I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2358

To enable the United States to maintain its leadership in aeronautics and 

aviation, improve its quality of life, protect the environment, support 

economic growth, and promote the security of the Nation by instituting 

an initiative to develop technologies that will enable future aircraft with 

significantly lower noise, emissions, and fuel consumption, to reinvigorate 

basic and applied research in aeronautics and aviation, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 12, 2005

Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. 

GORDON, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Mr. LARSON of 

Connecticut) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science 

A BILL

To enable the United States to maintain its leadership in 

aeronautics and aviation, improve its quality of life, protect the environment, support economic growth, and promote the security of the Nation by instituting an initiative to develop technologies that will enable future aircraft with significantly lower noise, emissions, and fuel 

consumption, to reinvigorate basic and applied research 

in aeronautics and aviation, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Aeronautics Research 

3 and Development Revitalization Act of 2005’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) It is in the national interest of the United 

7 States to maintain international leadership in aero8 nautics and aviation. 

9 (2) The United States is in danger of losing its 

10 leadership in aeronautics and aviation to inter11 national competitors. 

12 (3) Past Federal investments in aeronautics re13 search and development have benefited the economy 

14 and national security of the United States, and the 

15 quality of life of its citizens. 

16 (4) Future growth in aviation increasingly will 

17 be constrained by concerns related to aircraft noise, 

18 emissions, fuel consumption, and air transportation 

19 system congestion. 

20 (5) Current and projected levels of Federal in21 vestment in aeronautics research and development 

22 are not sufficient to address concerns related to the 

23 growth of aviation. 

24 (6) International competitors have recognized 

25 the importance of noise, emissions, fuel consump26 tion, and air transportation system congestion in 
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1 limiting the future growth of aviation, and have es2 tablished aggressive agendas for addressing each of 

3 those concerns. 

4 (7) An aggressive initiative by the Federal Gov5 ernment to develop technologies that would signifi6 cantly reduce aircraft noise, harmful emissions, and 

7 fuel consumption would benefit the United States 

8 by—

9 (A) improving the competitiveness of the 

10 United States aviation industry through the de11 velopment of new markets for aviation services 

12 and the development of superior aircraft for ex13 isting markets; 

14 (B) improving the quality of life for our 

15 citizens by drastically reducing the level of noise 

16 due to aircraft operations; 

17 (C) reducing the congestion of the air 

18 transportation system by allowing departures 

19 and arrivals at currently underutilized airports 

20 through the use of environmentally compatible 

21 aircraft; 

22 (D) reducing the rate at which fossil fuels 

23 are consumed; 
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1 (E) reducing the rate at which greenhouse 

2 gases and other harmful gases and particulates 

3 are added to the atmosphere by aircraft; and 

4 (F) reinvigorating the human capital in 

5 aeronautics and aviation by providing a set of 

6 extremely challenging and socially beneficial 

7 goals to the next generation of engineers and 

8 scientists. 

9 (8) Long-term progress in aeronautics and avia10 tion requires continued Federal investment in funda11 mental aeronautical research, aeronautical test facili12 ties, and maintenance of a skilled workforce at the 

13 Nation’s aeronautical research centers. 

14 (9) The Commission on the Future of the 

15 United States Aerospace Industry has recommended 

16 that ‘‘the Federal government significantly increase 

17 its investment in basic aerospace research, which en18 hances U.S. national security, enables breakthrough 

19 capabilities, and fosters an efficient, secure, and safe 

20 aerospace transportation system’’. 

21 (10) Maintenance of United States leadership 

22 in aeronautics and aviation will require the produc23 tive collaboration of the National Aeronautics and 

24 Space Administration, the Federal Aviation Admin-
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1 istration, the Department of Defense, the aviation 

2 industry, and the Nation’s universities. 

3 (11) It is in the interest of the United States 

4 to maintain a vigorous capability in basic and ap5 plied research and development of technologies re6 lated to rotorcraft and other runway-independent air 

7 vehicles. 

8 (12) Continued research is needed into the 

9 flight crew and controller training needed to accom10 modate new aircraft and air transportation system 

11 technologies and procedures. 

12 (13) Improvements to our understanding of 

13 convective weather phenomena and of aircraft wake 

14 turbulence would significantly improve the perform15 ance and safety of the Nation’s air transportation 

16 system. 

17 (14) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad18 ministration should continue to pursue research and 

19 development in hypersonics. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 For purposes of this Act—

22 (1) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 

23 has the meaning given that term by section 101 of 

24 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

25 1001); 
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1 (2) the term ‘‘NASA’’ means the National Aer2 onautics and Space Administration; and 

3 (3) the term ‘‘NASA Administrator’’ means the 

4 Administrator of NASA. 

5 TITLE I—NATIONAL POLICY FOR 

6 AERONAUTICS RESEARCH 

7 AND DEVELOPMENT 

8 SEC. 101. POLICY. 

9 It shall be the policy of the United States to reaffirm 

10 the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 and its 

11 identification of aeronautical research and development as 

12 a core mission of NASA. Further, it shall be the policy 

13 of the United States to promote aeronautical research and 

14 development that will expand the capacity, ensure the 

15 safety, and increase the efficiency of the Nation’s air 

16 transportation system, promote the security of the Nation, 

17 protect the environment, and retain the leadership of the 

18 United States in global aviation. 

19 TITLE II—NASA AERONAUTICS 

20 BREAKTHROUGH RESEARCH 

21 INITIATIVES 

22 SEC. 201. ENVIRONMENTAL AIRCRAFT RESEARCH AND DE23 VELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 

24 (a) OBJECTIVE.—The NASA Administrator shall es25 tablish an initiative with the objective of developing, and 
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1 demonstrating in a relevant environment, within 10 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, technologies to 

3 enable the following commercial aircraft performance 

4 characteristics: 

5 (1) NOISE.—Noise levels on takeoff and on air6 port approach and landing that do not exceed ambi7 ent noise levels in the absence of flight operations in 

8 the vicinity of airports from which such commercial 

9 aircraft would normally operate. 

10 (2) ENERGY CONSUMPTION.—Twenty-five per11 cent reduction in the energy required for medium to 

12 long range flights, compared to aircraft in commer13 cial service as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 This reduction may be achieved by a combination of 

15 improvements to—

16 (A) specific fuel consumption; 

17 (B) lift-to-drag ratio; and 

18 (C) structural weight fraction. 

19 (3) EMISSIONS.—Nitrogen oxides on take-off 

20 and landing that are reduced by 50 percent relative 

21 to aircraft in commercial service as of the date of 

22 enactment of this Act. 

23 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 270 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the NASA Admin25 istrator shall provide to Congress a plan for the implemen-
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1 tation of the initiative described in subsection (a). Such 

2 implementation plan shall include—

3 (1) technological roadmaps for achieving each 

4 of the performance characteristics specified in sub5 section (a); 

6 (2) an estimate of the 10-year funding profile 

7 required to achieve the objective specified in sub8 section (a); 

9 (3) a plan for carrying out a formal quantifica10 tion of the estimated costs and benefits of each tech11 nological option selected for development beyond the 

12 initial concept definition phase; and 

13 (4) a plan for transferring the technologies to 

14 industry, including the identification of requirements 

15 for technology demonstrations, as appropriate. 

16 (c) STUDY.—

17 (1) REQUIREMENT.—The NASA Administrator 

18 shall enter into an arrangement for the National Re19 search Council to conduct a study to identify and 

20 quantify new markets that would be created, as well 

21 as existing markets that would be expanded, by the 

22 incorporation of the technologies developed pursuant 

23 to this section into future commercial aircraft. The 

24 study shall identify whether any of the performance 

25 characteristics specified in subsection (a) would need 
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1 to be made more stringent in order to create new 

2 markets or expand existing markets. The National 

3 Research Council shall seek input from at least the 

4 aircraft manufacturing industry, academia, and the 

5 airlines in carrying out the study. 

6 (2) REPORT.—A report containing the results 

7 of the study conducted under paragraph (1) shall be 

8 provided to Congress not later than 18 months after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 202. CIVIL SUPERSONIC TRANSPORT RESEARCH AND 

11 DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 

12 (a) OBJECTIVE.—The NASA Administrator shall es13 tablish an initiative with the objective of developing, and 

14 demonstrating in a relevant environment, within 20 years 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, technologies to 

16 enable overland flight of supersonic civil transport aircraft 

17 with at least the following performance characteristics: 

18 (1) Mach number of at least 1.4. 

19 (2) Range of at least 4,000 nautical miles. 

20 (3) Payload of at least 24 passengers. 

21 (4) Noise levels on takeoff and on airport ap22 proach and landing that meet community noise 

23 standards in place at airports from which such com24 mercial supersonic aircraft would normally operate 
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1 at the time the aircraft would enter commercial serv2 ice. 

3 (5) Shaped sonic boom signatures sufficiently 

4 low to permit overland flight over populated areas. 

5 (6) Nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, and water 

6 vapor emissions consistent with regulations likely to 

7 be in effect at the time of this aircraft’s introduc8 tion. 

9 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 270 days 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the NASA Admin11 istrator shall provide to Congress a plan for the implemen12 tation of the initiative described in subsection (a). Such 

13 implementation plan shall include—

14 (1) technological roadmaps for achieving each 

15 of the performance characteristics specified in sub16 section (a); 

17 (2) an estimate of the 10-year funding profile 

18 required to achieve the objective specified in sub19 section (a); 

20 (3) a plan for carrying out a formal quantifica21 tion of the estimated costs and benefits of each tech22 nological option selected for development beyond the 

23 initial concept definition phase; 
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1 (4) a plan for transferring the technologies to 

2 industry, including the identification of requirements 

3 for technology demonstrations, as appropriate; 

4 (5) a plan for research to quantify, within 3 

5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

6 limits on sonic boom parameters, such as over7 pressure and rise time, that would be acceptable to 

8 the general public; and 

9 (6) a plan for adjusting the noise reduction re10 search and development activities as needed to ac11 commodate changes in community noise standards 

12 that may occur over the lifetime of the initiative. 

13 SEC. 203. ROTORCRAFT AND OTHER RUNWAY-INDE14 PENDENT AIR VEHICLES RESEARCH AND DE15 VELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 

16 (a) OBJECTIVE.—The NASA Administrator shall es17 tablish a rotorcraft and other runway-independent air ve18 hicles initiative with the objective of developing and dem19 onstrating in a relevant environment, within 10 years after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, technologies to enable 

21 significantly safer, quieter, and more environmentally 

22 compatible operation from a wider range of airports under 

23 a wider range of weather conditions than is the case for 

24 rotorcraft and other runway-independent air vehicles in 

25 service as of the date of enactment of this Act. 
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1 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 270 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the NASA Admin3 istrator shall provide a plan to the Congress for the imple4 mentation of the initiative described in subsection (a). The 

5 implementation plan shall include—

6 (1) a set of performance characteristics, devel7 oped in consultation with the National Research 

8 Council, that shall quantify the objectives specified 

9 in subsection (a); 

10 (2) technological roadmaps for achieving each 

11 of the performance characteristics developed under 

12 paragraph (1); 

13 (3) an estimate of the 10-year funding profile 

14 required to achieve the objective specified in sub15 section (a); 

16 (4) a plan for carrying out a formal quantifica17 tion of the estimated costs and benefits of each tech18 nological option selected for development beyond the 

19 initial concept definition phase; and 

20 (5) a plan for transferring the technologies to 

21 industry, including the identification of requirements 

22 for technology demonstrations, as appropriate. 

23 SEC. 204. REVIEW. 

24 The NASA Administrator shall enter into an ar25 rangement with the National Research Council for the re-
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1 view, within 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

2 Act, of the adequacy of the implementation plans provided 

3 under sections 201(b), 202(b), and 203(b) to achieve the 

4 objectives described in sections 201(a), 202(a), and 

5 203(a). In addition, the NASA Administrator shall enter 

6 into an arrangement with the National Research Council 

7 for the review, every 3 years subsequent to the initial re8 view under this section, of NASA’s progress in achieving 

9 the objectives described in sections 201(a), 202(a), and 

10 203(a), including recommendations for changes to 

11 NASA’s research and development program as needed, as 

12 well as recommendations for changes to the desired per13 formance characteristics as needed. The results of each 

14 review shall be provided to Congress within 30 days after 

15 completion of the review. 

16 TITLE III—OTHER NASA AERO17 NAUTICS RESEARCH AND DE18 VELOPMENT ACTIVITIES 

19 SEC. 301. FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY 

20 BASE PROGRAM. 

21 (a) OBJECTIVE.—In order to ensure that the Nation 

22 maintains needed capabilities in fundamental areas of 

23 aeronautical research, the NASA Administrator shall es24 tablish a program of long-term fundamental research in 
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1 aeronautical sciences and technologies that is not tied to 

2 specific development projects. 

3 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The NASA Administrator shall 

4 enter into an arrangement with the National Research 

5 Council for an assessment of the Nation’s future require6 ments for fundamental aeronautics research and whether 

7 the Nation will have a skilled research workforce and re8 search facilities commensurate with those requirements. 

9 The assessment shall include an identification of any pro10 jected gaps, and recommendations for what steps should 

11 be taken by the Federal Government to eliminate those 

12 gaps. 

13 (c) REPORT.—The NASA Administrator shall trans14 mit the assessment, along with NASA’s response to the 

15 assessment, to Congress not later than 2 years after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 302. AIRSPACE SYSTEMS RESEARCH. 

18 (a) OBJECTIVE.—The Airspace Systems Research 

19 program shall pursue research and development to enable 

20 revolutionary improvements to and modernization of the 

21 National Airspace System, as well as to enable the intro22 duction of new systems for vehicles that can take advan23 tage of an improved, modern air transportation system. 

24 (b) ALIGNMENT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the NASA Administrator 
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1 shall align the projects of the Airspace Systems Research 

2 program so that they directly support the objectives of the 

3 Joint Planning and Development Office’s Next Generation 

4 Air Transportation System Integrated Plan. 

5 SEC. 303. AVIATION SAFETY AND SECURITY RESEARCH. 

6 (a) OBJECTIVE.—The Aviation Safety and Security 

7 Research program shall pursue research and development 

8 activities that directly address the safety and security 

9 needs of the National Airspace System and the aircraft 

10 that fly in it. The program shall develop prevention, inter11 vention, and mitigation technologies aimed at causal, con12 tributory, or circumstantial factors of aviation accidents. 

13 (b) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

14 enactment of this Act, the NASA Administrator shall 

15 transmit to Congress a 5-year prioritized plan for the re16 search to be conducted within the Aviation Safety and Se17 curity Research program. The plan shall be aligned with 

18 the objectives of the Joint Planning and Development Of19 fice’s Next Generation Air Transportation System Inte20 grated Plan. 

21 SEC. 304. ZERO-EMISSIONS AIRCRAFT RESEARCH. 

22 (a) OBJECTIVE.—The NASA Administrator shall es23 tablish a zero-emissions aircraft research program whose 

24 objective shall be to develop and test concepts to enable 

25 a hydrogen fuel cell-powered aircraft that would have no 
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1 hydrocarbon or nitrogen oxide emissions into the environ2 ment. 

3 (b) APPROACH.—The NASA Administrator shall es4 tablish a program of competitively awarded grants avail5 able to teams of researchers that may include the partici6 pation of individuals from universities, industry, and gov7 ernment for the conduct of this research. 

8 SEC. 305. MARS AIRCRAFT RESEARCH. 

9 (a) OBJECTIVE.—The NASA Administrator shall es10 tablish a Mars Aircraft project whose objective shall be 

11 to develop and test concepts for an uncrewed aircraft that 

12 could operate for sustained periods in the atmosphere of 

13 Mars. 

14 (b) APPROACH.—The NASA Administrator shall es15 tablish a program of competitively awarded grants avail16 able to teams of researchers that may include the partici17 pation of individuals from universities, industry, and gov18 ernment for the conduct of this research. 

19 SEC. 306. HYPERSONICS RESEARCH. 

20 (a) OBJECTIVE.—The NASA Administrator shall es21 tablish a hypersonics research program whose objective 

22 shall be to explore the science and technology of 

23 hypersonic flight using air-breathing propulsion concepts, 

24 through a mix of theoretical work, basic and applied re-
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1 search, and development of flight research demonstration 

2 vehicles. 

3 (b) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

4 enactment of this Act, the NASA Administrator shall de5 velop a 10-year hypersonics research plan and shall have 

6 that plan reviewed by the National Research Council. The 

7 results of that review shall be provided to Congress. 

8 SEC. 307. NASA AERONAUTICS SCHOLARSHIPS. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The NASA Administrator 

10 shall establish a program of scholarships for full-time 

11 graduate students who are United States citizens and are 

12 enrolled in, or have been accepted by and have indicated 

13 their intention to enroll in, accredited Masters degree pro14 grams in aeronautical engineering at institutions of higher 

15 education. Each such scholarship shall cover the costs of 

16 room, board, tuition, and fees, and may be provided for 

17 a maximum of 2 years. 

18 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the NASA Admin20 istrator shall publish regulations governing the scholarship 

21 program under this section. 

22 (c) COOPERATIVE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.—Stu23 dents who have been awarded a scholarship under this sec24 tion shall have the opportunity for paid employment at 

25 one of the NASA Centers engaged in aeronautics research 
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1 and development during the summer prior to the first year 

2 of the student’s Masters program, and between the first 

3 and second year, if applicable. 

4 SEC. 308. NASA AERONAUTICAL TEST FACILITIES POLICY. 

5 The NASA Administrator shall establish a policy of 

6 charging users of NASA’s aeronautical test facilities for 

7 the costs associated with their tests, but shall not seek 

8 to recover the full costs of the operation of those facilities 

9 from the users. The NASA Administrator shall establish 

10 a core funding account that shall be used to maintain the 

11 operation and viability of NASA’s aeronautical test facili12 ties during periods of low utilization. The NASA Adminis13 trator shall not close or mothball any aeronautical test fa14 cilities identified in the 2003 independent assessment by 

15 the RAND Corporation, entitled ‘‘Wind Tunnel and Pro16 pulsion Test Facilities: An Assessment of NASA’s Capa17 bilities to Serve National Needs’’ as being part of the min18 imum set of those facilities necessary to retain and man19 age to serve national needs until such time as the Office 

20 of Science and Technology Policy of the Executive Office 

21 of the President has commissioned and received the results 

22 of an independent review of the Nation’s long term stra23 tegic needs for aeronautical test facilities and transmitted 

24 the results of that review to Congress. 
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1 SEC. 309. AVIATION WEATHER RESEARCH. 

2 The NASA Administrator shall carry out a program 

3 of collaborative research with the National Oceanic and 

4 Atmospheric Administration on convective weather events, 

5 with the goal of significantly improving the reliability of 

6 2-hour to 6-hour aviation weather forecasts. 

7 SEC. 310. ASSESSMENT OF WAKE TURBULENCE RESEARCH 

8 AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

9 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The NASA Administrator shall 

10 enter into an arrangement with the National Research 

11 Council for an assessment of Federal wake turbulence re12 search and development programs. The assessment shall 

13 address at least the following questions: 

14 (1) Are the Federal research and development 

15 goals and objectives well defined? 

16 (2) Are there any deficiencies in the Federal re17 search and development goals and objectives? 

18 (3) What roles should be played by each of the 

19 relevant Federal agencies, such as NASA, the Fed20 eral Aviation Administration, and the National Oce21 anic and Atmospheric Administration, in wake tur22 bulence research and development? 

23 (b) REPORT.—A report containing the results of the 

24 assessment conducted pursuant to subsection (a) shall be 

25 provided to Congress not later than 1 year after the date 

26 of enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 311. UNIVERSITY-BASED CENTERS FOR RESEARCH ON 

2 AVIATION TRAINING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The NASA Administrator shall 

4 award grants to institutions of higher education (or con5 sortia thereof) to establish one or more Centers for Re6 search on Aviation Training. 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Centers shall be 

8 to investigate the impact of new technologies and proce9 dures, particularly those related to the aircraft flight deck 

10 and to the air traffic management functions, on training 

11 requirements for pilots and air traffic controllers. 

12 (c) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher edu13 cation (or a consortium of such institutions) seeking fund14 ing under this section shall submit an application to the 

15 NASA Administrator at such time, in such manner, and 

16 containing such information as the NASA Administrator 

17 may require, including, at a minimum, a 5-year research 

18 plan. 

19 (d) AWARD DURATION.—An award made by the 

20 NASA Administrator under this section shall be for a pe21 riod of 5 years and may be renewed on the basis of—

22 (1) satisfactory performance in meeting the 

23 goals of the research plan proposed by the Center in 

24 its application under subsection (c); and 

25 (2) other requirements as specified by the 

26 NASA Administrator. 
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1 TITLE IV—AUTHORIZATION OF 

2 APPROPRIATIONS 

3 SEC. 401. TOTAL AUTHORIZATIONS. 

4 The total amounts authorized to be appropriated for 

5 aeronautics research, development, and demonstration ac6 tivities at NASA, including the amounts authorized by this 

7 Act, are—

8 (1) $1,057,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

9 (2) $1,089,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

10 (3) $1,121,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

11 (4) $1,155,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

12 (5) $1,190,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.

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