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