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Executive Summary
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From page 1... ... and was briefed by dozens of members of the aerospace and air transportation communities in government, industry, and academia. After gathering information and collecting ideas from a broad cross section of the aerospace community, the committee organized and conducted a Breakthrough Aerospace Technologies Workshop, which was held on February ~ 9 and 20, ~ 998, to provide additional input; and assist the committee in assessing the technologies and concepts that had been compiled during the previous five months. Read the entire page →
From page 2... ... 2 Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics The candidate breakthrough technologies identified during the workshop were further refined by three subgroups of the committee, which focused on air vehicle technology, air transportation system technology, and space transportation technology. Read the entire page →
From page 3... ... In general, advanced configurations represent high-risk technologies with potentially high payoffs. Embec/c/ec/ Sensing and Contro/ The development of embedded sensors and controls in air vehicles and components could further a number of NASA's air transportation goals. Read the entire page →
From page 4... ... These improvements include optimizing the flow of information throughout the design process; enhancing linear and nonlinear simulation capabilities for both aircraft and propulsion systems that fully integrate separate moclels with varying levels of ficlelity; and improving the understanding of the optimal integration of humans and computers throughout the design process. Air Transportation Systems Technology Technological changes and the clevelopment of new operating procedures for the air transportation system will be required to achieve NASA's air transportation goals. Read the entire page →
From page 5... ... These methodologies include: formal specification methods, including verifiable high-level languages; formal methods of validating specifications and consequent software; techniques for building and checking models to determine the validity of system components, methods of combining disparate sources of software certification evidence; documentation of safety arguments in the form of safety cases; and models of human operators and their roles and expectations. These approaches to software development address NASA's air transportation goals related to improved safety, increased throughput, and a revitalized general aviation industry. Read the entire page →
From page 6... ... To the extent that these improvements can provide more precise control of aircraft operations or can reduce the potentially harmful effects of wake vortices, they could also improve aviation safety and operating conditions for general aviation aircraft. In the long term, personal air transportation vehicles could be a breakthrough that would achieve NASA's throughput goal by allowing millions of air travelers to bypass existing airports and air travel infrastructures. Read the entire page →
From page 7... ... Nove/ Launch System Concepts Leveraging novel reusable launch vehicle concepts and automated launch operations based on demonstrated technologies and systems approaches aimed at reducing costs and increasing reusability may approach NASA's JO year launch cost goal. Read the entire page →
From page 8... ... reducing the overall cost of space transportation, including the launch stage and the final propulsive stage used in orbital transfer � minimizing the cost of developing far-reaching space transportation technologies that enable new deep-space missions BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGIES TO MEET NASA's GOALS The committee's final deliberations were focused on selecting a short list of breakthrough technologies to recommend to NASA as high priorities. Although all of the technologies listed in the three categories above deserve funding consideration from NASA, the committee realizes that in today's environment of constrained budgets NASA may not be able to support all of them simultaneously. Read the entire page →
From page 9... ... For example, continuing improvements in computer microprocessor speed and capability do not require NASA's attention. However, the committee has identified five key cyber technology areas that are crucial to meeting NASA's goals: modeling and simulation for both vehicle design and the characterization of the air transportation system; advanced, robust, real-time sensors and actuators for air vehicle structures, materials, and propulsion systems; automated aerospace manufacturing and space launch operations; improved methods for developing flight-critical software, and optimized human-computer interactions for aircraft flight decks and for the process of aerospace vehicle design. Read the entire page →
From page 10... ... 10 Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics TABLE ES-1 NASA's Goals for Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology and the Recommended Breakthrough Technology Categories Reduced Reduced Breakthrough TechnologyReduced Perceived Noise Aircraft Category Emissions Levels Accident Rate Cyber Technology Modeling and simulation M M H Advanced, robust, real-time sensors M H M and actuators Automated manufacturing ~ improved methocis for cleveloping M M H fl ight-critical software Human-computer integration M M H Structures and Materials Lightweight structures High-temperature materials Propulsion Technology M Advanced al r veh ic~e propu Vision H H concepts Advanced propellants for launch vehicles Aerospace Vehicle Configurations Advanced configurations M M Precision Air Traffic Operations in Terminal Areas Reduced runway occupancy time M Mitigation of wake vortices ~M V/STOL air vehicles ~ M ~ = Low impact on achieving the goal; M = Moderate impact; H = High impact Read the entire page →
From page 11... ... Executive Summary Increased Design Invigorated Reduced Triple Aviation Confidence and General Payload Cost System Reduced Air Reduced Cyc~e Aviation Reduced to Low Earth Throughput Trave~ Costs Time Industry Trave! Time Orbit H M L M M M H H H M M M M M M M H M M M M H M M H H M M L M L H M H H M M M M M M M M M H H H H L M M M M M M H M 11 Read the entire page →
From page 12... ... Because immediate breakthroughs in the development of lightweight structures and high-temperature materials suitable for high-speed civil transports and reusable launch vehicles are not peachily apparent, NASA should invest in funclamental research on structures and materials research, keeping in mind important end use requirements, such as affordability, manufacturability, and maintenance. Propulsion Technology Step changes in the gas turbine engine through novel components or through the use of active controls, as well as alternative propulsion systems, may have large payoffs in several areas related to the goals for air transportation. Read the entire page →
From page 13... ... Therefore, the solution to increases in terminal area capacity must come from breakthrough technologies and associated procedures. Reclucing terminal area constraints in pursuit of NASA's JO-year goal of tripling aviation system throughput will mean that NASA should focus on the development of technologies and procedures for reducing runway occupancy time, mitigating wake vortices, and increasing the use of V/STOL air vehicles at existing airports. Read the entire page →
From page 14... ... NASA should attempt to reduce the time required to introduce new aerospace technology into the commercial marketplace by supporting technology clevelopment to a higher level of readiness, by investigating information techno~ogy-basecl methocis to speed the pace of innovation, and by maximizing government/inclustry collaboration in the development of commercially viable technology focused on the JO goals. Meeting the 20 Year Milestones Although a recommendation that emphasizes technology adoption, technology transfer, rapid innovation, and government/industry collaboration might be misinterpreted as a criticism of ~ong-term, fundamental research, the committee does not intend to convey this message. Read the entire page →
From page 15... ... Therefore, NASA should ensure that appropriate levels of sustained funding and effort continue to be applied to relatively unfocused, long-term, fundamental research in the aerospace sciences. To accomplish these objectives, each NASA center with an aeronautics and space transportation R&D mission should exercise the responsibility and authority to fund researchers with promising ideas that could lead directly to the accomplishment of one or more goals or could eventually lead to revolutionary new aerospace technologies. Read the entire page →

From page 1...

... and was briefed by dozens of members of the aerospace and air transportation communities in government, industry, and academia. After gathering information and collecting ideas from a broad cross section of the aerospace community, the committee organized and conducted a Breakthrough Aerospace Technologies Workshop, which was held on February ~ 9 and 20, ~ 998, to provide additional input; and assist the committee in assessing the technologies and concepts that had been compiled during the previous five months.

Executive Summary Pages 1-16

Executive Summary
Pages 1-16