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NASA selects teams for Small Aircraft Transportation System
research and technology development program
NASA has selected four teams to participate in the new Small
Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) research and development
program. SATS is a five-year, $69 million proof of concept program
managed by the NASA General Aviation Programs Office, NASA Langley
Research Center, Hampton, Va. The program projectwill be
implemented in phases, beginning in the fall of 2001 and continuing
to the flight demonstration phase in 2005.
Through shared public and private investments in the Advanced
General Aviation Transportation Experiments (AGATE) project, and in
part due to the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994,
improvements are being made to small aircraft that make them easier
to fly, safer to fly, and more affordable to purchase and operate.
SATS will continue the public/private investment model and build on
these improvements. New general aviation aircraft will use advanced
technology control and display systems, advanced data
communications systems, advanced navigation and weather systems,
and new landing systems that allow operation in near all-weather
conditions at non-radar, non-towered landing facilities. All of
these improvements, when combined, will make on-demand, distributed
personal air travel a practical reality.
The four teams that will participate in the initial research and
development phase, are as follows in alphabetical order, are the by
team name Maryland SATS Lab, North Carolina-Upper Great Plains SATS
Lab, Southeast SATS Lab Consortium, and Virginia SATS Lab.
Each of these four teams is a partnership of industry, state
government, nonprofit organizations and academic institutions.
These partnerships, or consortia, will share resources and costs
with the federal government in an effort to move the SATS concept
from the research phase to an implementation phase.
The teams have signed cost-sharing agreements with NASA that
provide a total investment of approximately $13 million for the
first year of the program. The NASA portion of the investment is
approximately $7.5 million. The four teams will work independently
on portions of the total effort. The General Aviation Programs
Office, together with a private nonprofit management organization
that will be formed later this year, will coordinate the total
program.
Each of the teams has provided a brief description of their
agreement with NASA. Those descriptions are included below in
alphabetical order:
The composition and focus of each team, excerpted from each team
agreement is:
Maryland SATS Lab Team
The Maryland Advanced Development Laboratory (MADL) of the
University Research Foundation has formed the Maryland SATS
Laboratory (SATS Lab) team.
The local synergy required to coordinate and execute the SATS
initiative will be provided by state agencies and industries such
as the Maryland Aviation Administration, Hinson Corporate Flight,
Inc., ARINC Incorporated, Airpark Sales and Services and the
University of Maryland Labs. The Maryland team has partnered its
local assets with leading corporations including Applied Science
Technology (ASI), Cirrus Design, Decision Studies Incorporated
(DSI), Lancair Company, UPS Aviation Technologies and Science
Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Over the next year,
the NASA portion of the Maryland effort is expected to be
approximately $850,000. The cost-share from the Maryland
partnership is expected to be slightly less than that amount.
The focus of the Maryland team will be to evolve existing flight
related procedures, integrate the team’s existing and
developmental technology and study the human factor requirements
for both the experienced pilot and novice aircraft operator. The
team’s ability to perform these tasks is aided by the use of
multiple small civil aircraft already configured with developmental
systems, recording and analysis equipment. The planes will
ultimately be configured with additional equipment that integrates
their multiple functions into a single, automated suite. Such an
integrated suite will provide the equivalent of a skilled
electronic co-pilot.
North Carolina – Upper Great Plains SATS Lab
Team
The North Carolina – Upper Great Plains SATS Lab Team
partners state aviation authorities, small airports, industry,
universities, and other private and non-profit organizations in an
ambitious plan to implement a three-tier air transportation system
in North Carolina by 2003.
Participating states include Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina,
North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. Industry partners include
ARNIC, Cessna, Nav3D, Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation, Rannoch,
Raytheon, Rockwell Collins, Seagull Technology, Telford Aviation,
UPS Technologies and United Airlines. Private partners include Hoh
Aeronautics and Human-Machine Solutions. Academic and nonprofit
partners include the University of Kansas, University of Nebraska
at Omaha, University of North Carolina’s Keenan Institute,
North Carolina State University, and the Research Triangle
Institute. The NASA portion of the project over the next year is
approximately $1.5 million and the cost share from the partnership
is approximately $1 million.
Seven small airports located primarily in North Carolina will
participate in the initial demonstrations. Others airports in the
team will conduct further demonstrations toward the end of the
project. The team will focus on the integration of technology
advances in Ssynthetic Vvision, Highway in the Sky (HITS), and
advanced flight controls. The premier demonstration will occur at
Kitty Hawk at the Dare County Airport in celebration of the
Centennial of Flight, December 2003.
Southeast SATS Lab Consortium (SESLC)
Southeast SATS Lab Consortium (SESLC), led by Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University, was officially incorporated in the State
of Florida in September 2000. It represents the direct membership
of the SESCL, including more than 40 aviation and technology
companies, airframe manufacturers, aviation infrastructure
providers, universities, airport managers and aviation authorities,
pilots, and professional associations across the nation. Through
members like the Florida Space Grant Consortium, The National Safe
Skies Alliance, and the Florida Aviation Trades Association, the
SESLC reaches more than 200 aviation-related organizations that are
interested in changing the future of personal transportation. More
than two dozen airports in the Southeastern United States are
either SESLC members, or becoming members, and each has expressed
interest in hosting SATS experiments and demonstrations. States
represented in the membership include Florida, Georgia, Tennessee,
Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon,
Arkansas, and Virginia. Other government organizations
participating in the project include the FAA Southern Region,
Florida Department of Transportation, FAA Orlando Airports District
Office, and Enterprise Florida.
Over the next year, the Southeast SATS Lab Team is expected to
receive $2.5 million from NASA. Another $2.5 million is expected
from member industry and airport organizations. The funding will
enable experiments and demonstrations in a network of airports
throughout the southeastern states. With NASA, industry, state, and
other anticipated funding sources, the SESLC expects the entire
five-year SESLC effortproject to exceed $82 million.
Virginia SATS Lab
The Virginia SATS Lab Research Alliance, led by George Mason
University, is expected to receive $2.5 million to conduct research
and analysis that will lead to a state-based Small Aircraft
Transportation System flight demonstration in 2005. The members of
the Virginia team Commonwealth of Virginiaplans to contribute at
least $1.6 milliondollars to the alliance over the next year.
The alliance includes George Mason University, Virginia Tech,
Ohio University, Virginia Department of Aviation, Arthur D. Little,
Athena Technologies, Inc., Aurora Flight Sciences Corp., ARNAV,
Inc., ARINC, Aviation Systems Engineering, Inc., Cirrus Aircraft,
Colgan Air, Dulles Aviation, Rannoch, Inc., The Preston Group,
Trios Associates, Inc., and the American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics. The Virginia project includes five airports and
utilizes the statewide data link services funded by the Virginia
Department of Aviation (VDOAV) and provided by ARNAV,
Incorporated.
The alliance project hopes to prove that a single-pilot small
aircraft can be safely sequenced and separated in Instrument
Meteorological Conditions (IMC) at higher volume airports without a
terminal radar controller or a control tower with mixed aircraft
equipage, can land in low visibility weather conditions at
minimally equipped airports, and can accomplish autonomous
operations while flying in uncontrolled airspace.
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