Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System Project

<p>There is an increasing need to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) to perform missions of vital importance to national security and defense, emergency management, science, and to enable commercial applications. However, routine access by UAS to the NAS remains unrealized.&nbsp;<br /><br />The UAS community needs routine access to the global airspace for all classes of UAS. Based on this need, NASA&#39;s UAS Integration in the NAS Project identified the following goal: To provide research findings to reduce technical barriers associated with integrating UAS into the NAS utilizing integrated system level tests in a relevant environment. These barriers include: a lack of sense-and-avoid concepts and technologies that can operate within the NAS, robust communication technologies, robust human systems integration, and a relevant environment for use in testing the developed technologies.<br /><br />The project&#39;s goal will be accomplished by developing system-level integration of key concepts, technologies and/or procedures, as well as demonstrating those integrated capabilities in an operationally relevant environment.&nbsp;<br /><br />The project conducts research to address technical&nbsp;barriers in the following areas:</p><ul><li>Sense and Avoid (SAA) [synonymous with Detect and Avoid (DAA)] Performance Standards: Provide research findings to develop and validate UAS Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for SAA performance and interoperability.</li><li>Command and Control (C2) Performance Standards: Provide research findings to develop and validate UAS MOPS for terrestrial C2 communication.</li><li>Human Systems Integration (HSI): Provide research findings to develop and validate HSI ground control station (GCS) guidelines enabling implementation of the SAA and C2 performance standards.</li><li>Integrated Test and Evaluation (IT&amp;E): Develop a relevant test environment that is a live virtual constructive (LVC) distributed environment (DE), for use in generating research findings to develop and validate HSI guidelines, DAA, and C2 MOPS with test scenarios supporting integration of UAS into the NAS.</li></ul><p>These activities support research within the aeronautics strategic thrust area 6.&nbsp;</p>