nasa facts aeronautics research mission directorate

8/6/2019 NASA Facts Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

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Aeronautics Research Mission DirectorateImproving aviation saety and efciency

The rst “A” in “NASA” stands or“Aeronautics”—as in the “National Aeronau-tics and Space Administration.”

Aeronautics has been part o NASA or morethan 50 years. Beore that, the National Ad-visory Committee or Aeronautics conductedpioneering research that infuenced the de-sign o every U.S. aircrat. NASA integratedthat knowledge and existing testing acilities

when it was created in 1958.

The Aeronautics Research Mission Direc-torate, located at NASA Headquarters inWashington, oversees the agency’s aeronau-tics research, which is conducted primarilyat our NASA centers:

•AmesResearchCenter Moett Field, Cali.

•DrydenFlightResearchCenter Edwards, Cali.

•GlennResearchCenter Cleveland

•LangleyResearchCenter Hampton, Va.

RESEARCH GOALS

NASA’s aeronautics activities are organizedinto our research programs and one testacilities management program:

•AeronauticsTestProgram•AirspaceSystemsProgram•AviationSafetyProgram•FundamentalAeronauticsProgram•IntegratedSystemsResearchProgram

A view rom a NASA chase plane during a test fight o the blended wing body X-48B remote-piloted vehicle in April 2008. Image credit:

NASA Dryden/Lori Losey



Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 2 NASA Facts

Each program emphasizes research through collabora-

tion and partnerships, shared ideas and knowledge, andsolutions that benet the public.

NASA works to improve aviation saety and eciency,

and to make aircrat more environmentally responsible.

Nearly every aircrat today includes a technology devel-

oped rom research conducted by NASA or rom tests

done in a NASA acility.

As demands on the aviation transportation system grow,

NASA’s aeronautics research goals include improving

airspace capacity, and reducing noise, emissions and

uel consumption.

AERONAUTICS PROGRAMS

Aeronautics Test Program

The Aeronautics Test Program ensures the availability

and accessibility o an extensive suite o ground and

fight testing acilities or aeronautics research includ-

ing laboratories, wind tunnels, fight test beds and other

aerospace assessment capabilities. NASA researchers,

other government agencies, corporations and institu-

tions use the program’s acilities to test new solutions

or everything rom jet engine noise reduction to aircrat

icing detection.

Airspace Systems Program

The Airspace Systems Program works to transorm the

national air transportation system to accommodate dra-

maticincreasesincapacity,efciencyandexibility.Its

researchiscriticaltodevelopmentoftheNextGenera-

tion Air Transportation System, which will allow or sae

and ecient travel through increasingly crowded skies.

Aviation Safety Program

The Aviation Saety Program ocuses on developingcutting-edge technologies and capabilities to improve

thesafetyoftheNextGenerationAirTransportationSys -

tem.Itsresearchactivitiesaddresstheparticularchal -

lenge o increasing saety while also improving eciency.

Fundamental Aeronautics Program

The Fundamental Aeronautics Program develops capa-

bilities or addressing national challenges in air trans-

portation including noise, emissions, uel consumption,

acceptable supersonic fight over land, mobility, and the

ability to ascend and descend through planetary atmo-

spheres. The capabilities will enable design solutions

or perormance and environmental challenges acing

uture air vehicles.

Integrated Systems Research Program

TheIntegratedSystemsResearchProgramfocuses

on exploring, assessing and demonstrating concepts

and technologies that are integrated at the system-

levelandthentestedinarelevantenvironment.Its

research is coordinated with the ongoing oundational

research conducted in the other three aeronautics

research programs, and with the eorts o other ederal

government agencies.

PARTNERSHIPS

NASA partners with others to enhance the state o U.S.

aeronautics, including major U.S. aircrat and engine

manuacturers, U.S. government agencies, universities,

non-government organizations, and international part-

ners where the research and cooperation is o mutual

benet to both nations.

Simulators play a large role in testing new aviation saety technologies, including

this test o a synthetic vision system that creates a graphical representation o the

environment outside the aircrat. Image Credit: NASA

Researchers run a simulation o potential new air trac management tools at

NASA’sAirspaceOperationsLab. Image credit: NASA Ames



Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 3 NASA Facts

The Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate uses a

variety o processes to create ormal and inormal part-nerships including: cooperative or reimbursable Space

Act agreements, NASA research announcements or an-nouncements o opportunity, technical working groupsor technical interchange meetings.

These are just a ew examples o the many partnershipscurrently underway:

Industry—working with NASA to:•developcomputercodestohelpdetecttheaccretion

o ice on aircrat;•developsmallcommercialefcientandquietair

transportation to be introduced during the time period2030-2035; and

•testnoisereductiontechniquestosomedayallowsupersonic vehicles to make transcontinental fights.

International Partners—working with NASA to:•investigatecausesof,andsolutionstoreduce,aircraft

airrame noise;•researchin-ightaircrafticingandimprovein-situand

remote sensing o the environment; and•design,fabricate,testandvalidatefoilgasbearings

that could be used in oil-ree turbomachinery.

Universities—working with NASA to:•developmulti-scaletoolsforairspacemodeling

and design;•developsmartsensorprocessingforautomatic

runway hazard detection; and•designandtestanintegratedalertingandnotication

unction or the uture intelligent integrated fight deck.

U.S. Government Agencies—working with NASA to:

•pursuecomplementarygoalsinaviationandspacetransportation saety, airspace system eciency,environmental compatibility and international leader-ship and others;

•transformtheU.S.airtransportationsystemintotheNextGenerationAirTransportationSystembytheyear 2025; and

•conductresearchthatenablesrevolutionarycapabili-ties in rotorcrat.

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS RESEARCH AND

DEVELOPMENT POLICY

InDecember2006,thepresidentoftheUnitedStatesestablished the rst National Aeronautics Researchand Development Policy to advance U.S. technologicalleadership in aeronautics. The goal is to create a vibrant,dynamic research and development community thatincludes government, industry and academia.

NASA contributed to the development o the policy, itsfollow-onResearchandDevelopmentPlanin2007andthe Research and Development Plan Technical Appen-dix in 2008. NASA’s aeronautics research goals are ullyaligned with these guiding documents and their keyprinciples: ocus on cutting-edge research with broad

benets, share research results as widely as possible,coordinate the management o U.S. aeronautics inra-structure across ederal departments and agencies, andestablish strong partnerships.

FUTURE WORKFORCE

NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate seeksto engage and inspire students o all ages through edu-

Test engineer Mark D ‘Aprile checks a small model o a supersonic jet conceptdesignedbyGulfstreamAerospaceandtestedinaNASAwindtunnel.Image

credit: NASA Langley/Sean Smith

NASA,withBoeingandtheAirForceResearchLaboratory,testsanadvancedvehicle concept that could make uture aircrat more environmentally respon-sible by reducing noise, emissions and uel consumption. Image credit: NASA


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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Headquarters

300 E. Street, SWWashington, DC 20546

NASA Facts

cational materials, design competitions or high school

andcollegestudents,exhibits,andmore.Inparticular,NASA provides programs to create a uture workorceby helping students pursue careers in aeronautics- andaerospace-related elds.

Aeronautics Scholarship Program

This new program awards scholarships to highly mo-tivated undergraduate and graduate students who arepursuing careers in aeronautics and related elds.

Undergraduates in their second year o study canearn up to $15,000 per year or two years, and gradu-ate students can earn up to $35,000 per year or threeyears. Money can be used or tuition, room and board,and other school-related expenses. Students also canapply or optional summer internships at NASA researchcenters to earn an additional $10,000 in stipends. Allapplicants must be U.S. citizens.

Twenty undergraduate and ve graduate scholarshipsare awarded each academic year.

For more inormation about NASA’s aeronautics re-search activities, establishing a partnership or applyingor a scholarship, visit www.aeronautics.nasa.gov.

BY THE NUMBERS

•Annualbudget,NASA:$18.7billion*•Annualbudget,NASAAeronautics:$507million*

•Workforce,NASA:18,798full-timecivilservice employees**

•Workforce,NASAAeronautics:approximately 1,395full-timecivilserviceemployees**

•NASAResearchAnnouncementAwards,NASA Aeronautics:377**

•InternationalPartnerships,NASAAeronautics**: 15 (countries represented include Australia,Canada,France,Germany,Japan,Korea,Spain,UnitedKingdom)

*Fiscalyear2010,U.S.dollars.**AsofOctober2009.

Tests in a NASA wind tunnel o this SMART rotor hub conrm the ability o ad-vanced helicopter-blade active control strategies to reduce vibrations and noise.Image Credit: NASA

HarvardgraduatestudentBenLeetunestheopticsonaquantum-cascade-lasermethane isotope sensor used or alternative jet uel testing. Image credit: NASA

Dryden/Tom Tschida

nasa facts aeronautics research mission directorate

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