NASA Daily News Summary
For Release: Nov. 8, 1999
Media Advisory m99-232



SUMMARY:

NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL INCREASE ON-TIME LANDINGS


Video File for Nov. 8, 1999

ITEM 1 - AIRBORNE INFORMATION FOR LATERAL SPACING (ALS) 
ITEM 2 - NASA TESTS CONCEPT FOR A ULTRA LONG DURATION BALLOON
ITEM 3 - MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES OF SOLAR ECLIPSE ON MARS 
         (replay)



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NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL INCREASE ON-TIME LANDINGS

Help may soon be on the way to air travelers frustrated with 
ever-increasing delays at the nations airports.  NASA, Honeywell 
Technology Center and Honeywell Airport Systems have developed new 
technology that could solve a significant part of the problem.  
Called Airborne Information for Lateral Spacing (AILS) and Closely 
Spaced Parallel Approaches (CASPER), the systems expand on 
existing communication and navigation technology to allow planes 
to land safely in bad weather on parallel runways spaced as 
closely as 2,500 feet apart.  Currently, the minimum runway 
separation during low visibility is 4,300 feet, which means that 
some of the nations busiest airports have to shut down one of 
their closely spaced runways when weather conditions deteriorate.  
Some of the airports where this new technology could improve on-
time arrivals are Detroit, Seattle, Minneapolis and Memphis.

Contact at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA:  Judi Tull 
(Phone 757/864-3189).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Michael Braukus 
(Phone 202/358-1979).
Contact at Honeywell Technology Center, Phoenix, AZ:  Dale Willis 
(Phone:  602/436-5302).

For full text, see:
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-133.txt 

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If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e-
mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list.

Index of 1999 NASA News Releases:
http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html



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VIDEO FILE FOR NOV. 8, 1999


ITEM 1 - AIRBORNE INFORMATION FOR LATERAL SPACING (AILS)   TRT :55

NASA is developing a technology that would decrease air traffic 
delays by enabling airports with closely spaced parallel runways 
to keep both runways open in bad weather.  Animation shows a 
normal runway approach in good visibility and how an Airborne 
Information for Lateral Spacing alert would warn of an incorrect 
approach.

Contact at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA:  Judi Tull 
(Phone 757/864-3189).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Michael Braukus 
(Phone 202/358-1979).


Item 1a - PILOT TESTING AILS IN SIMULATOR                 TRT 3:48

Pilots tested the AILS system in a NASA simulator.  AILS would 
give pilots a cockpit display to detect, warn, and avoid possible 
encroaching traffic.  They confirmed those results on board NASA 
757 and a Honeywell Gulfstream.

Video Courtesy Discovery Channel


Item 1b - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS                               TRT :57

Brad Perry, AILS Project Manger, NASA Langley Research Center, 
Hampton, VA


Item 1c - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS                              TRT :19

Bob Puley, 757 Pilot, Northwest Airlines


Item 1d - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS                              TRT :35

Bill Cowin, Senior Research Program Manager, Honeywell, Inc.



ITEM 2 - NASA TESTS CONCEPT FOR A ULTRA LONG DURATION     
         BALLOON

A test flight was successfully conducted recently from Ft. Sumner, 
NM, of a pumpkin-shaped balloon half the size of a football field 
and approximately one-tenth the volume of NASA's Ultra Long 
Duration Balloon (ULDB). The ULDB will stay aloft at altitudes of 
up to 115,000 feet (35 kilometers) for as long as 100 days with 
more than a ton of scientific instruments. 

Scientists are excited about the new balloons because they can 
carry huge payloads to the very edges of the Earth's atmosphere at 
a fraction of the cost of launching them on rockets.

Contact at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA:  
Betty Flowers (Phone 757/824-1584).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Donald Savage 
(Phone 202/358-1547).

More ULDB program information can be found at:
http://www.wff.nasa.gov/~uldb/index.html


Item 2a - NASA'S ULTRA LONG DURATION BALLOON              TRT 5:07

A test flight was successfully conducted recently from Ft. Sumner, 
N.M. of a pumpkin-shaped balloon half the size of a football field 
and approximately one-tenth the volume of what NASA calls its 
Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB). The ULDB will stay aloft at 
altitudes of up to 115,000 feet (35 kilometers) for as long as 100 
days with more than a ton of scientific instruments. 


FILE FOOTAGE:                                             TRT 8:12

Item 2b - LAUNCH ANIMATION SEQUENCE

Ultra Long Duration Balloons (ULDB) are being designed to stay 
afloat for several months with over a ton of astronomy or remote 
sensing equipment.  This new balloon technology will enable a 
science payload to stay aloft for up to 100 days, at a constant 
altitude of approximately 120,000 feet.  That is about 15 miles 
higher than typical passenger planes fly and above 99.9 percent of 
the Earth's atmosphere.  This represents an enormous advance over 
current long-duration balloons that stay aloft for about 10 days 
and cannot maintain a constant altitude.  A ULDB platform can be 
used to perform many types of research effectively, inexpensively 
and the payload can be recovered for reuse.


Item 2c - ALTITUDE COMPARISON ANIMATION

Day and night temperature differences, along with barometric 
pressure differences affect the altitude of current long duration 
balloons because they are open systems.  The Ultra Long Duration 
Balloon is a closed system enabling it to maintain a more constant 
altitude.


Item 2d - SIZE COMPARISON

Height comparison of ULDB at launch and at altitude with the 
Washington Monument.  The ULDB balloon consists of 20 acres of a 
special polyethylene composite material (.08 mil thick) and 20 
miles of seams.


Item 2e - ANIMATION OF POTENTIAL ULDB SCIENCE PAYLOADS

Scientists will be able to command the instrument and receive 
science data on a home computer via the Internet.  

Cut 1:  Atmospheric payloads such as cosmic ray detection, and 
anti-matter detectors.
Cut 2:  Earth Observation payloads


Item 2f - ULDB MATERIAL TESTING B-ROLL

New composite materials were developed to accomplish ULDB's 
mission.  This new material must withstand the environmental 
stresses the balloon will encounter at 120,000 feet for 100 days.  
These stresses include  temperature variations, pressure, and 
ultraviolet radiation.


Item 2g - MANUFACTURING METHODS TESTING B-ROLL

Inflating a 30 foot diameter ULDB "model" to its bursting point 
gives engineers insight into the durability and strength of 
balloon manufacturing methods.


Item 2h - SOUNDBITE

Steve Raque, Aerospace Engineer, NASA Balloon Program Office



ITEM 3 - MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES OF SOLAR ECLIPSE      TRT :42
         ON MARS (replay)

The shadow of the martian moon, Phobos, has been captured in many 
recent wide angle camera views of the red planet obtained by the 
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC).  Designed to 
monitor changes in weather and surface conditions, the wide angle 
cameras are also proving to be a good way to spot the frequent 
solar eclipses caused by the passage of Phobos between Mars and 
the Sun. Image shows Phobos, the inner and larger of the two moons 
of Mars.  Imaged on Aug. 19, 1998, by the Mars global 
Surveyor/Mars Orbiter Camera.

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Doug Isbell (Phone 
202/358-1753).
Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA:  Mary 
Hardin (Phone 818/354-5011).



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