The goal of the UAS Integration in the NAS Project is to contribute capabilities that reduce technical barriers related to the safety and operational challenges associated with enabling routine UAS access to the NAS This goal will be accomplished through a two-phased approach of system-level integration of key concepts, technologies and/or procedures, and demonstrations of integrated capabilities in an operationally relevant environment. Technical objectives include: PHASE 1: a) Validating the key technical areas identified by this project. System-level analyses, a State of the Art Analysis (SOAA), and a ConOps will identify the challenges and barriers preventing routine UAS access to the NAS. b) Developing a national roadmap and gap analysis identifying specific deliverables in the area of operations, procedures, and technologies that will impact future policy decisions. PHASE 2: a) Provide regulators with a methodology for developing airworthiness requirements for UAS and data to support development of certifications standards and regulatory guidance. b) Provide systems-level integrated testing of concepts and/or capabilities that address barriers to routine access to the NAS. Through simulation and flight testing, address issues including separation assurance, communications requirements, and Pilot Aircraft Interfaces (PAIs) in operationally relevant environment

Bauer, Jeff

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UAS 
Integration 
into the NAS 
Project
Presented by: Mr. Jeff Bauer
Project Planning Lead
Meeting of Experts on NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Integration in 
to the National Airspace Systems (NAS) Project
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
National Research Council
August 5, 2010
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https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20100027488 2019-08-29T18:27:57+00:00Z
Outline
• Problem Statement & Background
• Project  Goals & Objectives
• Scope
• Approach
• Project Milestones
• Partnerships
• Resources & Acquisition Strategy
2
Problem Statement
• Requirements do not exist for routine UAS operations in the NAS
o Complicating Factors
 No one has defined success
 Lack of a broadly accepted plan for what needs to be done to enable 
access makes identifying and working solutions difficult
 Today’s airspace system “Now Generation (NowGen)” versus Next Generation 
(NextGen)
We don’t want to solve the problem for today’s environment only to 
have to solve it again when NextGen is implemented
 Public versus civil UAS operations
Civil UAS operations require FAA certification and those requirements 
and/or guidance do not exist
Public agencies can self certify by supplying the FAA with an 
airworthiness statement
 UAS represent a wider performance regime than current aircraft
Smaller, autonomous, pilot in-the-loop, pilot on-the-loop, extremely 
long endurance, very slow, etc.
Requirements for access will need to account and vary for each class
3
Some of the Requirements for UAS in 
the NAS Access
• Ensuring separation assurance (sense and avoid – obstacles, weather, etc.) 
• Ensuring adequate collision avoidance
• Ensuring robust and secure communications technologies
• Solving the constraints of frequency spectrum allocation
• Developing robust PAIs 
• Developing ground control station standards
• Defining airworthiness and operational standards
• Defining pilot certifications requirements
• Developing certification standards for automated systems
• Defining appropriate level of safety through systematic safety analysis
• Developing certification standards for a wide range and/or type of UAS
• Developing integrated solutions for off-nominal operations
• Defining operational requirements for current and future missions sets
• Developing Ground Control Stations (GCSs) modifications for NAS 
compliance
• Defining display requirements for aircraft registration numbers
• Defining UAS lighting requirements
• Defining right-of-way procedures
• Developing surface operations procedures
4
What the UAS Community Needs 
from NASA
Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO)
• Needs NASA to extend ATM research to address UAS integration in NextGen (algorithms 
for separation assurance and demonstrations (demos) of concepts and technologies).
• Needs NASA to work with JPDO and partners to develop a UAS ConOps (roadmap).
FAA (UAS Program Office & Technical [Tech] Center)
• UAS Program Office which has requested NASA help in addressing human factors issues 
related to pilot-aircraft interface
• FAA, along with RTCA-203 have requested NASA expertise on UAS communication issues 
related to UAS communication security risks/vulnerabilities, risk mitigation, architectures, 
latencies, etc.
• FAA has requested access to NASA UAS aircraft to support integrated testing
DoD
• Access to NASA flight platforms to assist with their technology development.
Standards Organizations
• Define and validate spectrum requirements, frequency models, and analyses for UAS 
communications at World Radio Conference (WRC).
UAS ExCom Senior Steering Group
• COA improvement support
• Roadmap support 5
What Have We Been Doing to Prepare 
for the Initiation of the Project?
• Funding for short duration (1 yr) focused activities to accelerate project 
efforts
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Funding
o Developing a UAS NextGen ConOps 
 The ConOps will serve as input to the NextGen ConOps and assist the JPDO 
in meeting their 2012 milestone for incorporating UAS into their plans
 The ConOps will influence the Integrated Work Plan (IWP)
o Tools Development
 Developing infrastructure to support the UAS NextGen ConOps validation 
primarily in the areas of simulation
• FY10 In-Guide Funding 
o Extend the tools development work begun with ARRA funds
o Three focus areas:
 Separation assurance and collision avoidance
 Simulation and modeling
 Systems Analysis to validate technical focus
6
Project Goals & Objectives
The goal of the UAS Integration in the NAS Project is to contribute capabilities that reduce 
technical barriers related to the safety and operational challenges associated with enabling 
routine UAS access to the NAS
This goal will be accomplished through a two-phased approach of system-level integration of key 
concepts, technologies and/or procedures, and demonstrations of integrated capabilities in an 
operationally relevant environment.  Technical objectives include:
PHASE 1
• Validating the key technical areas identified by this project.  System-level analyses, a State of the 
Art Analysis (SOAA), and a ConOps will identify the challenges and barriers preventing routine 
UAS access to the NAS.
• Developing a national roadmap and gap analysis identifying specific deliverables in the area of 
operations, procedures, and technologies that will impact future policy decisions.  
PHASE 2
• Provide regulators with a methodology for developing airworthiness requirements for UAS and 
data to support development of certifications standards and regulatory guidance.
• Provide systems-level integrated testing of concepts and/or capabilities that address barriers to 
routine access to the NAS.   Through simulation and flight testing, address issues including 
separation assurance, communications requirements, and Pilot Aircraft Interfaces (PAIs) in 
operationally relevant environments.
7
Project Scope
• Demonstrate solutions in four specific technology disciplines, which will 
address operational and/or safety issues related UAS access to the 
NAS.
o Separation Assurance and/or Collision Avoidance
o Pilot Aircraft Interface
o Certification Requirements
o Communications
• Each discipline will transfer technologies to relevant stakeholders 
(including the FAA, DoD, standards organizations, and industry).
• The timeframe for impact will be 2015-2025.  
• Support the UAS ExCom in developing a national roadmap/plan for 
Federal Public UAS in the NAS integration.
8
How We Determined the Project Focus
• Executive branch direction
• Listened to stakeholders
• Broad applicability
• Enables others to act
• Work align with NASA skills and expertise
• Demonstrated commitment by external community 
to utilize the deliverable
• Uniqueness (not duplicative work) and leverage
• Technical maturity (higher has priority over lower)
9
Technical Approach
• Project will consist of a 2-Phased Approach
• Phase 1 will focus on activities laying the foundation for the project
– Development of ConOps, systems analysis, state-of-the-art assessments, 
gap analysis
– Development of a national roadmap for UAS access into the NAS
– Activities will either validate NASA investments  or suggest modifications 
to research portfolio
• Phase 2 will focus on maturing research concepts/capabilities and 
integrating and testing them in operationally relevant environments (fast-
time simulations, human-in-the-loop simulations, flight tests)
• Project consists of 6 technical sub-elements
– Roadmap
– Integrated Test & Evaluation of key research areas
– Separation Assurance & Collision Avoidance
– Pilot-Aircraft Interface
– Communications
– Certification
10
Where NASA will Focus 
Roadmap for Civil UAS Access
• Support broader community in defining the 
success criteria for civil UAS in the NAS access
Separation Assurance and Conflict Avoidance
• Separation assurance in the NextGen 
environment
• Nominal and off-nominal sense and avoid
Communications
• Allocation of spectrum
• Robust data-link and satellite communications
• Secure data-link communications
UAS Pilot Aircraft Interface 
• Pilot control interface
• Definitions of roles and responsibilities between pilots and controllers
Certification
• Airworthiness requirements, starting with systems and equipment
• Type design criteria
Integrated Test & Evaluation (IT&E)
• Simulations and flight tests in a relevant environment
11
Relevance of Project Focus Areas to 
Safety
• Pilot Aircraft Interface
o This area was selected due to the number a UAS accidents attributed to poor 
pilot interface design with the intention of improving operational safety.
• Separation Assurance
o All of the work in the separation assurance has a direct impact of the safety of the 
NAS.
• Communications
o Work to secure the command and control link is driven by safety considerations.
• Certification
o Certification is intended to develop the methodology by which designs are 
deemed safe for routine operation in the NAS.
o Airworthiness requirements, starting with systems and equipment
o Type design criteria
12
What We Are NOT Focusing On
(In a Broad Sense)
• NowGen Solutions
o Immediate Certificate of Authorization (COA) issues
o Near-term technology development with limited long-term 
applicability
 For example ground-based sense and avoid
• Airframe Development
o Technology developments to improve a specific vehicle’s 
performance.
o Development of new vehicle capabilities (endurance, altitude, 
payload fraction, etc.).
• Rule Making
o Data generated may support rule-making actions, but we will 
not work to develop any specific rule.
13
FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15FY10
Technical Input from Fundamental Programs, NASA Research Announcements (NRAs), 
Industry, Academia, Other Government Agencies
Preliminary UAS 
Efforts
External
Input
UAS Integration in the NAS Project 
Flow
System Analysis, 
Concept of Operations 
(ConOps) & Roadmap
Integrated Tests & 
Evaluations (IT&Es)
Phase 2
Prior Activities Formulation
$30.0M $30.0M $30.0M $30.0M $30.0M
Phase 1
Flight Validated Integrated 
Capability for UAS Access
Complete 
Roadmap
Initial Modeling & 
Simulation
14
Phase 1 Roadmapping
15
• Scope
o Support the national effort to develop a global civil UAS access plan
• Objectives
o Leverage ExCom roadmapping efforts to develop the global civil UAS 
roadmap
o Use the outputs to inform our Phase 2  IT&E test objectives
• Approach
o Utilize a systems engineering process for developing a top-down plan
o Leverage ARRA investments and FY10 In-Guide funding to complete 
the systems engineering product set
o Early work in technology sub-elements will support roadmap detail 
development
• Key Deliverables
o Version 1.0 of civil UAS Access Roadmap
• Potential Partners
o UAS ExCom (DoD, DHS, FAA), JPDO, EUROCAE, RTCA, and other 
standards organizations
Partnership Relationships
UAS ExCom
• This Committee is supported at very senior levels within the FAA, DoD, Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS), and NASA to address the immediate needs of public UAS 
access to the NAS.  NASA has a role as both a provider of technology and a beneficiary of 
the outputs to enable science missions.
o Bi-weekly interactions are underway to understand issues and what each agency is currently 
doing to address each issue.
FAA
• Direct interactions with relevant FAA organizations is necessary to ensure the Project 
understands their challenges.  This will help validate the Project’s course direction.
o Numerous meetings have occurred with the FAA UASPO, Air Traffic Organization, and Tech 
Center to ensure understanding and synergy.
JPDO
• The JPDO is tasked with defining the Next Generation (NextGen) Air Transportation 
System.  Since UAS must be incorporated into NextGen, this relationship is critical.
o Leverage already occurs with Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate primarily through 
the Airspace Systems Program.  The Project has and will continue to meet routinely with 
JPDO to synch outputs with the national roadmap consistent with NextGen.
Industry Standards Organizations
• The FAA relies on standards organizations to bring industry recommendations forward 
for consideration.   Partnering with these organizations is essential to developing the  
data and technologies necessary for the FAA to approve civil UAS access.
o Ongoing participation in committees like RTCA Special Committees, ASTM, and the WRC
16
Partnership Interaction
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
NextGen ConOps; R&D Gap 
Assessment; Validated 
Technology Roadmap; 
Simulation Tools and Models
Real-time HITL sims to 
evaluate integrated 
technology applications; Fit 
test of integrated tech for 
proof of concept in relevant 
environment; inform regulator 
decisions for 2018-2010 IOC 
UAS ExCom
• NAS Access Roadmap (2011)
• COA W.G. deliverables (2011)
FAA R&D
• UAS 4DT NextGen Demos (2011)
• UAS Model Validation (2011-2015)
FAA UAS Program Office
• Command/Control Communication Link model
development and validation (2013)
• Validated NAS-wide simulations of UAS traffic
impact/compatibility (2014)
• Small UAS ARC (2011)
World Radio Conference
• Spectrum requirements (2012)
• RF Compatibility/sharing studies
and analyses (2012)
Industry Standard Organizations
• Spectrum requirements (2012)
• RF Compatibility/sharing studies and
analyses (2012)
JPDO
• UAS Integration in the NAS ConOps (2012)
• NextGen Roadmap including UAS (2012)
PROJECT OUTCOMES
Project Milestones
Blue = Project Level Milestone
18
Budget  Summary
19
Total Budget
(5 year run-out)
$150M
Acquisition Strategy
• Competitively awarded contracts will be used to engage the 
external community in collaborative development and field trials 
ensuring contributions from key technical expertise.  Will use all 
available and necessary acquisition tools.  
o External procurements will be employed to a greater extent 
than current foundational research programs
• All four NASA Research Centers (Ames, Dryden, Glenn, and 
Langley) will participate with their unique competencies and 
facilities. 
o Approximately 45 FTE per year across all centers
20
Note: The acquisition strategy will be fully developed during the remaining formulation 
process and briefed to the Agency Associate Administrator for formal approval.   


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