2008 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program

application. The resulting applications are
more complete, and because the FAA is
already aware of the mission and its needs,
the path to approval is more efficient.
This year, a total of 14 COAs were approved
for NASA researchers at five different
centers. The most notable of these was the
emergency COA issued for the California
wildfire flights of Ikhana. The emergency
COA was approved within 72 hours of
the original request due to hard work of
FAA personnel involved, and reflects the
developing relationship between the two
agencies. An additional 10 COA applications
have been submitted and are pending
approval.
FAA Activities
As a result of the increased cooperation
between the two agencies, the FAA UAPO
invited NASA to participate in the Small
UAS Aviation Rulemaking Committee (sUAS
ARC). The purpose of the sUAS ARC is
to develop recommendations for rules to
be applied to small UASs. The committee
began in June 2008 and is co-chaired by
the FAA and industry. The membership
of the committee consists of different
government agencies, such as DOD and
NASA, as well as representatives from the
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
(AOPA), Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA),
the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA),
and industry. The final product of the sUAS
ARC is a set of recommendations of what
the rules for small UASs should look like
(not the rules themselves). A separate
Safety and Risk Management Panel (SRMP)
will review the recommendations and
apply a Safety Management System (SMS)
process to assess the safety implications
of the recommendations. The final
recommendations from the sUAS ARC and
the SRMP will be given to the rules and
regulations division within the FAA. They
will develop draft rules and regulations
that will then go out for public comment.
Once all comments have been received
and addressed, the final set of rules and
regulations will be developed. The whole
process is expected to take approximately
two to three years to complete.
The Airborne Science Program Manager
participated as a primary committee
member on the sUAS ARC and provided
leadership of one of the six working groups
formed under the ARC. Several other
NASA representatives from various centers
participated in the different working groups.
In August 2008, NASA hosted a UAS
demonstration at Dryden Flight Research
Center for the sUAS ARC. Four different
platforms were flown, ranging in size from
the AeroVironment Wasp, with a wingspan of
2.4 ft, to the Insitu ScanEagle with a wingspan
of 10ft. The demonstration provided the
membership an opportunity to witness
small UAS operations, and gain a better
understanding, for example, of the distance
at which an observer can maintain visual
contact.
NASA has been providing the FAA program
office with assistance on projects such as
developing guidelines for contingencies
for extended range Class A operations.
Other projects include a UAS technology
demonstration tied to NextGen and related
technologies, and ground-based “sense and
avoid” assessments. The FAA UAPO has
recognized the great wealth of technical
expertise within NASA and is welcoming
the opportunity to work closely together
to achieve more efficient and safer airspace
access and operations.
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