Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics Breakthrough Technologies to Meet Future Air and Space Transportation Needs and Goals (1998) / Chapter Skim
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2 Achieving NASA's Goals with Breakthrough Technolgies
2 Achieving NASA's Goals with Breakthrough Technolgies
Pages 25-32
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From page 25... ...
The relationships between the NASA goals and the broad categories of need and opportunity identified in the previous NRC study are highlighted below. Enhanced Air Vehicle Safely ant' Survivability The NRC steering committee for the scenario-based strategic planning workshop, hereinafter referred to as the phase ~ steering committee, determined that air vehicles of the future must contribute to a significant reduction in aircraft accidents and be able to survive natural and man-made threats.
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From page 26... ...
Despite these differences, however, it was clear that a safer, more efficient, more flexible, and more sophisticated air traffic management system would be required in the future. The phase ~ steering committee determined that the future air traffic management system should be sate~lite-based, should operate more autonomously than the system does today, and should be tailored to regional infrastructures and air travel demands.
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From page 27... ...
DEFINING "BREAKTHROUGH" TECHNOLOGY After determining that breakthrough technology to meet NASA's goals would fit within the framework of the needs and opportunities identified by the phase ~ steering committee, the ~ The neecis of future manned space activities and space science missions were not aciciressecl at the scenario-basecl strategic plan n i ng workshop.
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From page 28... ...
The committee, therefore, has adopted a broad definition of "breakthrough technology" that includes the following characteristics: discrete technologies that might result in revolutionary improvements in capability broad technology areas that might realize dramatic improvements in capability through the evolutionary or revolutionary development of a set of contributing technologies The committee also acknowledges that breakthrough capabilities for complex systems, such as air vehicles, launch vehicles, and related infrastructures, are often the result of the novel integration of existing or "off-the-shelf" technologies, rather than as a result of revolutionary new changes or sudden advances in knowledge or technique. ACHIEVING THE 10 and 20 YEAR GOALS Meeting the 10 Year Milestones The NASA Office of Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology also asked the committee to examine whether the 10 goals are likely to be achievable, either through evolutionary steps in technology or through the identification and application of breakthrough ideas, concepts, and technologies.
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From page 29... ...
The large base of existing aircraft and installed aircraft subsystems, coupled with existing infrastructure, also promotes the use of existing technology. New technologies that are not imposed by regulation must compete on a cost basis with existing components, which are usually relatively low cost and efficient.2 A similar economic argument can be made for the commercial space launch marketplace, where the basic design of expendable rockets has not changed dramatically since World War Il.
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From page 30... ...
Therefore, NASA shouIcl explore organizational models that maximize collaboration with industry throughout the innovation process.4 In fostering increased 3 in the development of space transportation technology, NASA is currently investing in technology demonstration vehicles, such as the X-33 and X-34, in partnership with inclustry. 4 The NASA Advancecl General Aviation Transport Experiments Consortium, focused on R&D for general aviation, is a useful example (NASA, 1996~.
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From page 31... ...
NASA should attempt to reduce the time required to introduce new aerospace technology into the commercial marketplace by supporting technology development to a higher level of readiness, by investigating information techno~ogy-based methods to speed the pace of innovation, and by maximizing government/industry collaboration in the development of commercially viable technology focused on the 10 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.
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From page 32... ...
NASA should ensure that appropriate levels of sustained funding and effort continue to be applied to R&D focused specifically on the 10 goals, and to more general ~ong-term, fundamental research in the aerospace sciences. To accomplish this, each NASA research center with an aeronautics and space transportation technology 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.
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