National Aeronautics and Space Administration

www.nasa.gov

AOSP Newsletter

Airspace Operations and Safety Program (AOSP)

JUL-SEP 2018 | Quarter 4

ATD-2 Conducts Training for DFW 

Ramp Controllers

6

NASA-FAA Technology Transfer 

Ceremony

16
2 AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018

AOSP IN THE NEWS

Are flying cars ready 

for take-off? No, but 

Rep. Lamar Smith is

Fedscoop (7/24) reports that 

“despite some exciting developments 

— like Uber’s partnership with 

NASA for flying taxis or the 

company Terrafugia’s promise that 

its flying cars will be on the market 

next year — there’s still a lot to be 

worked out.” In their testimonies, 

witnesses from Uber, Terrafugia, 

NASA, Bell and the Georgia 

Institute of Technology mentioned 

the many challenges that must be 

addressed before said “take-off” — 

safety, noise, air traffic control and 

management for dense urban areas.

NASA engineer, Sammies 

finalist seeing how drones 

navigate US airspace

1050 AM (8/17) reports “some 

700,000 drones, maybe a million 

will be humming along in the 

skies in a few years.” How to 

make sure they operate in a safe 

manner is the concern of Parimal 

Kopardekar, Senior Technologist 

for Air Transportation Systems at 

NASA’s Ames Research Center. He’s 

been leading the effort at the agency 

to engineer a whole new air traffic 

management approach, and he is 

a finalist in this year’s Service to 

America Medals Program.

Soldiers May Soon Be Hailing 

a Taxi to the Frontlines (Again)

Nextgov (8/21) reports “while the 

Army and Uber are developing the 

hardware, a separate partnership 

between Uber and NASA is looking 

at the technology that will be 

required to keep all those new flying 

vehicles from crashing into each 

other, or interfering with more 

traditional aircraft that are already 

packing the skies. That is the goal of 

NASA’s Urban Air Mobility Project, 

which may eventually interface with 

the Army program as both advance, 

especially since Uber is a partner in 

both efforts.”

Automakers’ soaring 

ambitions for flying cars 

start to take shape

Automotive News Europe (9/02) 

cites in early May, the company 

announced at its second annual 

Uber Elevate summit that it was 

partnering with none other than 

the U.S. National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration (NASA) 

to advance its goals. “Urban air 

mobility could revolutionize the 

way people and cargo move in our 

cities and fundamentally change 

our lifestyle much like smartphones 

have,” Jaiwon Shin, an associate 

administrator at NASA, said after 

creating the agency’s first ever 

agreement specifically focused on 

researching the technology.

Are flying taxis about to 

become a reality?

CNN (9/10) reports developing 

airspace management models is 

where Uber’s expertise is still green. 

NASA is more than qualified in this 

arena and the agency has co-signed 

two Space Act Agreements with 

Uber to develop air transportation 

systems in urban areas.

Domesticating Drones

Bloomberg Quint (9/18) reports 

NASA is working on the framework 

for a low-altitude air-traffic system; 

some elements, such as the FAA’s 

capability to grant rapid approvals 

for flights near airports, are already 

in place. After complaints from 

companies that regulations were 

hindering innovation, the U.S. 

granted waivers in May at 10 

locations to allow tests for uses 

ranging from inspecting hard-toreach infrastructure to delivering 

defibrillators to heart-attack victims.

How simulations ease 

drone integration

GCN.com (9/19) reports that 

NASA is one of the many agencies 

at the federal, state and local levels 

contributing to the effort. The space 

agency has been using computer 

simulations to understand what 

this UAS Traffic Management 

system will look like and the rules 

and policies that will govern it, 

according to Joseph Rios, NASA’s 

chief engineer for its UTM effort.
AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018 3

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

Data Collection Runs 

Completed in First UAM 

Human-in-the-Loop 

Airspace Simulation

POC: SAVVY VERMA

This past quarter marked the first 

successful human-in-the-loop Urban 

Air Mobility (UAM) simulation 

at the Air Traffic Control (ATC) 

Simulation Laboratory at Ames 

Research Center in California. The 

objective of the simulation was to 

study candidate procedures and 

routes for flying UAM traffic in 

Class B and D airspace in the DallasFort Worth (DFW) terminal area, as 

well as to evaluate the corresponding 

impact of the UAM traffic levels 

on controller workload. Prior to 

data collection runs, shakedown 

simulation runs were conducted 

July 30–August 2, in preparation 

for the data collection runs that 

were planned for mid September. 

The Air Traffic Management–

eXploration (ATM-X) Testbed was 

used to generate the simulation 

scenarios. Scenarios were executed 

with seven controller and 13 pseudopilot stations. Three levels of UAM 

traffic density (high, medium, and 

low) were represented by vehicles 

temporally separated en route by 45 

seconds, 60 seconds, and 90 seconds, 

respectively, on average. Three 

different procedures (conditions) 

were also tested, using helicopter 

routes in the DFW area: 1) current 

helicopter routes, 2) current routes 

with Letters of Agreement (LOA) 

that vertically separated the routes 

and codified the routes with 

reduced verbal communications, 

and 3) modified routes with 

LOA. Participating controllers and 

confederates managed UAM traffic 

as well as conventional instrument 

flight rules and visual flight rules 

traffic around DFW, Dallas Love 

Field, and Addison Airport airspaces. 

Both objective and subjective data 

were collected during the shakedown 

that included actual separation 

between flights, throughput, 

workload, and usability. Data analysis 

and results from the shakedown runs 

were used to improve the simulation 

and prepare for the final data 

collection runs the following month. 

Data collection runs were conducted 

on September 14. Data analysis is 

currently underway, and the feedback 

received will be used to inform future 

UAM research. The UAM research is 

a major focus of the ATM-X project.

ATD-2 Implements 

Prototype TFDM Terminal 

Publication Feed

POC: AL CAPPS

On July 7, NASA and the FAA 

collaborated to provide a prototype 

Terminal Flight Data Management 

(TFDM) Terminal Publication 

(TTP) feed via the System-Wide 

Information Management Research 

and Development network as 

part of the Airspace Technology 

Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) Field 

Demonstration sub-project. The 

primary functionality of the TTP 

service is to distribute airport flight 

and flow data from the surface 

system to National Airspace System 

(NAS) consumers. This includes 

UAM-X1 Data Collections Runs in the ATC Simulation Laboratory.
4 AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

information pertinent to enabling 

surface metering, overhead stream 

scheduling, and knowledge about 

airport configuration and resource 

utilization. TTP transmits data 

to consumers through the NAS 

Enterprise Messaging Service using 

the publish-subscribe Message 

Exchange Pattern. The ATD-2 

implementation of TTP is based on 

TFDM specifications, incorporating 

requirements from builds 1 and 2. 

Several consumers have expressed 

interest in TTP thus far, and have 

begun the onboarding process. 

ATD-2 is currently publishing 

data for Charlotte Douglas 

International Airport and will 

soon add the Dallas-Fort Worth 

area. NASA is hopeful that early 

availability of TTP will help foster 

an environment of innovation to 

utilize this new information. 

Initial Technical 

Interchange Meeting with 

Southwest Airlines

POC: BRYAN BARMORE

On July 10–11, NASA researchers 

and managers from Ames Research 

Center in California, Langley 

Research Center in Virginia, 

and Glenn Research Center in 

Cleveland traveled to Dallas, Texas 

to tour Southwest Airlines (SWA) 

facilities and discuss research 

plans and potential opportunities 

for collaboration in support of 

the Air Traffic Management–

eXploration and System Wide 

Safety projects. NASA attendees 

exchanged detailed information 

with SWA staff members involved 

in flight operations, in-flight (cabin 

crew) operations, and network 

operations. Additionally, NASA 

attendees toured SWA’s Leadership 

Education Aircrew Development 

Center, technology (maintenance) 

operations facility, ground operations 

facilities at Dallas Love Field, and 

the Southwest Airlines University 

training complex. To further the 

mission of SWA’s Principal Scientist 

of Human Performance—that is, 

to “increase the potential of success 

through the effective utilization of 

human factors and ergonomics to 

optimize human performance at 

every level and in every aspect of 

the operation”—Langley will host 

SWA representatives sometime in the 

September–October timeframe to 

provide facility tours and continue 

ongoing technical discussions. 

Meeting with Aerospace 

Industries Association 

POC: PARIMAL KOPARDEKAR

Dr. Parimal Kopardekar, Senior 

Technologist for Air Transportation 

at Ames Research Center in 

California, was invited by the 

Aerospace Industries Association 

(AIA) to a meeting July 11–12, 

focused on high-altitude (60,000 

feet and above) operations and 

the use of the Unmanned Aircraft 

System Traffic Management (UTM) 

construct. Industry plans for highaltitude airspace operations and 

the UTM construct’s applicability 

to those operations were discussed, 

including operator use cases and the 

adoption of UTM for cooperative 

airspace operations. Along with FAA 

Chief Scientist Steve Bradford, 

Dr. Kopardekar discussed offnominal and contingency situations 

that operators will have to consider, 

and how UTM’s cooperative, intent 

sharing, data exchange protocol 

would support these operations. 

This extension of the UTM 

construct to high-altitude operations 

is a strong indicator of applicability 

and movement towards UTMinspired air traffic management. 

The meeting was also attended by 

representatives from Google Loon 

and Wing, Facebook, Lockheed 

Martin, Northrup Grumman, 

Airbus, Boom, and International 

Civil Aviation Organization 

members. The FAA and NASA 

will continue to collaborate on 

the high-altitude UTM topic. 

Smart Buildings Briefing 

POC: YURI GAWDIAK

Representatives from the National 

Telecommunications and 

Information Administration and 

the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology briefed the NASA 

Digital Transformation team, as well 

as AOSP staff, on a Smart Cities 

Super Cluster focused on smart 

buildings, at NASA headquarters 

in Washington, DC, on July 11. 

The briefing described smart 

building standards, guidelines, and 

architecture and infrastructure 
AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018 5

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

services applicable in three areas: 

smart centers, smart airports, and 

smart skyports. As a follow-on 

activity, the team met on July 30 

to coordinate planning of the 

Smart Cities/Buildings community 

support to the NASA ARMD 

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Grand 

Challenge. The focus of the Smart 

Cities/Buildings community will 

be on the land-side of the vertiport/

skyport technologies in order to 

enhance UAM operations and 

integration into other municipal 

systems and initiatives.

Discussions with Darrell 

Pennington, ALPA

POC: BRYAN BARMORE AND MIKE MADSON

Leadership from the Air Traffic 

Management–eXploration 

(ATM-X) and System Wide Safety 

(SWS) projects met with Darrell 

Pennington, Senior Engineer in 

the Engineering and Air Safety 

Department at the Air Line Pilots 

Association (ALPA), at Langley 

Research Center in Virginia, on 

July 13. NASA provided overview 

briefings of the ATM-X and SWS 

projects. Mr. Pennington offered 

to assist with future interactions 

between the projects and ALPA.

ARMD Monthly Technical 

Seminar on Integrated 

Demand Management

POC: NANCY SMITH

Nancy Smith at Ames Research 

Center in California, Principal 

Investigator for the Integrated 

Demand Management (IDM) 

sub-project within the Air Traffic 

Management–eXploration project, 

provided a briefing at the ARMD 

Monthly Technical Seminar, on 

July 18, which is broadcasted to all 

ARMD Centers. In her briefing, she 

described the IDM concept–which 

addresses demand and capacity 

imbalances through coordinated 

use of the Traffic Flow Management 

System and Time-Based Flow 

Management system, and shared 

results from a recent workshop 

where airline representatives engaged 

in a simulation demonstration of 

IDM operations to explore the 

benefits of utilizing a collaborative 

trajectory options program. 

Risk Management Workshop 

POC: YURI GAWDIAK

On July 23, Yuri Gawdiak, Associate 

Program Director for AOSP, 

attended the Risk Management 

Workshop at Georgia Tech Research 

Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, on 

behalf of the program and as a 

representative of the ARMD Urban 

Air Mobility (UAM) Coordination 

and Assessment Team. Hosted by the 

Decision and Control Laboratory 

at Georgia Tech, the goal was to 

understand and shape the ecosystem 

encompassing UAM operations, 

regulations, insurance, and legal 

aspects by considering a range of key 

operational and policy questions. 

ATM-X Visit to UNC at Chapel 

Hill and U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency 

POC: WILLIAM CHAN AND KEE PALOPO

On July 25, NASA Air Traffic 

Management–eXploration 

(ATM-X) representatives traveled 

to the University of North Carolina 

(UNC) at Chapel Hill in order to 

discuss the Testbed community 

support model. The Testbed is 

driving towards moving into a more 

community supported system such 

as the Community Modeling and 

Analysis System (CMAS) Center at 

UNC. The CMAS Center is partially 

funded by the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) to maintain 

and support its software for a 

global community. ATM-X project 

team members William Chan, Kee 

Palopo, and James Murphy visited 

the CMAS Center and EPA to gain 

insight into how the Center manages 

the operations of the EPA software, 

which is analogous to transitioning 

the ATM-X Testbed to the external 

community. In investigating 

achievement of this goal, the team 

found that the EPA developed 

Husni Idris, Hyo-San Yoo, Connie Brasil, Nancy 

Smith, Paul Lee, and William Chan (seated left to 

right) get ready to present IDM to other ARMD 

centers for the monthly ARMD Technical Seminar.
6 AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

environmental software that is now 

supported by the CMAS Center who 

distributes the software, as well as 

holds regular conferences showcasing 

how the software was used and 

improved by the community. The 

team learned how the EPA achieved 

this collaboration, the involvement 

the government still has with their 

environmental software, and lessons 

learned to make governmentdeveloped software more community 

owned and maintained. The CMAS 

Center provides software downloads 

through their website, training, 

software tests, and conferences, and 

helps users to understand and use 

the software. Using this information, 

the ATM-X team can develop 

approaches on how to move the 

Testbed towards a better suited 

community-supported system. The 

ATM-X Testbed will be adopting 

many of these same practices. 

Trajectory Based Operations 

Technical Exchange Meeting

POC: WILLIAM CHAN AND KEVIN WITZBERGER

Representatives from the Air Traffic 

Management–eXploration and 

Airspace Technology Demonstration 

(ATD) projects met at the FAA’s 

William J. Hughes Technical Center 

(FAATC) for the 3rd Trajectory 

Based Operations (TBO) Technical 

Exchange Meeting (TEM), from 

July 25–27. Boeing and MITRE 

were also in attendance. The first 

day was a series of presentations by 

NASA, Boeing, FAA, and MITRE. 

The second day was a series of lab 

tours. FAA presented their TBO 

storyboard. They also described 

how their labs in the Tech Center 

are integrated, presented a Traffic 

Flow Management System (TFMS) 

estimated time of arrival analysis, 

and described the Florida Testbed, 

which is part of the FAATC. Boeing 

presented their perspectives on TBO, 

Model Based Systems Engineering, 

and the ecoDemonstrator program. 

NASA discussed its role in the 

ecoDemonstrator, and scenarios 

that have been developed in 

conjunction with Boeing and 

the FAATC. MITRE presented 

their role in evaluating Terminal 

Sequence and Spacing (TSAS). The 

lab tours included the FAA’s TSAS 

and ATD evaluation labs, weather 

integration lab, TFMS, and Flight 

Management System (FMS) lab. 

It was a good meeting in which 

the team was able to interact with 

ecoDemonstrator colleagues and see 

the FMS systems the FAA are using 

in the ecoDemonstrator activity. 

The next TEM is planned to be at 

Ames Research Center in California, 

with dates to be identified. 

ATD-2 Conducts Training 

for DFW Ramp Controllers 

POC: LINDSAY STEVENS

From July 30–August 1, the Airspace 

Technology Demonstration 2 

(ATD-2) team provided training 

to the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) 

ramp controllers on ATD-2’s Ramp 

Traffic Console (RTC) and Surface 

ATD-2 Surface Management Display at FAA WJHTC.
AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018 7

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

Trajectory Based Operations (STBO) 

Client. Thirteen controllers from 

the D and E DFW ramp towers 

participated in one of five offered 

training sessions. During each 

session, controllers were guided 

through interactions with the 

RTC and STBO Client interfaces 

and engaged with features and 

data exchange between the two 

tools. Ramp controllers had the 

opportunity to provide feedback and 

discuss feature requests. Outcomes 

of the ramp training, beyond 

proficiency on the ATD-2 systems, 

included increased excitement 

about using the tools. The RTC 

is expected to be in daily use in 

the DFW ramp tower operational 

areas beginning August 6. 

ATD-2 Hosts Chicago 

Airport Executives

POC: AL CAPPS

On July 31, the Airspace 

Technology Demonstration 2 

(ATD-2) team hosted a meeting 

with the Chief Operating Officer 

of Chicago Department of Aviation 

and executives from American 

Airlines Chicago Operations. The 

ATD-2 team briefed the Integrated 

Arrival/Departure/Surface (IADS) 

concept, its currently deployed 

capability, and future expected 

capability. Live-data shadow 

displays from the ATD-2 IADS 

system deployed at Charlotte 

Douglas International Airport 

were used to demonstrate several 

capabilities, such as data exchange 

and integration, overhead stream 

scheduling, and surface metering. 

The Chicago visitors shared 

information with the ATD-2 team 

on airport and airspace challenges 

they commonly face, and the 

ATD-2 team shared information 

on how future capabilities may 

assist some of these challenges.

Alaska Airlines Dispatcher 

visits NASCENT Team at Ames

POC: KARL BILIMORIA

Mr. Alek Mead, a Lead Dispatcher 

at Alaska Airlines, along with three 

summer interns, visited the Ames 

Research Center in California on 

July 31 to meet with the National 

Airspace System Constraint 

Evaluation and Notification Tool 

(NASCENT) team. Alaska Airlines 

is NASA’s industry partner for the 

Multi-Agent Air/Ground Integrated 

Coordination (MAAGIC) effort. 

The Alaska Airlines team was briefed 

on NASCENT, and then observed 

a MAAGIC flight test which 

featured NASCENT software for 

dispatchers running on a computer 

at Ames communicating with 

the Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) 

software for pilots running on 

NASA’s HU-25 aircraft operating 

from Langley airfield. The flight 

test exercised many capabilities 

of TAP and NASCENT, as 

well as the communication and 

information-sharing capabilities that 

MAAGIC provides for air/ground 

integration. Later, Alek spent some 

time exercising NASCENT with 

a live traffic and weather data feed, 

and evaluated several time-saving 

advisories for Alaska Airlines 

flights. He provided some very 

positive feedback about NASCENT 

and MAAGIC capabilities.

ATM Background and NASA 

Investment Justification Video

POC: JOSEPH DAVIS

On August 1, Crown Consulting 

Inc. delivered an educational video 

to AOSP. The video conveys the 

historic role that NASA has played 

in Air Traffic Management (ATM) 

research and development, the 

impacts ATM has had on the 

current systems, and the current and 

Executives from American Airlines and Chicago 

Department of Aviation briefed on ATD-2 concepts 

at NTX. 

Alaska Airlines team interacting with ATD-3 tools.
8 AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

future research and development 

endeavors to revolutionize the 

National Airspace System. The video 

is targeted for ARMD stakeholders, 

as read-ahead or leave-behind 

material, as well as online web 

material for public consumption.

Academy Students Present 

Progress on Mixed Reality 

UAM Simulator Prototype

POC: KELLIE KENNEDY

The 2018 NASA Academy, led 

by Liz Ward, was a 13-member 

multidisciplinary team of students 

from multiple universities. Their 

project challenge (provided by 

Kellie Kennedy, Neil O’Connor, 

and Nelson Guerreiro, each from 

the Langley Research Center in 

Virginia) was to develop an Urban 

Air Mobility (UAM) concept vehicle 

for use in a mixed reality simulator. 

A mixed reality system combines 

virtual reality with physical objects 

co-located in the real world. This 

task required developing the desired 

virtual environment, a unique 

vehicle concept, and physical 

components to facilitate human 

interaction. The students presented 

their final concept development 

efforts towards assembling a 

functional UAM simulator 

prototype on August 2 in the Pearl 

Young Theater, and received praise 

for their work. This system will 

continue in development to enable 

near-future rapid-prototype testing 

of UAM concepts agency-wide.

Crown Hosts ATM-X 

Technology Convergence 

Opportunities

POC: WILLIAM CHAN

On August 3, Crown Consulting 

Inc. hosted a meeting to identify 

opportunities for Air Traffic 

management–eXploration 

(ATM-X) Technology Convergence. 

In particular, the meeting explored 

the potential for infusion of 

technologies to enable the air 

traffic management system beyond 

2025 being defined by NASA’s 

ATM-X project. The meeting 

also provided recommendations 

for further exploration of selected 

candidate technologies, with 

a focus on definition of the 

system architecture for the 

ATM-X concept. Subject matter 

experts from Quid, CPLANE.

ai, Momenta Partners, QxBranch, 

and Senior Talent International 

discussed their technologies 

and how they could inform 

architecture concepts for ATM-X.

FAA/NASA Quarterly Meeting 

POC: MIKE MADSON

From August 7–8, FAA and NASA 

representatives held a quarterly 

meeting at the Ames Research Center 

in California to discuss progress 

on the various AOSP projects 

including Airspace Technology 

Demonstration (ATD), Air Traffic 

Management–eXploration (ATM-X), 

and Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

Traffic Management (UTM) research. 

The first day covered statuses on 

the ATD-2 and ATD-3 technical 

challenges, followed by the ATM-X 

project. The following day focused 

on the UTM project, including 

technology transfers and the joint 

FAA/NASA UTM pilot program, 

which included presentations from 

both NASA and the FAA. The next 

meeting is tentatively scheduled 

for the first week of December. 

Integrated UTM/D-NET 

Capabilities Demonstrated 

at JAXA Research Facility

POC: MARCUS JOHNSON AND JEFF HOMOLA

On August 8, researchers from 

NASA and the Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency (JAXA) have 

been collaborating to enable the 

incorporation of unmanned air assets 

into disaster response situations. 

This collaboration has involved a 

concentrated effort in integrating 

NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

(UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) 

technologies and approach with 

JAXA’s fielded Disaster Relief Aircraft 

Information Sharing Network 

(D-NET) used for the management 

and optimization of manned aircraft 

response and asset allocation in a 

disaster. The current state of this 

integration effort was presented 

to Dr. Jaiwon Shin, Associate 

Administrator for ARMD, and 

Mr. Akbar Sultan, AOSP Program 

Director, as part of their visit to 

JAXA to meet with researchers and 
AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018 9

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

management in Tokyo, Japan. For 

the demonstration, operation plans 

for UAS flights were developed and 

exchanged between the UTM and 

D-NET systems with visualizations 

provided of the operational areas 

and real-time position updates 

of a simulated UAS flight. The 

integration and exchange of data 

with associated visualization will 

continue development as part of 

preparations for participation in a 

large-scale, national level disaster 

drill planned for October 2018.

NASA ATD-2 and Charlotte 

Field Demo Partners Host 

FAA Program Managers

POC: AL CAPPS

On August 10, Airspace Technology 

Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) Field 

Demo Partners from the FAA’s 

Charlotte Air Traffic Control Facility 

and American Airlines’ Control 

Center (i.e., ramp control facility) 

joined with NASA personnel 

to host visitors from the FAA’s 

Program Management Organization 

(PMO). The PMO group contains 

the managers of the major systems 

within the National Airspace System 

including air traffic management 

decision support systems. The 

visit began at Charlotte with a 

briefing from the National Air 

Traffic Controllers Association 

representative for ATD-2. The 

group then observed operations 

and use of ATD-2 equipment in 

the air traffic control tower and the 

Terminal Radar Approach Control 

Center. The group then transitioned 

to the American Airlines’ Control 

Center to observe surface departure 

metering and obtain a briefing on 

the ramp traffic console from the 

ramp manager. The group finished 

their visit with a briefing on the 

concept, benefits, and next steps 

for the ATD-2 project. This visit 

provided an opportunity for the 

PMO group to see the collaborative 

nature of operations in Charlotte 

and current day operational ATD-2 

usage. This site visit afforded a 

vigorous exchange of ideas and 

information by all parties involved. 

NASA SWS Researchers 

Participate in JPL Assurance 

of Autonomy Working Meeting

POC: GUILLAUME BRAT

On August 14, Martin Feather (from 

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory) 

organized a Working Meeting on 

Assurance of Autonomy for Robotic 

Space Missions. This meeting was 

attended by Mallory Graydon (from 

Langley Research Center in Virginia) 

and Guillaume Brat (from Ames 

Research Center in California) of 

the System Wide Safety (SWS) 

project. Other attendees included 

NASA delegates from Ames, the 

Armstrong Flight Research Center 

in California, the Katherine Johnson 

IV&V Facility, as well as delegates 

from Japan Aerospace Exploration 

Agency, industry, and academia. 

Participants recounted the nature, 

purpose, and value of autonomous 

behavior in space applications, 

including rovers for planetary 

exploration and satellites built to 

repair and maintain other satellites. 

These applications are analogous 

to currently-proposed autonomous 

aerial vehicle missions on Earth. 

Group discussions identified 

challenges for the assurance of such 

Visitors from the FAA’s program management organization at Charlotte air traffic facility. systems and techniques that have 
10 AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

been used to address these challenges, 

such as the use of model checking to 

verify that dynamic scheduling rule 

sets satisfy basic safety properties. 

Follow-up efforts will create a 

repository to share knowledge 

within the group between experts in 

artificial intelligence, verification and 

validation techniques, application 

engineers, and independent assessors. 

NASA SWS Hosts AFRL and 

Partners for the Summer 

of Collaboration

POC: MISTY DAVIES

On August 14–15, Air Force 

Research Laboratory (AFRL) 

researchers and their partners met 

at the Ames Research Center in 

California with affiliated NASA 

researchers to discuss the results 

and future goals of the NASAAFRL Summer of Collaboration. 

The Summer of Collaboration 

is a follow-on to AFRL’s 2017 

Summer of Innovation. The 

goal of both summer programs 

was to explore techniques for 

the validation, verification, and 

certification of autonomous flight 

vehicles and ground systems. 

During this summer, NASA and 

AFRL researchers explored and 

refined requirements development, 

automated analysis, and statistical 

techniques for the assurance of 

autonomy. As part of the meeting, 

NASA and AFRL researchers 

and project managers discussed 

the most promising directions 

for continued collaboration. 

NASA Representatives 

Attend the Aircraft Cyber 

Threat Working Group 

POC: PAUL NELSON

From August 14–16, Paul Nelson, 

AOSP Integration Manager for 

Cybersecurity and Communications, 

along with Jamal Quinnert, Aircraft 

Projects Information System 

Security Officer at the Armstrong 

Flight Research Center in California, 

participated in the Aircraft Cyber 

Threat Working Group (ACTWG). 

The engagement was held at the 

National Air and Space Intelligence 

Center at Wright-Patterson Air 

Force Base. The ACTWG is a 

semi-annual meeting comprised 

of Department of Defense, 

Department of Homeland Security, 

FAA, NASA, and prime contractors. 

ATM-X Team Attends 

ecoDemonstrator Meeting 

with Boeing and FAA 

POC: WILLIAM CHAN

On August 15, Air Traffic 

Management–eXploration 

(ATM-X) team members met in 

Seattle, Washington with FAA’s 

William J. Hughes Technical Center 

and Boeing staff to further develop 

the ecoDemonstrator 2019 activity. 

This effort will be a joint NASA, 

Boeing, and FAA activity. The 

meeting included demonstrations 

of the Boeing B787 test bench and 

their Electronic Flight Bag test and 

deployment facility. The team also 

discussed the three test scenarios 

for the 2019 activity which will 

facilitate future discussions.

AOSP Center Visits to 

Aeronautics Research Centers 

POC: JOSEPH DAVIS

This past quarter, the AOSP office 

conducted center visits to three of 

the four aeronautics research centers.

On August 17, the AOSP office 

visited the Langley Research Center 

in Virginia. Akbar Sultan, AOSP 

Program Director, met with center 

and organization management, 

toured labs and test sites for matured 

research efforts, and hosted a town 

hall meeting with NASA researchers 

supporting AOSP. The visit allowed 

insight into ongoing and planned 

activities as well as discussion among 

AOSP researchers and program/

project leadership staff. The next visit 

was on September 4, in which the 

AOSP Program Director, Akbar Sultan, along with 

Langley project leadership and staff on a Launchpad 

for autonomous drone testing within the System 

Wide Safety project.
AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018 11

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

office visited Glenn Research Center 

in Cleveland. Sultan hosted another 

town hall meeting with NASA 

researchers and personnel supporting 

AOSP. Also included in the visit 

were focused meetings with center 

and organization management, as 

well as tours and discussions around 

AOSP Convergent Aeronautics 

Solutions Project 2018 Round II 

and 2019 Round III opportunities. 

On September 11, the office visited 

Ames Research Center in California 

and again hosted a center town hall 

for the resident staff in the Space 

Science Auditorium. Sultan presented 

a brief talk about AOSP and had a 

question-and-answer session from the 

audience after the town hall. A fourth 

visit to Armstrong Flight Research 

Center in California, planned for 

September 13, had to be postponed 

due to inclement weather on the east 

coast following a hurricane affecting 

the mid-Atlantic region, and will 

be rescheduled at another time. 

ATD-2 Briefs Southwest 

Data Science Community

POC: AL CAPPS

On August 21, six members 

of the Airspace Technology 

Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) team 

presented to the Southwest Airlines 

data science community at the 

Southwest Airlines headquarters 

in Dallas, Texas. The briefing 

focused on the data being utilized 

in the ATD-2 system, the analysis 

products frequently used by 

ATD-2 researchers, machine 

learning techniques used in 

taxi time estimation, surface 

metering foundational concepts 

Akbar Sultan hosts a town hall meeting for resident 

staff at Ames.

Akbar Sultan, AOSP Program Director, viewing the Conformal Lightweight Antenna Structures for 

Aeronautical Communication Technologies (CLAS-ACT) project while touring Convergent Aeronautics 

Solutions Projects during his visit to Glenn.
12 AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

consistent with Terminal Flight 

Data Management, benchmarking 

performance of the operational 

system in Charlotte, and a 

benefits case for using Trajectory 

Options Sets in the North Texas 

environment. The briefing was 

well received and the community 

posed a number of questions to the 

ATD-2 panel. After the briefing, 

the ATD-2 team then met with 

leaders of several business units 

within Southwest Airlines to discuss 

potential applicability of SystemWide Information Management 

related data within the Southwest 

Airlines operational environment. 

ATM-X Team Meets 

with German Aerospace 

Center to Further 

Collaboration Agreement

POC: WILLIAM CHAN

From August 21–23, Air Traffic 

Management–eXploration (ATM-X) 

team members met with the German 

Aerospace Center (DLR) at their 

facility in Braunschweig, Germany 

to further develop the technical 

plans of the DLR collaboration 

agreement. The meeting included 

tours of DLR’s research facilities, 

such as the control tower and 

generic flight simulators. The joint 

DLR-NASA team was able to 

refine the research topics in both 

traditional and Urban Air Mobility 

research areas. One action item is 

to further develop the agreed upon 

topics. The team is aiming to finalize 

the technical work by the first 

quarter of FY19 for program review. 

MITRE UAS Automation 

Workshop

POC: JOHN KOELLING

John Koelling, Project Manager 

for the System Wide Safety 

project, attended an Unmanned 

Aircraft System (UAS) Automation 

Certification Workshop, held 

at the MITRE Corporation in 

McLean, Virginia, from 

August 21–23. Presentations 

were made by representatives 

from MITRE, FAA, and multiple 

members of industry. Breakout 

groups included (1) Certification 

of Automation; (2) Automation 

Technology Maturity/Readiness; 

(3) Operational Integration 

Challenges; and (4) Human Machine 

Teaming/Trust in Automation. 

ATD-2 Demo to NASA 

Administrator and NAC 

Aero Committee

POC: LINDSAY STEVENS

On August 28 and 30, the Airspace 

Technology Demonstration 

(ATD) project team demonstrated 

the ATD-2 system capabilities 

to the NASA Advisory Council 

Aero Committee and to NASA 

Administrator Jim Bridenstine, on 

August 28 and 30, respectively, at 

the FutureFlight Central at Ames 

Research Center in California. 

Both demonstrations included an 

overview of the ATD-2 project, 

demonstrations of data exchange 

capabilities on the Surface 

Trajectory Based Operations 

Client and the Ramp Traffic 

Console (RTC), explanation of 

Members of the ATD-2 team give briefing at 

Southwest Airlines headquarters.

ATM-X and DLR collaboration team visit at 

German Aerospace Center.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tours FutureFlight Central for ATD-2 demo.
AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018 13

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

the surface metering capabilities, 

description of benefits observed 

during the Phase 1 Field Demo at 

Charlotte Douglas International 

Airport, plans for Phases 2 and 3, 

and ATD-2 technology transfer 

strategy. Administrator Bridenstine 

interacted with the ATD-2 system 

directly, requesting to man the RTC 

himself during the data exchange 

portion of the demonstration. Each 

demonstration included positive 

engagement with the visitors as 

they asked questions and offered 

comments on ATD-2 research. 

ATD-3 DRAW Technical 

Interchange Meeting at 

FAA Headquarters

POC: DOUG ISAACSON

On August 29, the Airspace 

Technology Demonstration 3 

(ATD-3) Dynamic Routes for 

Arrivals in Weather (DRAW) team 

held a technical interchange meeting 

(TIM) at FAA headquarters. A 

description of DRAW functionality 

and results of recent DRAW 

simulation studies were presented 

to FAA stakeholders, along with 

a briefing on plans for upcoming 

studies. Representatives from FAA 

Terminal Flight Data Management 

(TBFM) operations were consulted 

on the implementation of the 

DRAW concept within TBFM, 

including Extended Metering 

(XM) operations. These detailed 

discussions with TBFM engineering 

personnel were particularly helpful 

toward understanding future 

DRAW-enabled TBFM XM 

operations and to the DRAW 

software development team that is 

currently prototyping core DRAW 

functionality into a TBFM code 

baseline. The FAA has indicated a 

strong interest in taking the delivery 

artifacts from the final DRAW 

technology transfer at the end of 

quarter 4, FY19, and incorporating 

it in TBFM Work Package 5. 

NASA Administrator Jim 

Bridenstine Interviews 

Joey Rios on UTM

POC: RON JOHNSON

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine 

visited Ames Research Center in 

California on August 30. During 

his tour of Ames, Mr. Bridenstine 

visited the Unmanned Aircraft 

System Traffic Management 

(UTM) laboratory, and the Vertical 

Motion Simulator. Photos and 

video from the visit can be found 

on numerous social media posts: 

https://twitter.com/NASAAmes/

status/1036321673593536512

https://twitter.com/NASAAmes/

status/1036320424831795200

https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/

status/1035212356039499776

https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/

status/1035943641821466624

https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/

status/1035260418531315712

Members of the ATD-3 DRAW team attended a TIM at FAA headquarters.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine interviews 

Joey Rios at the UTM lab.
14 AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

UTM Simulation for DoD 

and DHS Partners

POC: SHON GRABBE, JEFF HOMOLA

AND ABHAY BORADE

From September 10–11, a team of 

Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic 

Management (UTM) researchers at 

Ames Research Center in California 

conducted a live simulation and 

demonstration for members of the 

Department of Defense (DoD) and 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) in the Airspace Operations 

Laboratory. The simulation served 

as a platform to explore the needs 

and requirements of the DoD and 

DHS in terms of airspace access and 

airspace awareness, and how the 

UTM architecture can be leveraged 

to support these focus areas. 

Multiple runs of the simulation 

were performed with members of 

both departments in attendance 

each time, followed by debriefs and 

discussions. Preparations for this 

simulation began with a tabletop 

exercise in April 2018, followed 

by development of the scenarios, 

procedures, and supporting software. 

The results of this simulation 

will help inform DoD and DHS 

approaches to UTM and will serve 

as guidance for future testing. 

ATD-2 Conducts Training for 

Phase 2 Field Demonstration

POC: LINDSAY STEVENS

The Airspace Technology 

Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) team 

provided training for Phase 2 to 

American Airlines (AAL) ramp 

controllers and FAA Air Traffic 

Control Tower (ATCT) traffic 

management coordinators (TMCs) 

and front-line managers (FLMs), 

from September 10–11, at Charlotte 

Douglas International Airport. 

Training included an introduction 

of new features, refresher training 

on all features introduced since 

September 2017, and training of 

new ramp controllers and TMCs 

on ATD-2’s Ramp Traffic Console 

(RTC) and Surface Trajectory Based 

Operations (STBO) Client. Four 

controllers from the AAL ramp 

tower and nine FAA ATCT TMCs 

and FLMs participated in the 

offered training sessions. During 

each session, controllers were guided 

through interactions with the 

RTC and STBO Client interfaces 

and engaged with features and 

data exchange between the two 

tools. Due to Hurricane Florence, 

training of all users could not be 

completed as planned; the remainder 

of the training will be rescheduled 

in early October. At the Atlanta 

Center, training and familiarization 

were conducted on the ATD-2 

user interfaces and procedures for 

Phase 2, from September 17–21.

ATD-2 Phase 2 Field 

Demo Shadow Session 

Completed and Software 

Released for “Go-Live”

POC: ANDREW GING

On September 11, a shadow session 

was conducted in the NASA Airspace 

Technology Demonstration 2 

(ATD-2) lab, located at Charlotte 

Douglas International Airport (CLT). 

The objective of the shadow session 

was to review Phase 2 requirements 

and accomplishments with Field 

Demo Partners from National Air 

Traffic Controllers Association 

(NATCA), American Airlines (AAL), 

and CLT FAA Air Traffic Control 

Tower (ATCT). The shadow session 

opened with a highlight of some 

of the new features introduced 

in the recent Integrated Arrival/

Departure/Surface (IADS) software 

release. Following a brief overview 

of the training plan, the ATD-2 

team presented a summary of Phase 

1 metrics and benefits, and segued 

into a discussion of the Strategic 

Scheduling Micro-Phases to leverage 

Surface Metering from Phase 1 and 

transition the Metering Decision 

Making role from the AAL ramp to 

ATCT. Updates regarding Atlanta 

Center Pre-Scheduling, Terminal 

Flight Data Management Terminal 

Publication (TTP), and IADS 

Aircraft Management were also 

provided to the attendees, and the 

shadow session concluded with 

an approval from the Field Demo 

Partners to “go-live” with Phase 

2. Following that decision, the 

ATD-2 software development team 

delivered v4.0.0 of the IADS system 

to CLT that evening. This software 

is now in daily operational use in the 

AAL ramp tower, CLT FAA ATCT, 

Washington Center, and Atlanta 

Center. ATD-2 has followed an agile 

requirements definition and software 
AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018 15

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

development process wherein Field 

Demo Partners engage with the 

IADS system in live-data shadow 

evaluation sessions and provide the 

research team with feedback on 

system requirements. The IADS 

v4.0.0 release includes requirements 

identified during shadow sessions 

conducted from February–May of 

2018. The software team completed 

985 work items (e.g., Jira tickets) 

since the last major release in midFebruary. Key areas of development 

included the ATD-2 integration 

with Advanced Electronic Flight 

Strips, Atlanta Center participation 

in Integrated Departure/Arrival/

Surface capability-like scheduling 

into Time-Based Flow Management, 

strategic surface metering capabilities, 

and publishing ATD-2 data to the 

FAA System-Wide Information 

Management architecture via the 

TTP prototype. IADS software v4.1.0 

will be released in mid-October and 

incorporate feedback from the field 

to further refine the IADS system.

AOSP Supports Digital 

Transformation Team Activities 

POC: YURI GAWDIAK

This past quarter, Yuri Gawdiak, 

AOSP Associate Program Director, 

has been representing AOSP at 

the Agency Digital Transformation 

team meetings underway within 

NASA. From July 11–12, Gawdiak, 

along with Tiffany Smith, ARMD 

Knowledge Management Officer, 

participated in a two-day Digital 

Transformation team meeting in 

Washington, DC. The meeting 

focused on developing execution 

plans for external organizations who 

are leaders in digital transformation, 

and on internal interviews for 

NASA headquarters and center 

organizations. At some follow-on 

meetings held September 24–28, 

Gawdiak supported site visit 

interviews at Boeing, NASA’s 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and 

Armstrong Flight Research 

Center in California as part of 

the Digital Transformation team. 

The interviews were conducted 

with the organizations’ Chief 

Information Officers and Chief 

Technology Officers. NASA’s 

Digital Transformation team is 

conducting interviews to baseline 

the state-of-practice internally 

within NASA and externally in 

related industries and agencies. 

ATD-2 Briefing at 

Collaborative Site 

Implementation Team Meeting

POC: JEREMY COUPE

From September 26–27, members 

from Airspace Technology 

Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) team 

attended an FAA Collaborative 

Site Implementation Team (CSIT) 

meeting in Chicago, Illinois. The 

two-day event was hosted by United 

Airlines (UAL) and included 

participants from NASA, the FAA 

Terminal Flight Data Management 

(TFDM) office, and the FAA 

Traffic Flow Management System 

office. The first day consisted 

of a tour of Chicago O’Hare 

International Airport (ORD), 

including the UAL ramp tower and 

UAL Station Operation Center 

(SOC). During the tour, NASA 

Field Demo Partners approve “go-live” of Phase 2 after review of requirements and accomplishments. and FAA participants were briefed 
16 AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

on UAL’s current day surface 

operations at ORD and the roles and 

responsibilities of the ramp tower 

and SOC. On the second day, UAL 

hosted a meeting at their Willis 

Tower headquarters in downtown 

Chicago where the FAA briefed UAL 

on TFDM and NASA briefed UAL 

on ATD-2. The goal of the meeting 

was to familiarize UAL with the 

TFDM concept and requirements 

while also illustrating the potential 

benefits of a surface management 

system. The ATD-2 briefing 

consisted of an overview of the 

ATD-2 system in Charlotte Douglas 

International Airport, the accrued 

benefits of ATD-2 during Phase 1 of 

operations, and the lessons learned 

throughout the ATD-2 project. After 

the briefing, UAL gave a tour to the 

NASA and FAA participants of their 

Network Operations Center, which 

acts as a centralized control center 

for UAL operations and synthesizes 

information from the various SOC’s 

located at each airport to improve 

decision making across the entire 

network of UAL operations.

NASA-FAA Technology 

Transfer Ceremony 

POC: SHAWN ENGELLAND

On September 28, executives from 

NASA, FAA, and industry met at 

FAA headquarters to celebrate the 

technology transfer of NASA’s Flight 

Interval Manager technology to the 

FAA, and the successful completion 

and close-out of Airspace Technology 

Demonstration 1 (ATD-1). The 

NASA-FAA Research Transition 

Team (RTT) for Efficient Flow into 

Congested Airspace worked together 

to develop ATD-1 products. Speakers 

at the ceremony included the NASA 

Deputy Associate Administrator 

for Aeronautics; the FAA Chief 

Operating Officer; Associate 

Administrator for Aviation Safety and 

Assistant Administrator for NextGen; 

and the Honeywell Aerospace 

President for Electric Systems. 

Additional speakers included the 

RTT co-chairs from NASA and FAA, 

and sponsor and program personnel 

from NASA’s ATD-1 sub-project, the 

FAA Air Traffic Organization, and 

the FAA Office of Aviation Safety. 

(Left to right): Rocky Stone, Chief Technical Pilot, Surveillance, United Airlines; Carl Esposito, President 

of Electric Systems, Honeywell Aerospace; Jeanne Yu, Director, Product Development, Boeing Commercial 

Airplanes; Robert Pearce, Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics, NASA; 

Ali Bahrami, Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, FAA; Tim Arel, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, 

FAA; Greg Burke, Deputy Assistant Administrator for NextGen, FAA (acting).

United Airlines hosts Collaborative Site 

Implementation Team meeting at Chicago 

O’Hare International Airport.
AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018 17

TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

ATD-2 Phase 2 Field 

Demonstration 

“Go-Live” Testing

POC: AL CAPPS

On September 30, Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) 

researchers commenced Phase 2 

“go-live” testing at Charlotte Douglas 

International Airport. The demonstration featured ATD-2 integration 

utilizing advanced electronic flight 

strips, the Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center’s participation 

in Integrated Departure/Arrival/

Surface capability-like scheduling 

into Time-Based Flow Management, 

strategic surface metering capabilities, 

publishing ATD-2 data to the FAA 

System-Wide Information Management architecture via the Terminal 

Flight Data Management Terminal 

Publication prototype, and integrating two-way data exchange for the 

existing pilot mobile application. 
18 AOSP NEWSLETTER // JUL-SEP 2018

RECOGNITION

North Carolina Drone 

Summit and Flight Expo 

POC: MARCUS JOHNSON

On August 7, Marcus Johnson, 

Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) 

Traffic Management (UTM) Deputy 

Project Manager, briefed the UTM 

Project and future trends in small 

unmanned aircraft at the North 

Carolina Drone Summit and Flight 

Expo in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

The Summit included keynote talks, 

panel discussions, and contributed 

presentations that covered the spectrum of commercial and public safety 

UAS applications. A flight exhibition 

was conducted showcasing drone 

mission capabilities by flying demonstration missions onsite during the 

conference. Participants comprised of 

key industry representatives, technology pathfinders, influential government officials, and pioneering users.

UTM Panel and Keynote 

at Interdrone 2018 

POC: JOSEPH RIOS

Joseph Rios participated on a panel, 

“Moving Unmanned Aircraft System 

Traffic Management Forward: The 

Current Landscape,” at Interdrone 

2018, on September 5 in Las Vegas, 

Nevada. Other panelists included 

Marke “Hoot” Gibson (NUAIR), 

Biruk Abraham (FAA), and Mark 

Aiken (Akin Gump Strauss Hauer 

& Feld LLP). The panel was 

chaired by Jim Williams (JHW 

Unmanned Solutions) and provided 

attendees with a good understanding of the impact and history of 

Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic 

Management (UTM). The next 

day, September 6, Rios provided 

a keynote address, describing the 

UTM project at NASA with a 

focus on recent testing. Overall, 

the attendance was good and there 

was an opportunity for follow-on 

conversations with several attendees. 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Headquarters

300 E. Street, SW

Washington, DC 20024

www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch

www.nasa.gov