NASA Aeronautics Research An Assessment (2008) / Chapter Skim
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3 Workforce and Facilities
3 Workforce and Facilities
Pages 65-81
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From page 65... ...
AERONAUTICS WORKFORCE ISSUES National Aeronautics Workforce National employment data give a mixed picture of aerospace engineering employment and trends -- with no consistent trends in terms of employment numbers or salaries. From 1996 to 2004, aerospace engineering employment increased 43 percent, and this was well above the trend for total engineering employment, which increased only 5 percent over the same time period (see Table 3-1a)
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From page 66... ...
TABLE 3-1b Changes in Engineering Employment Between 2002 and 2004 Number of Engineers 2002 2004 Change Change (%) Total, all engineers 1,478,000 1,449,000 –29,000 –2.0 Marine engineers and naval architects 5,000 6,800 1,800 36.0 Biomedical engineers 8,000 9,700 1,700 21.3 Petroleum engineers 14,000 16,000 2,000 14.3 Agricultural engineers 3,000 3,400 400 13.3 Nuclear engineers 16,000 17,000 1,000 6.3 Industrial engineers 194,000 204,000 10,000 5.2 Mechanical engineers 215,000 226,000 11,000 5.1 Environmental engineers 47,000 49,000 2,000 4.3 Computer hardware engineers 74,000 77,000 3,000 4.1 Mining and geological engineers 5,000 5,200 200 4.0 Civil engineers 228,000 237,000 9,000 3.9 Electrical and electronics engineers 292,000 299,000 7,000 2.4 Aerospace engineers 78,000 76,000 –2,000 –2.6 Chemical engineers 33,000 31,000 –2,000 –6.1 Materials engineers 24,000 21,000 –3,000 –12.5 All other engineers 243,000 172,000 –71,000 –29.2 Note: Growth in aerospace engineering employment ranked 13 out of 15 from 2002 to 2004.
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From page 67... ...
Available online at |
From page 68... ...
NASA Aeronautics Workforce Several recent reports have been issued which address the NASA workforce issue, with particular emphasis on the President's Vision for Space Exploration (White House, 2004) , but none has explicitly addressed the NASA aeronautics program and its requirements.
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From page 69... ...
Even so, these recommendations also seem to be generally applicable to the aeronautics workforce, and most of the recommendations could be implemented, at least in part, within the existing budget for NASA and its Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD)
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From page 70... ...
In essence, the valuable infusion of new technology and innovative research approaches provided by the use of NRAs should be balanced by the retention of sufficient numbers of experienced NASA civil servants to provide for an optimum mix of research personnel resources, in accordance with a strategic workforce plan for NASA aeronautics research. Most PIs felt that, at least in the short term (2 to 5 years)
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From page 71... ...
NASA's aeronautics research is performed almost entirely at four research centers (Ames Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Center, Glenn Research Center, and Langley Research Center)
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From page 72... ...
The plan should be based on an ARMDwide survey of staffing requirements by skill level, coupled with an availability analysis of NASA civil servants available to support the NASA aeronautics program. The plan should identify specific gaps and the time frame in which they should be addressed.
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From page 73... ...
ATP ground test facilities include the following: • Ames Unitary Wind Tunnel • Glenn Icing Research Tunnel • Glenn 9- × 15-Foot Subsonic Tunnel • Langley National Transonic Facility • Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel • Langley Hypersonic Complex • Langley 8-Foot High Temperature Tunnel • Langley 14- × 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel • Langley 20-Foot Vertical Spin Tunnel • Glenn Propulsion Systems Laboratory 3 and 4 • Glenn 10- × 10-Foot Supersonic Tunnel ATP flight research facilities include the following: • Western Aeronautical Test Range • Support Aircraft • Test Bed Aircraft • Simulation and Flight Loads Laboratory
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From page 74... ...
has come from NASA's congressionally appropriated funds through the ATP. These funds have been allocated as follows: $31 million for flight operations and test infrastructure and $57 million for aeronautics ground test facilities ($39 million for operations and $18 million for maintenance and test technology, including university-related research)
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From page 75... ...
In addition, the projects within the Fundamental Aeronautics Program invest in research to provide new and/or improved test techniques and instrumentation, as necessary. Requirements for NASA Research Facilities NASA Aeronautics Program NASA's aeronautics research uses a wide variety of facilities.
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From page 76... ...
. These facilities are as follows: • Glenn Research Center 6- × 9-Foot Icing Research Tunnel • Langley Research Center 20-Foot Vertical Spin Tunnel • Ames Research Center Unitary 11-Foot Transonic Tunnel • Langley Research Center National Transonic Facility • Langley Research Center Transonic Dynamics Tunnel • Langley Research Center 8-Foot High Temperature Tunnel • Ames Research Center Vertical Motion Simulator • Glenn Research Center Mechanical Drives Facility • Glenn Research Center Turbine and Structural Seals Facilities • Langley Research Center Impact Dynamics Research Facility • Wallops Flight Facility Open Air Range Some of these facilities are critical to DoD because they have unique capabilities.
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From page 77... ...
Future Flight Central, a SCAP-managed facility at Ames, is a national air traffic control/air traffic management test facility dedicated to solving present and future capacity problems at U.S. airports.
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From page 78... ...
U.S. Industry Aeronautics Test Facilities Working Group provides a forum for development of strategic recommendations on aeronautical wind tunnels required to support current and future aeronautics research and development.
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From page 79... ...
A quiet supersonic wind tunnel with maximum operating conditions of about Mach 1.5 to 2.5 is needed to validate designs as flows transition between turbulent and laminar boundary layers. NASA's Exploration Systems, Space Operations, and Science Mission Directorates identified no unmet facility needs other than improved arc-jet facilities.
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From page 80... ...
These efforts have substantially reduced the renewal period for major DoD T&E facilities. The NASA Real Property Database indicates that the capital stock value of ATP ground test facilities as of 2005 is $1.9 billion, based on the original construction cost, adjusted for inflation.
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From page 81... ...
2007. NASA Aeronautics Facilities Critical to DoD Report to Congress.
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