety 
Program
This program integrates the Airspace Systems Program and Aviation System-Safety work.
Projects
• Airspace Technology Demonstrations
• SMART NAS - Testbed for Safe 
Trajectory-Based Operations
• Safe Autonomous System Operations
En Route with
Weather Avoidance
Surface 
Operations
Surface 
Operations
Dense 
Terminal
Dense 
Terminal
Efficient 
Approaches 
and Descents
Gate-to-Gate Concepts and Technology
Flow and Airspace Planning
EDA/3D-PAM
ATD-1
DWR
SFO Stratus
PDRC
ITP
SARDA Terminal CA
SA-FA SPO
S-CD&R
5
Integrated System Capability ATM Generations
Improved individual domains 
(e.g., surface traffic flow) with 
some initial integration between 
domains
Provides improved efficiency in 
each domain at the earliest 
possible date, supporting airline 
cost savings and reduction of 
environmental impact
Majority of current ASP 
research is supporting ATM +1
Domain-Focused  
Enhanced System
ATM +1
Integration of terminal and en 
route, integrated surface and 
arrivals/departures, and system 
modeling enable predictive 
capabilities
Provides system efficiency, 
predictability and reliability 
gains to further improve airline 
and ATM network operations 
and support traffic growth, 
including UAS
Some current research supports 
ATM +2
ATM +2
Integrated Airspace 
System
Dynamic, fully autonomous 
trajectory services enabling 
rapid adaption to meet user 
demand or respond to system 
perturbations (e.g., weather)
Provides a flexible, scalable, 
and resilient system to meet 
significant traffic growth and 
support changing operators’
business-network models
This is beyond NextGen 
capabilities and requires the 
development of new concepts 
Required to achieve projected 
3X+ growth in traffic demand, 
including UAS*
ATM +3
System-wide 
Autonomous 
Optimized Airspace
* Demand based on JPDO IPSA analysis of FAA Terminal Area Forecast and RTCA SC-203 OSED for UAS
Domain-Focused  
Enhanced System
ATM +1 ATM +2
Integrated Airspace 
System
ATM +3
System-wide 
Autonomous 
Optimized Airspace
2010 2020 2030
Known methods,
mostly ongoing 
research
NextGen
Extends methods, 
begins significantly 
new research
activities
Full NextGen
Encompasses new 
complexity and 
autonomy sciences 
and innovative ATM 
concepts
Beyond NextGen
ATM Generations Timeline
8• Airspace Technology Demonstrations
• SMART-NAS Test Bed for Safe, 
Trajectory-Based Operations
• Safe, Autonomous Systems Operations
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Airspace Operations and Safety Program
(AOSP)
Leighton Quon
Project Manager
Airspace Technology Demonstration  (ATD) Project
ATM Technology Demonstration-1
ATD-1: Improve arrival operations efficiency while increasing arrival throughput using 
integrated aircraft-based and ground-based automation technologies  
Utilizes:
– ADS-B Out/In
– RNAV arrivals
– Optimum profile 
descents 
(OPDs)
Controller-Managed Spacing
(CMS) in Terminal Airspace
Flight Deck Interval Management
(FIM) for Arrival Operations
Traffic Management Advisor with Terminal Metering (TMA-TM)
FAA’s 
Terminal 
Sequencing 
& Spacing 
(TSS)
ATD-1 Delivers to NextGen
• ATD‐1 transferred Terminal Sequencing 
and Spacing (TSS) technologies to the 
FAA in 2013
• TSS enables use of underutilized 
modern avionics and Performance‐
Based Navigation or PBN procedures
03/17/2014 ATD‐1
• Estimated benefit to airlines operating at 35 benchmark airports  
ranges from $100‐200M/year
• FAA is planning for Initial Operating Capability in 2018
Integrated Arrival
Solution
Traffic Management Advisor
with Terminal Metering (TMA‐TM)
Flight Deck Interval Management
(FIM) for Arrival Operations
Controller Managed Spacing
(CMS) in Terminal Airspace
TSS 
(an FAA term)
This is an unprecedented contribution of NASA technology to NextGen
Integrated Arrival/Departure/Surface Operations
Integrated Arrival/Departure/Surface Operations (IADS): Simultaneously increase 
arrivals, departures, and surface operations efficiency while increasing overall throughput  
Meter Point
Spot Release 
Planner
Runway 
Scheduler
IADS Benefits Roadmap
Years
Max 
theoretical
50 10 15
Unimpeded operations in all traffic 
and visibility conditions
Incremental 
Benefits
Flight-deck-based 
conformance and surface 
visibility enhancement
Ground-based schedule 
conformance
Integrated arrival, departure and 
surface scheduling – gate to gate
ATD-2
Applied Traffic Flow Management
Domestic:
– Integrated solutions are to extend NASA already 
developed Domestic ground/air capabilities for 
individual aircraft to overcome these current TFM 
challenges opportunistically to achieve reduced 
lengths of conservative re-routes, ground holds 
and stops, Miles-In-Trail for multiple aircraft, into 
web based tools 
– Estimated $79M per year nationwide savings to 
US airspace users 
Oceanic: 
– Integrated solutions are to extend NASA already 
developed Oceanic capabilities for aircraft to 
overcome current challenges opportunistically to 
achieve, reduce lengths of or replace 
conservative oceanic track style routes with wind 
favorable User Preferred Routes, and reduce 
Miles-In-Trail for aircraft pairs or more
14
UPR Route
Pacific: 1600 lb fuel reduction per aircraft
Norht Atlantic: 750 lb fuel reduction per aircraft
Technologies for Assuring Safe Energy and 
Attitude State
• CAST‘s Airplane State Awareness Joint Safety Implementation Team (ASA 
JSIT) Recommended Research Safety Enhancements (SEs)
• NASA’s precursor safety focus to Increase Pilots’ Ability To Avoid, Detect, 
And Recover From Adverse Events That Could Otherwise Result In 
Accidents/Incidents
15
Cause and Effect Safety Enhancements


New Directions: NASA's Airspace Operations and Safety Program

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