Industry fears loss of key technology demonstrations
NASA is overhauling its aeronautics research, raising fears within industry that key technology demonstrations will be cancelled.
Although insiders say no programme has yet been cancelled, reports say the Access 5 project to promote routine operations of high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft in civil airspace and the Super 10 project to demonstrate a low-boom supersonic aircraft both face the axe.
The overhaul is being headed by Dr Lisa Porter, who joined NASA in August from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), as senior adviser for aeronautics. Agency insiders say Porter favours basic research over large-scale technology demonstrations, which could signal an abrupt shift from NASA’s most recent plan to focus its dwindling aeronautics research funding on four “breakthrough” demonstration projects involving low-noise subsonic aircraft, zero-emissions aircraft, low-boom supersonic aircraft and HALE UAVs.
NASA declines to comment on reports it will reduce support for the Federal Aviation Administration-led Joint Planning and Development Office, which is developing the next-generation US air traffic management system, and redirect funds to hypersonics research and a rotorcraft initiative, both co-ordinated with DARPA.
In a 13 September internal memo obtained by watchdog Nasawatch, Porter says the agency’s Aviation Safety and Security programme, one of three elements of its aeronautics programme, has been “significantly reworked” to focus research in areas appropriate to NASA’s capabilities.
The renamed Aircraft Safety programme is intended to have four “thrust areas” – ageing aircraft, intelligent flightdeck technologies, resilient aircraft control and vehicle health management. NASA headquarters is conducting workshops to develop “multi-year plans with clearly defined milestones...[that] will not be ‘gee-whiz demos’ or point designs”, Porter’s memo says.
Although the memo says Porter’s goal is to present a plan to the White House Office of Management and Budget and Congress “as quickly as possible”, a scheduled NASA aeronautics research advisory committee meeting was cancelled on 15 September.
UAV proponents have reacted angrily to reports that the five-year Access 5 project would be terminated after just 19 months. The project’s first flight demonstrations are scheduled to take place this month.
GRAHAM WARWICK/WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
