Recapturing NASA's aeronautics flight research capabilities

104 Pages·2012·5.81 MB·English

by  National Research Council (U.S.). Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board

Recapturing NASA’s Aeronautics
Flight Research Capabilities

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities

Recapturing NASA’s Aeronautics Flight Research
Capabilities

Committee to Assess NASA’s Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities

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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the
National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of
Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the
committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for
appropriate balance.

This study is based on work supported by Contract NNH10CD04B between the National Academy of
Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or
recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
views of the agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-XXXXX-X 978-0-309-25538-7
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Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities

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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities

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National Research Council
The Keck Center of the National Academies
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
[phone]/[email protected]
www.nationalacademies.org/aseb.html
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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities

COMMITTEE TO ASSESS NASA’S AERONAUTICS FLIGHT RESEARCH CAPABILITIES

WESLEY L. HARRIS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chair
MARK ANDERSON, Boeing Research and Technology
NEIL A. ARMSTRONG, EDO Corporation
EDWARD L. BURNETT, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company
INDERJIT CHOPRA, University of Maryland
RICHARD S. CHRISTIANSEN, Sierra Lobo, Inc.
ROBERT A. COWART, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
JOHN B. HAYHURST, The Boeing Company (retired)
TIMOTHY LIEUWEN, Georgia Institute of Technology
RONALD F. PROBSTEIN, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ELI RESHOTKO, Case Western Reserve University
ROGERS E. SMITH, Consultant; NASA (retired)
JOHN TYLKO, Aurora Flight Sciences
RANDY VOLAND, ACENT Laboratories LLC
DEBORAH D. WHITIS, General Electric Aviation

Staff

DWAYNE A. DAY, Senior Program Officer, Study Director
CATHERINE A. GRUBER, Editor
AMANDA R. THIBAULT, Research Associate
TERRI BAKER, Program Associate
DANIELLE PISKORZ, Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Intern

MICHAEL H. MOLONEY, Director, Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities

AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ENGINEERING BOARD

LESTER L. LYLES, The Lyles Group, Chair
ELLA M. ATKINS, University of Michigan
AMY L. BUHRIG, The Boeing Company
INDERJIT CHOPRA, University of Maryland, College Park
JOHN-PAUL B. CLARKE, Georgia Institute of Technology
RAVI B. DEO, EMBR
VIJAY K. DHIR, University of California, Los Angeles
EARL H. DOWELL, Duke University
MICA R. ENDSLEY, SA Technologies
DAVID GOLDSTON, Natural Resources Defense Council
R. JOHN HANSMAN, JR., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JOHN B. HAYHURST, The Boeing Company (retired)
WILLIAM L. JOHNSON, California Institute of Technology
RICHARD KOHRS, Independent Consultant, Dickinson, Texas
IVETT LEYVA, Air Force Research Laboratory, Edwards Air Force Base
ELAINE S. ORAN, Naval Research Laboratory
ALAN G. POINDEXTER, Naval Postgraduate School
HELEN L. REED, Texas A&M University
ELI RESHOTKO, Case Western Reserve University
EDMOND SOLIDAY, United Airlines (retired)

Staff

MICHAEL H. MOLONEY, Director
CARMELA J. CHAMBERLAIN, Administrative Coordinator
TANJA PILZAK, Manager, Program Operations
CELESTE A. NAYLOR, Information Management Associate
CHRISTINA O. SHIPMAN, Financial Officer
SANDRA WILSON, Financial Assistant
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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities

Preface

As a result of discussions between NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Jaiwon Shin
and Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board Chair Ray Colladay, the National Research Council
formed the Committee to Assess NASA’s Flight Research Capabilities in early 2011. The committee’s
task was to:

Perform a study to assess and make recommendations about how best to integrate flight research
into the current Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s (ARMD) fundamental research
activities and integrated systems research activities. In conducting the study and preparing its
report the committee will undertake the following tasks:

• Within the set of goals and challenges being addressed by NASA’s Aeronautics Research
program, identify those challenges where research program success can be achieved most
effectively through flight research (in addition to, or as opposed to, other analytical or
experimental approaches)
• Identify any goals and challenges in the NASA Aeronautics program that may be limited
due to an anticipated lack of available flight research capability
• Review the current portfolio of ARMD flight research activities and the flight research
needs of ARMD’s aeronautics program, and identify programmatic and research requirements
gaps
• Review the capabilities and limitations of the current fleet of NASA aeronautics research
aircraft in terms of their ability to meet the above requirements and gaps
• Consider how the research opportunities might be pursued in an economical, affordable,
and technically rigorous way (for example, by partnering with the NASA Science Mission
Directorate, other U.S. government agencies and departments, industry, the National Research
Council of Canada (NRCC), and other international partners);
• Recommend how NASA might maintain a robust flight research program within defined
budget scenarios.

The scope of this assessment includes all ARMD research, including where/how future flight
testing can add value to aeronautics research, vehicle and vehicle subsystem/component
technologies, next generation air traffic management (NextGen) technologies and technologies
related to the safety of flight. The study should consider (1) the role of X-planes and/or
demonstrator vehicles in aeronautics research and their potential to reduce the risks associated
with technology maturation, performance, and deployment or insertion into flight vehicles and (2)
the potential benefit of using unclassified flight research testbeds owned by other government
agencies, industry, academia, and elsewhere. The budget scenarios for the committee’s
recommendations should include options such as a baseline scenario that is bounded by the current
ARMD budget outlook, an augmented scenario that represents a frugal approach to flight
experimentation that meets programmatic goals but one that is not necessarily constrained by the
present budget outlook, and a scenario that is unconstrained by the present budget outlook. It
should also include a recommendation on the core components of a well-balanced (see Task 1),
effective NASA Aeronautics program.

The 14-member committee met three times: in Edwards, California, on April 20-22, 2011, and in
Washington, D.C, on June 13-15, 2011, and on August 30-September 1, 2011. In addition, individual
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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities

members of the committee also met with NASA officials at the NASA Ames Research Center and an Air
Force official from the Air Force Propulsion Research Laboratory. At these meetings, the committee
gathered information on the current research program and discussed recommendations for future research
programs.
The committee was assisted by presentations and information provided by a number of current
and former NASA officials as well as representatives of the U.S. Air Force. In addition to these officials,
the committee heard from Stewart Baillie of the National Research Council Canada; Marla Oliver Brieger
of the German Aerospace Center, DLR; Dennis O’Donoghue of Boeing; and John Langford of Aurora
Flight Sciences. The committee also heard from a panel of seven engineers at Lockheed Martin
Aeronautics Corporation’s Palmdale facility. The committee expresses its gratitude to those who
generously provided information.
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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities

Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives
and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s
(NRC’s) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and
critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to
ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the
study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of
the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Ella M. Atkins, University of Michigan,
John-Paul B. Clarke, Georgia Institute of Technology,
Eugene W. Covert, USAF (retired); MIT (emeritus),
Kenneth M. Ford, Institute for Human and Machine Cognition,
John Hansman Jr., Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Preston A. Henne, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation,
John S. Langford, Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, and
Mark Lewis, University of Maryland.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they
were not asked to endorse any conclusions, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release.
The review of this report was overseen by Robert A. Frosch, Harvard University. Appointed by the NRC,
he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in
accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered.
Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the
institution.

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