Aeronautics and Space Report 

of the President 

Fiscal Year 

2006 Activities 
Aeronautics


and


Space Report


of the 


President


Fiscal Year 


2006 


Activities

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 

directed the annual Aeronautics and Space Report 

to include a “comprehensive description of the 

programmed activities and the accomplishments 

of all agencies of the United States in the field of 

aeronautics and space activities during the preceding 

calendar year.” In recent years, the reports have 

been prepared on a fiscal-year basis, consistent 

with the budgetary period now used in programs of 

the Federal Government. This year’s report covers 

activities that took place from October 1, 2005, 

through September 30, 2006. 
Table of ConTenTs 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 1

Department of Defense 31

Federal Aviation Administration 35

Department of Commerce 43

Department of the Interior 57

Federal Communications Commission 71

U.S. Department of Agriculture 75

National Science Foundation 83

Department of State 89

Department of Energy 93

Smithsonian Institution 99

Appendices 107

A-1 U S Government Spacecraft Record 108

A-2 World Record of Space Launches 

Successful in Attaining Earth Orbit or Beyond 109

B Successful Launches to Orbit on U S Launch Vehicles 110

C Human Space Flights 112

D-1A Space Activities of the U S Government—Historical Table of Budget Authority 

in Real Dollars 113

D-1B Space Activities of the U S Government—Historical Table of Budget Authority 

in Equivalent FY 2006 Dollars 114

D-2 Federal Space Activities Budget 115

D-3 Federal Aeronautics Budget 116

Acronyms 117

F i s c a l Y e a r 2 0 0 6 A c t i v i t i e s 

1 

naTional aeronauTiCs 

and spaCe adminisTraTion 

NASA 

Exploration Systems Mission Directorate 

NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) worked toward 

its goal of conducting space expeditions of increasing scope that encompass the 

Moon, Mars, and other destinations. Building on the foundations and efforts of 

programs such as the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Shuttle, and the 

Apollo program, ESMD focused its programs and projects on fulfilling exploration 

architecture requirements in order to realize the Nation’s vision of future space 

exploration. 

In FY06, ESMD streamlined and reorganized to strengthen and enhance 

programmatic coordination, direction, and accountability. This was accomplished 

primarily through the transition of program management authority from 

Headquarters to Center program offices. 

Constellation Program 

ESMD has charged its Constellation Systems Program with bringing a new 

Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) into service as soon as possible after Shuttle 

retirement, but not later than 2014. This program currently includes the Orion 

CEV; Ares I, an expendable crew launch vehicle (CLV); Ares V, a heavy-lift cargo 

launch vehicle; spacesuits and tools required by the flight crews; and associated 

ground and mission operations infrastructure to support both lunar and initial lowEarth orbit (LEO) missions. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
2 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

Orion CEV 

As the crew exploration vehicle, Orion will carry crewmembers to the Moon, 

serve as the primary exploration vehicle for future missions, and will ferry astronauts 

(plus cargo) to and from the ISS if commercial transport services are unavailable. 

In FY06, NASA continued CEV preliminary design work and began systems 

testing, including conducting heat shield tests at the Ames Research Center’s (ARC) 

arc-jet facility. Johnson Space Center (JSC) engineers built a full-scale mock-up of 

the command module, which will be used to test systems in situ. Additionally, 

NASA established an intra-agency CEV Smart Buyer Team to perform trade 

studies and design analysis to help the CEV Project Office understand and verify 

requirements incorporated into the CEV Phase II solicitation. On August 31, 2006, 

NASA awarded the Orion development contract to Lockheed Martin, who will 

work with NASA to deliver Orion by 2014. 

Ares I CLV 

The Ares I, a solid rocket booster and upper stage, will carry Orion into LEO. 

In FY06, NASA subjected an Ares I partial model (including part of the upper 

stage, the spacecraft adapter, Orion, and the launch abort system) to over 80 wind 

tunnel tests at ARC. Test data provided insight into the vehicle’s aerodynamic 

characteristics and the algorithms necessary for the flight control software that 

regulates the vehicle’s ascent. NASA also successfully completed preliminary tests 

of an augmented spark igniter, a critical engine component that ignites a mixture 

of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants while in flight. 

Other important steps toward developing the CEV included selecting the 

RS-68 engine to power the core stage of the heavy-lift cargo launch vehicle, Ares V 

(superseding initial decision to use Shuttle main engine derivative), after life-cycle 

cost studies showed the engine to be the best choice. 

Spacesuits 

In addition to developing the Orion vehicle, JSC engineers continued work 

on developing a next-generation spacesuit capable of supporting exploration. In 

FY06, engineers conducted spacesuit configuration testing under various scenarios. 

One such test, an emergency “walk back” in which a crewmember walks from a 

stalled rover to a lunar lander or habitat, was conducted in June 2006 and provided 

guidance for spacesuit modifications. Set up to simulate different levels of gravity 
3 (including lunar gravity), the test evaluated whether an astronaut could perform a 

strenuous walk in the spacesuit and still possess the mental and physical capabilities 

to operate the hatch on the lander or habitat. 

Additional Field Center Activity 

To capture skills and capabilities across multiple Field Centers in 

support of Constellation, NASA assigned the following development tasks to 

each of the Centers: 

•	 ARC:	 develop	 the	 thermal	 protection	 systems	 and	 information	

technology systems for the spacecraft. 

•	 Dryden	 Flight	Research	 Center	(DFRC):	 lead	the	 abort	 flight	test	

integration and operations. 

•	 Glenn	Research	Center	(GRC):	manage	Orion’s	service	module	work	

and Ares I upper stage development. 

•	 Goddard	 Space	 Flight	 Center	 (GSFC):	 take	 on	 responsibility	 for	

communications, tracking, and support mechanisms. 

•	 Jet	Propulsion	Laboratory	(JPL):	lead	the	systems	engineering	process	

planning as related to operations development and preparation. 

•	 JSC:	manage	 Constellation	systems	 and	 astronaut	 corps,	 lead	 crew	

module development. 

•	 Kennedy	Space	Center	(KSC):	develop	Constellation	ground	systems;	

process and launch Orion and Ares. 

•	 Langley	 Research	 Center	 (LaRC):	 lead	 Launch	 Abort	 System	

integration. 

•	 Marshall	 Space	 Flight	 Center	 (MSFC):	 manage	 launch	 vehicle	

projects and launch vehicle testing. 

•	 Stennis	Space	Center	(SSC):	test	rocket	propulsion	systems.

Transition Activity 

An important part of Constellation Program support and development is 

the carefully considered and planned transfer of beneficial assets from other NASA 

programs to Constellation. During FY06, ESMD worked with the Space Operations 

Mission Directorate (SOMD) to continue to develop a transition plan of action from 

the Space Shuttle to future space exploration vehicles that leverages for maximum 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
4 exploration benefit the rich experience base, key resources, and infrastructure of the 

Space Shuttle and ISS programs. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) 

Another significant Constellation-related support effort initiated by ESMD 

involved the expansion of launch service providers who, after Space Shuttle retirement, will provide cargo delivery and return services to the ISS. As a result, ESMD 

established the Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office at JSC that is responsible for managing NASA’s COTS projects. On August 18, 2006, NASA entered 

into	agreements	with	Space	Exploration	Technologies	and	Rocketplane–Kistler	to	

demonstrate the vehicles, systems, and operations needed to move supplies, cargo, 

and crew between Earth and the ISS. 

Advanced Capabilities Division 

The Advanced Capabilities Division (ACD) addresses issues pertaining to 

human performance in the space environment according to recommendations made 

by the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (2005). Consequently, ACD refocused biomedical research and human life-support activities on new milestones and 

requirements that target the timely delivery of research products by creating the 

Human Research Program (HRP) and the Exploration Technology Development 

Program (ETDP). 

The HRP researches and develops technologies that enable safe, reliable, 

and productive human space exploration. In FY06, HRP performed an exhaustive 

programmatic review of its focus areas (bone and muscle research, cardiology, etc.) 

to assess its research, data, and significance to current exploration missions. This 

review also served as an assessment of the forward work required to implement the 

Vision for Space Exploration (VSE). 

The ETDP develops technologies (structures, thermal protection systems, 

non-toxic propulsion, life support systems, capabilities for in situ resource 

utilization, etc.) for future human and robotic exploration missions. In FY06, the 

program matured Orion CEV technologies through ground- and ISS-based research. 

Specifically, the Exploration Life Support project worked toward developing 

new concepts and technologies for removing carbon dioxide and humidity from 

spacecraft environments that are lighter and smaller in order to free up valuable 

mass on future exploration vehicles. 
5 ETDP’s Advanced Environmental Monitoring and Controls project prepared 

the following monitors for ISS deployment and testing: Vehicle Cabin Air Monitor 

(monitors gases in the air), the Electronic-Nose Monitor (detects air “events”), and 

a first-generation bacterial monitoring system. The program’s technological contributions assisted in the successful completion of the Dust and Aerosol Measurement 

Feasibility Test (DAFT)—an experiment that tested fire safety technology effectiveness in detecting above-normal particle concentrations. Validated DAFT technology 

will fly as part of the Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment (SAME) in 2007. 

During FY06, NASA established the Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program 

(LPRP) Office at MSFC. Previously called the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program, 

the program will conduct missions that support the overall lunar exploration effort 

and may include missions that investigate radiation protection and dust mitigation technologies. In 2006, LPRP’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, 

scheduled for launch in fall 2008, passed the preliminary design and confirmation reviews in which an external team reviewed plans for systems, software, and 

vehicle configuration. 

An	unmanned	orbiter	developed	by	GSFC,	the	LRO	probe	will	emphasize	

obtaining the kind of data to facilitate returning humans safely to the Moon for 

extended stays. In addition to surveying lunar resources and identifying possible 

landing sites through high-resolution mapping, the LRO will investigate lunar 

topography, the characterization of deep space radiation in lunar orbit, and the 

lunar polar regions, including possible water ice deposits and the lighting environment. The LRO will orbit the lunar poles for one Earth year; however, its mission 

may be extended up to five years so that the LRO may provide a communications 

relay for potential ground lunar missions. 

To take advantage of the LRO’s cost of performance, NASA also selected 

a secondary lunar mission, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite 

(LCROSS), to launch with the vehicle. Designed to watch the LRO’s Centaur 

upper stage impact a permanently-shadowed region near either the Moon’s north or 

south poles, the LCROSS will provide spectral analysis and then impact itself into 

a crater. Its preliminary design review was completed in FY06. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
6 Additional ESMD Activity: Centennial Challenges Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

In FY06, ESMD pursued a number of collaborative efforts to move forward 

exploration activities, such as the Centennial Challenges prize competitions. These 

competitions award prizes and intellectual property rights for achievements in 

creating space technologies and systems to stimulate the emerging U.S. entrepreneurial launch sector and accelerate the growth of the commercial space industry. 

Through these competitions, NASA continued to encourage both private sector 

breakthroughs across a broad range of technologies and designs and future collaborations with NASA. 

Industry Collaboration 

NASA’s collaborations with industry included Bigelow Aerospace, which 

successfully	 launched	 the	 Genesis	 I	 inflatable	 Earth-orbit	 module—a	 proof-ofconcept mission to show the feasibility of using inflatable structures to serve as 

modules for future space stations and habitats. Attractive for space exploration, 

inflatables offer large volume and easier launching because they weigh far less and 

pack	up	more	compactly	than	other	structures.	Genesis	I	technology	originated	in	

the 1990s at JSC as part of NASA’s TransHab project to create an inflatable module 

for the ISS. A second license provided Bigelow access to NASA’s radiation shielding 

technology. 

Bigelow’s	multiday	Genesis	I	mission	carried	NASA’s	Genebox,	a	shoebox-

sized prototype microlaboratory designed to fly in the near future on small-scale 

satellites called nanosats. Being able to perform research in such small-scale laboratories could lead to launching more experiments for less money and in less time 

than	 more	 costly	 and	 larger	 counterparts.	 The	 FY06	 Genebox	 flight	 focused	 on	

microlab’s systems and procedures testing. 

International Collaboration 

In FY06, ESMD entered into several international collaborations. For 

example, ESMD participated in the European Space Agency Workshop for 

International Cooperation for Sustainable Space Exploration held in Italy. 

Associate Administrator Dr. Scott Horowitz gave the keynote speech for the workshop, the goal of which was to facilitate the establishment of a global international 

cooperation framework to support the space exploration plans of various spacefaring nations, including the VSE and Europe’s Aurora Programme. 
7 On a more significant note, in response to a Congressional mandate and 

the	Agency’s	VSE	goals,	ESMD	initiated	the	development	of	a	Global	Exploration	

Strategy	 (GES)	 that	 focused	 on	 addressing	 two	 overarching	 issues:	 why	 we	 are	

returning to the Moon, and what we plan to do when we get there. 

Through its work with the worldwide community of space agencies, academia, 

and private sector stakeholders, ESMD defined six primary lunar exploration themes 

that provide the high-level rationale for lunar exploration, along with a detailed set 

of over one hundred lunar exploration objectives. With the assistance of NASA’s 

Office of External Relations, ESMD conducted discussions with both international 

space agencies and the private sector that broadened a mutual understanding of 

unique interests related to lunar exploration, identified where NASA’s interests 

overlap with those of other organizations, and explored the roles that these groups 

may play in future lunar exploration efforts. 

In	 addition	 to	 the	 GES	 development,	 NASA	 planners	 used	 the	 international, academic, and private sector input as the basis for sketching a U.S. blueprint 

for a return to the Moon. NASA’s Lunar Architecture Team (LAT), chartered in 

May 2006, sought to concretely address the lunar return program by developing 

a lunar architecture that allows for the incremental buildup of a lunar outpost to 

support long-duration stays (i.e., <180 days) on the lunar surface beginning with 

the first human landing in 2020. 

Space Operations Mission Directorate 

The Space Shuttle has supported the Nation’s space exploration programs 

for over 25 years, carrying crews and cargo to low-Earth orbit; performing repair, 

recovery, and maintenance missions on orbiting satellites; providing a platform for 

conducting science experiments; and supporting construction of the ISS. Until 

NASA retires the Space Shuttle fleet in FY10, the Agency will demonstrate its 

commitment to safety by promoting engineering excellence, maintaining realistic 

flight schedules, and fostering internal forums where mission risks and benefits can 

be discussed and analyzed freely. 

NASA’s Space Shuttle has inspired generations of schoolchildren to pursue 

dreams and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and 

it is recognized around the world as a symbol of America’s commitment to space 

exploration. The Space Shuttle program provides direct benefits to the Nation by 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
8 advancing national security and economic interests in space, as well as spurring 

technology development in critical areas such as navigation, computing, materials, 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

and communications. Furthermore, due to its heavy-lift capacity, the Shuttle is the 

only vehicle capable of completing assembly of the ISS in a manner consistent with 

NASA’s international partnership commitments and exploration research needs. 

The remaining Shuttle flights will be dedicated to ISS construction and a Hubble 

Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission. 

The Space Shuttle flew two successful missions in FY06. NASA celebrated 

Independence Day 2006 by launching the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission 

STS-121. The second of two test flights (the first was STS-114 in July/August 2005), 

STS-121 helped validate the improvements made to the Space Shuttle system since 

the loss of Columbia on February 3, 2003. During the STS-121 mission, Discovery 

crewmembers conducted a series of hardware and procedural tests and delivered 

several tons of supplies to the ISS. The mission also delivered Flight Engineer 

Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency to the ISS, increasing the Station’s 

crew complement to three for the first time since 2003. 

Atlantis (STS-115), launched on September 9, marked a return to sustained 

Shuttle operations and placed NASA on track to completing assembly of the ISS 

by 2010. Atlantis delivered the critical P3/P4 truss to the ISS, which will provide 

a quarter of the power, data, and communications services needed to operate the 

completed research facility. During the mission, Atlantis crewmembers conducted 

three spacewalks to attach the truss and its accompanying Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, 

a wagon wheel-shaped joint that will allow the solar arrays attached to the truss to 

turn toward the Sun. 

As the Space Shuttle’s retirement in FY10 approaches, the program faces two 

main challenges. First, NASA must maintain the skilled workforce and critical assets 

needed to safely complete the Shuttle manifest. Second, NASA must manage the 

process of identifying, transitioning, and dispositioning the resources that support 

the Shuttle in anticipation of the Shuttle’s retirement. The Shuttle transition and 

phase-out effort will be complex and challenging, occurring at the same time as the 

Shuttle is set to carry out the most complicated sequence of flights ever attempted— 

carrying tons of hardware to the ISS, where astronauts and cosmonauts will conduct 

nearly 80 spacewalks to assemble, check out, and maintain the orbiting facility. 
9 NASA will also conduct a fifth servicing mission to the HST to repair critical 

subsystems and improve the telescope’s astronomical instruments. 

The Space Shuttle program occupies 654 facilities and uses over 900,000 

pieces of equipment. The total equipment value is over $12 billion, and this 

equipment	is	located	in	hundreds	of	Government	and	contractor	facilities	across	

the United States. The total facilities value is approximately $5.7 billion, which 

accounts for approximately one-fourth of the value of the Agency’s total facility 

inventory. NASA currently has more than 1,200 suppliers located throughout the 

country. Retiring these assets and facilities, or transitioning them to new human 

exploration efforts, is a formidable challenge. NASA established a number of 

working groups and control boards to monitor and control the transition process. 

These boards and processes manage and reduce the risks associated with flying the 

Shuttle while transitioning from this craft to other exploration vehicles. 

The Space Shuttle Transition and Retirement team completed initial planning in 2006 and began implementation. SOMD worked closely with ESMD 

to transition American human spaceflight from the Space Shuttle to the new 

Constellation vehicles, starting with the Orion CEV and Ares I CLV. The Shuttle’s 

assets have been reviewed and categorized, with last use and last need date determined. Several items have already been transferred to the Constellation program 

for early engineering development, such as a Solid Rocket Booster Aft Skirt and 

Solid Rocket Booster Parachutes. Because the special aluminum-lithium metal 

used to make the high-performance external tank of the Shuttle was immediately 

needed for development of the Orion and Ares I, it was identified and transferred. 

SSC’s A-1 Engine Test Stand conducted its final test of a Shuttle main engine, and 

the stand was transferred to Constellation for use in Ares engine development. In 

FY06, selected skilled technical workers assigned to the Shuttle program for continued fly out of the manifest began contributing to the system definition of the followon Constellation projects as part of the knowledge transfer between programs. 

Assembly of the ISS resumed in FY06. Overall, ISS systems performance was 

excellent. The highlights of the year include achieving the five-year milestone of 

continuous human presence on ISS and returning three-member crew operations to 

the Station. During 2006, a total of 10 spacewalks were conducted for ISS maintenance, science, and assembly. At the end of FY06, ISS assembly was approximately 

55 percent complete with over 467,000 pounds on orbit. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
10 The Expedition 12 crew—U.S. Commander Bill McArthur and Russian 

Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev—replaced Expedition 11 on board the ISS on 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

October 10, 2005. McArthur and Tokarev conducted two spacewalks safely and 

became the first two-person ISS crew to conduct a spacewalk in both Russian and 

U.S. spacesuits. 

On November 2, 2005, NASA celebrated five years of continuous, onboard 

human presence on the ISS. In that timeframe, the ISS grew to a state-of-the-art 

laboratory complex and technology testbed. During more than 1,826 consecutive 

days, ISS crews conducted research and experiments related to areas such as physical 

and materials science, microgravity science, climatology, geology, manufacturing, 

medicine, and other life sciences. For example, knowledge gained by research and 

experiments in human health while exposed for long durations in a microgravity 

environment not only helps current crews but also provides greater capability to 

send humans on longer missions to farther locations. During the first five years of 

continuous presence, 97 people from 10 countries visited the ISS with 29 of those 

visitors living aboard as members of the 12 expedition crews. 

The Expedition 12 crew returned to Earth on April 8, 2006, replaced by 

Expedition 13. Russian Commander Pavel Vinogradov, along with U.S. Flight 

Engineer and NASA Science Officer Jeff Williams, arrived at the ISS on March 

31, 2006. During their stay on the ISS, the STS-121 Shuttle mission brought 

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter to the ISS, resulting in the first 

three-member crew complement since 2003. The crew conducted two successful spacewalks before the Expedition 13 crew—Vinogradov and Williams—were 

replaced by the Expedition 14 crew of U.S. Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria 

and Russian Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin in September 2006. 

The Agency’s Russian partners continued supporting crew and cargo transportation to the ISS. In FY06, automated Russian Progress vehicles resupplied the 

ISS crew three times, and Russian Soyuz vehicles transported three crews safely 

and reliably to and from the ISS. Each resupply vehicle contained several thousand 

pounds of food, fuel, oxygen, experiment hardware, spare parts, and other supplies. 

This cooperation enabled a continuous crew presence to be maintained on the ISS. 

The resumption of regular Shuttle flights with greater transport capabilities, combined with the additional crew member, allowed greater opportunity to 

conduct research on the ISS. In FY06, the ISS conducted 26 experiments, such as 
1 1 the Materials on International Space Station Experiments (MISSE) that investigated the effects of extremes in the space environment on various materials and 

coatings, and the Anomalous Long-Term Effects in Astronauts’ Central Nervous 

System (ALTEA) experiment, which furthered our understanding of the impacts 

that radiation has on the human central nervous system and visual system. Through 

the end of FY06, approximately 650 hours of combined crew time were dedicated 

to research. 

On March 2, 2006, the heads of the space agencies from Canada, Europe, 

Japan, Russia, and the United States endorsed a revision to the International Space 

Station’s configuration and assembly sequence. Each of the partners reaffirmed their 

respective agency’s commitment to meet their mutual obligations, to implement 

six-person crew operations, and to complete the assembly of the ISS by the end of 

the decade through an adequate number of Shuttle flights. 

In June 2006, the European Space Agency’s Columbus research module 

arrived	at	KSC.	Columbus	will	expand	the	research	facilities	of	the	ISS	by	providing increased capability to conduct experiments in the areas of life science, physical 

science, and materials science. 

Also in June, the ISS Independent Safety Task Force (IISTF) conducted its 

initial meeting in which it received a detailed briefing about the ISS. The IISTF 

was chartered to review the ISS program with the objective of discovering and 

assessing any vulnerabilities related to destruction of the ISS, compromising crew 

health, or necessitating premature abandonment. The task force met a second time 

in July and continued its activities into the next fiscal year. 

In July 2006, Space Shuttle Discovery visited the ISS during mission STS-121. 

The Shuttle transferred more than 11,000 pounds worth of supplies and hardware to 

the ISS—including food, water, nitrogen, and scientific equipment—and returned 

more than 6,000 pounds worth of expended hardware and supplies from the ISS 

back to Earth. 

Other highlights from Discovery’s mission included the repair of a cable 

system that provides power, command, data, and voice connections to the ISS’s 

mobile transporter (MT) rail car. (The MT is used to move a platform containing 

the ISS’s robotic arm; movement of the arm along the truss is necessary for future 

assembly.) The Shuttle helped increase ISS’s research capability by delivering the 

Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for the ISS (MELFI), which will be used to 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
12 store life science samples prior to their return to Earth, and the European Modular 

Cultivation System (EMCS), which will facilitate long-term plant growth studies. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

The	Shuttle	also	delivered	the	U.S.	Oxygen	Generation	System	(OGS),	which,	

when operational, will help enable an increase in ISS crew size from three to six. 

In August 2006, NASA selected SpaceX of El Segundo, California, and 

Rocketplane-Kistler	of	Oklahoma	City,	Oklahoma,	to	develop	and	demonstrate	

COTS as part of an effort to open new commercial markets and pave the way 

for private contracts to launch and deliver cargo to the ISS. NASA plans to 

purchase cargo delivery services competitively in order to fill the ISS cargo 

requirements gap. 

In September 2006, Atlantis arrived at the ISS for the STS-115/12A mission. 

Atlantis and its crew delivered and installed the 35,000 pound, 45-foot P3/P4 truss— 

an integral part of the ISS’s backbone that contains the two sets of solar arrays that 

provide one quarter of the ISS’s power. During three spacewalks, the crew installed 

the truss and performed the work to enable automated deployment of the solar 

arrays and radiator on the truss. The crew also installed a signal processor and transponder that transmits voice and data to the ground, delivered a high- definition 

television system that was developed in cooperation with NASA’s Japanese partner, and performed other tasks to upgrade and protect the ISS systems. 

During FY06, Space Communications provided high- proficiency services via 

the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) network and the NASA 

Integrated Services Network (NISN) to all NASA missions and a number of other 

national missions. Notable of these missions are the Shuttle and the ISS, as well 

as the Hubble Space Telescope and such Earth-observing satellites as Aqua and 

Aura. Communications services were provided also to launch vehicles including 

Sea Launch and the Atlas. 

The Agencywide Space Communications Architecture work addressed 

in the FY05 report reached its first milestone, and the top-level architecture was 

published. This architecture sets forth a framework for NASA’s space communications infrastructure consistent with the national goal to advance scientific, 

security, and economic interests through a robust space exploration program that 

encompasses all phases of our missions from launch to mission completion. The 

architecture also sets forth areas of emphasis for technology maturation to allow for 

the necessary new capabilities and capacities. 
13 To implement the architecture most efficiently, NASA decided to centralize 

all space communications activities within the SOMD, meaning that Space 

Communications and Navigation will now encompass the total infrastructure 

rather than having parts distributed within the Agency. The complement of systems 

under this management framework now includes the Deep Space Network (DSN), 

the	Ground	Network,	the	Space	Network,	and	the	NISN.

Radio spectrum management remained an important focus in FY06 to ensure 

success of all NASA missions both aeronautical and astronautical. In support of 

the national space exploration goals, NASA worked with several other spacefaring countries to ensure interoperability and interference free operations for lunar 

and Mars missions. NASA continued to work its spectrum agenda with multiple 

national agencies to ensure spectrum availability for future NASA activities and 

missions. 

The SOMD Launch Services Program successfully managed the launches of 

three missions on expendable launch vehicles in FY06. Pluto New Horizons was 

launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and Space Technology 

5 (ST5), Cloud-Aerosol LIDAR—Light Detection and Ranging—and Infrared 

Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO), and Cloudsat were launched from 

Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The 1,054-pound, piano-sized Pluto 

New Horizons launched January 19, 2006, on a Lockheed Martin Atlas V launch 

vehicle. The fastest spacecraft ever launched, it will use a Jupiter gravity-assist in 

February 2007 to reach Pluto in the summer of 2015 to conduct the first close-up, 

in-depth study of Pluto and its moons. The ST5 mission was launched on an Orbital 

Sciences Corporation Pegasus vehicle on March 22 for a 3-month mission. ST5 

focused on technology validation using three 25-kilogram class satellites to obtain 

research-quality measurements of the Earth’s magnetosphere and operate as a single 

constellation versus three separate spacecraft. On April 28, the CALIPSO and 

CloudSat missions launched on a Boeing Delta II launch vehicle. The two spacecraft 

then successfully joined NASA’s “A-Train” constellation of environmental 

satellites. The CALIPSO satellite will examine the role that clouds and airborne 

particles play in regulating the Earth’s weather, climate, and air quality. CloudSat 

is an experimental satellite using radar to measure the cloud properties to improve 

weather prediction and clarify climatic processes. For all of these missions, NASA 

competitively procured launch services from domestic commercial companies. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
14 In an effort to encourage emerging commercial launch service providers in 

order to potentially provide significant cost savings to the science and exploration community, the Agency modified the NASA Launch Services contract to 

allow new proposers who have not yet had a successful flight. In addition, NASA 

conducted a study of emerging launch providers. During the summer of 2006, a 

cross-Agency team visited four out of an initial 40 emerging launch service provid

ers to gather information and evaluate their maturity and ability to satisfy NASA’s 

mission requirements. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

­

In 2006, the Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Program provided a common 

entry point for RPT customers, including NASA, industry, the Department of 

Defense	(DOD),	other	Government	agencies,	and	academia.	RPT	developed	and	

maintained a Propulsion Test Facility Management Plan “right sized” to align with 

the current Agency mission, evaluating what facilities should be maintained, consolidated, closed, and built to provide the appropriate propulsion test capabilities. RPT 

worked to increase DOD/NASA collaboration and cross utilization, to increase 

technical collaboration between RPT centers (i.e., cross-training development of 

workforce, cross-utilization of equipment and workforce, maintaining common standards and specifications), and to increase understanding of facility maintenance and 

operational requirements. 

Science Mission Directorate 

In January 2006, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) launched its 

spacecraft, New Horizons, on the Agency’s first mission to Pluto, Pluto’s moon 

Charon,	and	the	Kuiper	Belt.	The	National	Academy	of	Sciences	ranked	the	explo­

ration	of	Pluto-Charon	and	the	Kuiper	Belt	among	the	highest	priorities	for	solar	

system exploration. Different from the inner, rocky planets (like Earth) or the outer 

gas giants, Pluto is a dwarf type of planet known as an “ice dwarf,” commonly found 

in	the	Kuiper	Belt	region	billions	of	miles	from	the	Sun.	Exploring	Pluto	and	the	

Kuiper	Belt	is	like	conducting	an	archeological	dig	into	the	history	of	the	outer	solar	

system, a place where we can peek into the ancient era of planetary formation. 

After a 2.88 billion mile round-trip journey, the Stardust mission returned 

cometary and interstellar dust particles back to Earth. Since the returned material 

has been unaltered since the formation of our solar system, scientists believe these 

dust particles will help provide answers to fundamental questions about comets and 

the origins of the solar system. 
15 The Cassini spacecraft may have found evidence of liquid water reservoirs 

that erupt in Yellowstone-like geysers on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. This discovery, 

along with the presence of escaping internal heat and very few (if any) impact 

craters in the south polar region, shows that Enceladus is geologically active today. 

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) began its inspection of the 

Red Planet in fine detail. The orbiter carries six scientific instruments for examining the surface, atmosphere, and subsurface of Mars in unprecedented detail from 

low orbit. NASA expects to get several times more data about Mars from MRO 

than from all previous Martian missions combined. MRO’s high data rate communications system relays information between Mars surface missions and Earth. The 

data regarding the history and distribution of Mars’ water will improve understanding of planetary climate change and whether Mars ever supported life. The MRO 

also continued to evaluate potential landing sites for future missions. 

On Mars, the rover Opportunity reached the rim of a hole in the Martian 

surface that is wider and deeper than any it had previously visited. The crater, 

known as Victoria, is approximately one-half mile wide and 230 feet deep. Initial 

images from the rover’s first overlook after a 21-month journey to Victoria Crater 

show rugged walls with layers of exposed rock and a floor blanketed with dunes. 

The layers of rock offer information about the environmental conditions long ago. 

MRO recorded images of the rover at the site. 

During hurricane season, NASA’s airborne and orbiting science instruments 

contributed a great deal of information. NASA satellites provide critical detail in 

determining if and when a hurricane is forming. NASA provides researchers and 

forecasters with space-based observations, data assimilation, and computer climate 

modeling. NASA-sponsored measurements and modeling of global sea surface 

temperature, precipitation, winds, and sea surface height have also improved understanding of El Niño and La Niña events, which respectively tend to suppress and 

enhance	Atlantic	and	Gulf	hurricane	development.	

NASA’s current hurricane-related products from orbiting science instruments 

include data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on the Aqua satellite; the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument 

(OMI) on the Aura satellite; the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer 

(MODIS) on the Aqua and Terra satellites; the Tropical Rainfall Measuring 

Mission (TRMM) satellite; the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS); and 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
16 the Ocean Color Time-Series Project. In addition, researchers investigated tropical 

storms and hurricanes in the eastern and mid-Atlantic Ocean regions, including 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

those threatening Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands. 

On April 28, 2006, the CloudSat and CALIPSO satellites were launched into 

space from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The CALIPSO and CloudSat 

are a pair of Earth-observing satellites designed to study clouds from orbit. CloudSat 

is an experimental satellite using radar to detect clouds and aerosols from space. 

CALIPSO is equipped to examine the role that clouds and airborne particles play 

in regulating Earth’s weather, climate, and air quality. The satellites are the latest 

spacecraft to join NASA’s A-Train constellation of environmental satellites. 

Just 30 seconds after radar activation, CloudSat obtained its first image— 

a slice of the atmosphere consisting of a warm storm front over the North Sea 

and	 	 approaching	 Greenland.	 Unlike	 other	 satellite	 observations,	 the	 CloudSat	

radar image simultaneously showed the storm’s clouds and precipitation—the storm 

front’s warm air rising over colder air with precipitation below. 

The first-ever millimeter wavelength radar, CloudSat’s Cloud-Profiling radar 

is more than 1,000 times more sensitive than typical weather radar and possesses 

the ability to distinguish between cloud particles and precipitation. Its measurements have offered new insights into the manner in which fresh water is created 

from water vapor and how much of this water falls to the surface as rain and snow. 

CALIPSO returned never-before-seen images of clouds and aerosols—tiny 

particles suspended in the air—that revealed how clouds and aerosols form, evolve, 

and interact with the atmosphere. In early June 2006, CALIPSO took its first 

images: a major lava dome collapse at the Soufriere Hills Volcano on the island of 

Montserrat. The dome had collapsed on May 20, 2006, sending ash clouds 55,000 

feet into the sky. 

In FY06, analysis of NASA data showed that Arctic perennial sea ice, 

which normally survives the summer melt season and remains year-round, shrank 

abruptly by 14 percent between 2004 and 2005. According to researchers, the 

loss of perennial ice in the East Arctic Ocean neared 50 percent during that time 

as some of the ice moved from the East Arctic to the West. Researchers have 

long suggested that the icy surface of the Arctic’s waters is retreating due to a 

warming climate. Sea ice functions as an indicator of changing water, air, and sea 

surface temperatures, in addition to being an important factor in the continued 
17 well-being of Arctic mammals such as polar bears. A research team that used 

NASA’s QuikScat satellite to measure the extent and distribution of perennial 

and seasonal sea ice in the Arctic discovered that, while the total area of all the 

Arctic sea ice was stable in winter, the distribution of seasonal and perennial sea ice 

experienced significant changes. 

In the most comprehensive survey ever undertaken of the massive ice sheets 

covering	both	Greenland	and	Antarctica,	NASA	scientists	confirmed	that	climate	

warming is changing how much water remains locked in Earth’s largest storehouses 

of ice and snow. The survey showed a net loss of ice from the combined polar ice 

sheets between 1992 and 2002 and a corresponding rise in sea level. The survey 

provided the first documentation of the extensive thinning of the West Antarctic 

ice	shelves,	an	increase	in	snowfall	in	the	interior	of	Greenland,	and	thinning	at	

the edges. All these phenomena are indicators of a warming climate previously 

predicted by computer models. 

NASA continued to monitor the polar ice sheets with the Ice, Cloud, and 

Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), which uses a laser beam three times a year 

to measure the elevation of ice sheets with unprecedented accuracy. Scientists 

used ICESat data to develop Digital Elevation Models—three-dimensional highresolution	 images	 of	 ice	 sheets	 in	 Greenland	 and	 Antarctica.	 ICESat’s	 view	 of	

changes in the ice sheets provide information critical to understanding how the 

Earth’s changing ice cover affects sea level. 

NASA’s Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) mission lifted 

off at night in October 2006 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 

With spacecraft on opposite sides of the Earth, STEREO provided three-dimensional 

mapping of the structure of solar storms as material leaves the Sun and flows around 

the planet. STEREO also compiled data on coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—solar 

storms that travel at nearly 1 million mph and can knock out power on Earth. 

The nearly identical twin observatories provided perspectives that are critical to 

improving our understanding of space weather and its impact on astronauts and 

Earth systems. 

Dr.	John	C.	Mather	of	GSFC	received	the	2006	Nobel	Prize	for	Physics	for	

his work that helped cement the Big Bang theory of the universe and deepened our 

understanding of the origin of stars and galaxies. This work was based on data from 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
18 NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite. Dr. Mather is the first 

NASA civil servant to receive a Nobel Prize. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

Using the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope, 

scientists developed direct proof for the existence of dark matter. Hubble also 

found evidence of the existence of dark energy for most of the universe’s history. 

These results provided new insights into gravity and the structure and growth of the 

universe. 

NASA used the unique capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope for a new 

class of scientific observations of the Moon. Hubble’s resolution and sensitivity to 

ultraviolet light have allowed the telescope to search for important oxygen-bearing 

minerals on the Moon. Since the Moon does not have a breathable atmosphere, 

minerals such as ilmenite (titanium and iron oxide) may be critical for a sustained 

human lunar presence as they could provide a potential source of oxygen for breathing or to power rockets. The new Hubble observations are the first high-resolution 

ultraviolet images ever acquired of the Moon, providing scientists with a new tool 

to study mineral variations within the lunar crust. As NASA plans future expeditions to the Moon, such data—in combination with other measurements—will 

help target the best sites for robotic and human missions. 

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope made the first measurements of the day and 

night temperatures of a planet outside our solar system. The infrared observatory 

revealed that a Jupiter-like giant gas planet circling very close to its sun is always as 

hot as fire on one side while potentially as cold as ice on the other. The temperature 

difference between the day and night sides of the planet provides information about 

how energy flows in the planet’s atmosphere. The finding represents the first time 

any kind of variation has been seen across the surface of an extrasolar planet. 

NASA researchers using the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) 

spacecraft developed a method of seeing through the Sun to the star’s far side. 

Because the Sun’s far side faces away from the Earth, it is not directly observable 

by traditional techniques. This new method allows more reliable advance warning of magnetic storms brewing on the far side that could rotate with the Sun and 

threaten the Earth by disrupting satellites, radio communications, power grids, and 

other technological systems. Many of these storms originate in groups of sunspots— 

active regions with a high concentration of magnetic fields. Active regions situated 

on the near side of the Sun can be observed directly; however, previous methods 
19 provided no information about active regions developing on the far side of the 

Sun. SOHO’s insight into any large active regions on the far side of the Sun greatly 

improved forecasting of potential magnetic storms. 

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 

“We conduct the long-term, cutting-edge research needed to ensure 

revolutionary capabilities for both the air vehicles of the future as well as the air 

transportation system in which they will fly.” This statement by Dr. Lisa Porter, 

Associate Administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 

(ARMD), captures the new focus for NASA aeronautics research set forth in FY06. 

Restructuring 

During FY06, ARMD underwent a comprehensive restructuring to ensure 

that it was enabling the pursuit of long-term, cutting-edge research for the 

benefit of the broad aeronautics community. The three principles that guided this 

restructuring were: 

1.	 NASA will dedicate itself to the mastery and intellectual stewardship 

of the core competencies of aeronautics for the Nation in all flight 

regimes. 

2.	 ARMD will focus its research in areas appropriate to its unique 

capabilities. 

3.	 ARMD will directly address the fundamental research needs of 

the	 Next	 Generation	 Air	 Transportation	 System	 (NGATS)	 while	

working closely with its agency partners in the Joint Planning and 

Development Office (JPDO). 

Using these principles, ARMD established four new programs: the 

Fundamental Aeronautics Program, the Aviation Safety Program, the Airspace 

Systems Program, and the Aeronautics Test Program. The Fundamental 

Aeronautics Program conducts cutting-edge research that produces innovative 

concepts, methods, tools, and technologies that enable the design of vehicles that 

fly through any atmosphere at any speed. The Aviation Safety Program focuses 

on developing the cutting-edge tools, methods, and technologies to improve 

the intrinsic safety attributes of current and future aircraft that will operate in 

the	 NGATS.	 The	 Airspace	 Systems	 Program	 directly	 addresses	 the	 Air	 Traffic	

Management	(ATM)	research	needs	of	the	NGATS	initiative	as	defined	by	the	

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
20 JPDO. The Aeronautics Test Program ensures the strategic availability and accessibility of a critical suite of aeronautics test facilities that are deemed necessary to Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

meet aeronautics, Agency, and national needs. 

ARMD established a four-step approach to putting together technical plans 

in the ten aeronautics projects in the four aeronautics programs. The approach was 

designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information among researchers 

at	NASA,	industry,	academia,	and	other	Government	agencies,	in	a	manner	that	

provided fair and equal access to information and opportunities for collaboration, 

without providing preferential treatment to any one entity. The four steps were: 

1.	 NASA	researchers,	with	input	from	other	Government	agency	part­

ners, developed preliminary ten-year roadmaps for each program, 

including technical milestones for each project. 

2.	 NASA released a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit interest 

from industry for nonreimbursable cooperative partnerships in precompetitive research that would allow NASA to leverage industry’s 

systems-level expertise while facilitating the rapid transfer of knowledge and technology from NASA to industry. The Agency received 

over 230 responses from more than 100 different organizations, many 

of which resulted in working collaborations. 

3.	 Using the preliminary roadmaps as a starting point, NASA researchers 

incorporated feedback from respondents to the RFI, as well as 

from	 colleagues	 in	 other	 Government	 agencies,	 to	 develop	 refined	

technical	proposals	for	each	project.	Panels	of	Government	subjectmatter experts then reviewed and evaluated the proposals based on 

their technical, management, resource, and partnership plans. This 

rigorous proposal review process ensured that NASA had technically 

credible and relevant research objectives and a sound approach for 

pursuing these objectives. It also allowed NASA to identify research 

areas where it needed to supplement in-house capabilities with 

external expertise. 

4.	 Finally, NASA released a NASA Research Announcement to solicit 

proposals, in a full and open competition, from the external community 

in those research areas. In the first evaluation round, the Agency 
21 received more than 700 proposals from more than 110 universities and 

over 120 other organizations (companies and non-profits). More than 

600 highly qualified technical and scientific experts from NASA and 

other organizations provided thorough reviews of these proposals, and 

138 proposals representing 73 different organizations from 29 States 

plus the District of Columbia were ultimately selected for award. 

New Aeronautics Programs 

While most of FY06 was devoted to defining the research content and developing the research plans for the restructured programs, each program still achieved 

several technical accomplishments. The following sections are descriptions of the 

new programs and representative accomplishments for each. 

Fundamental Aeronautics Program 

The restructured Fundamental Aeronautics Program is dedicated to the 

mastery of the principles of flight in any atmosphere at any speed. The program 

develops physics-based, multidisciplinary design, analysis, and optimization 

(MDAO) tools that will make it possible to evaluate radically new vehicle designs 

and to assess, with known uncertainties, the potential impact of innovative 

technologies and concepts on a vehicle’s overall performance. The program also 

develops advanced component technologies to realize revolutionary improvements 

in noise, emissions, and performance. The program supports the Agency’s human 

and robotic exploration missions by advancing knowledge in aeronautical areas 

critical to entry, descent, and landing (EDL). 

The restructured program has four projects. The Subsonic Fixed Wing Project 

addresses the challenge that future aircraft need to be quieter and cleaner to meet 

stringent noise and emissions regulations. These aircraft must also meet challenging performance requirements to make them economically viable alternatives to 

the existing fleet. The Subsonic Rotary Wing Project addresses the technical barriers that constrain rotorcraft from reaching widespread use in civil aviation. These 

barriers include range, speed, payload capacity, fuel efficiency, and environmental 

acceptance. The Supersonics Project conducts research to address the efficiency, 

environmental, and performance barriers to practical supersonic cruise, as well 

as the critical issue of supersonic deceleration to enable safe, precision planetary 

EDL of human and large science missions in any atmosphere. Because all access 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
22 to space and all entry from space through any planetary atmosphere require hypersonic flight, the Hypersonics Project tackles all the key fundamental research issues Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

required to make hypersonic flight and reentry feasible. 

The Fundamental Aeronautics Program achieved the following 

accomplishments in FY06: 

•	 The	 Subsonic	 Rotary	 Wing	 Project	 conducted	 a	 helicopter	 flight	

test to provide data for rotorcraft acoustic analysis validation and to 

develop low-noise flight profiles. 

•	 The	Subsonic	Fixed	Wing	Project	completed	a	design	of	geared	tur

bofan components that has the potential to reduce both noise and 

emissions relative to current engines. 

­

•	 The	 Subsonic	 Fixed	 Wing	 Project	 completed	 testing	 of	 two	 scale	

Blended Wing Body (BWB) models. These tests will help validate 

aerodynamic and control characteristics on the BWB in preparation 

for flight tests at DFRC in early 2007. 

• The	Supersonics	Project	completed	an	initial	study	of	the	impact	of	

atmospheric turbulence on very low-noise sonic boom waveforms. 

• The	 Hypersonics	 Project,	 in	 partnership	 with	 the	 U.S.	 Air	 Force	

(USAF), completed Mach 5.0 testing of Pratt & Whitney Rocket-

dyne’s	 Ground	 Demonstrator	 Engine	 No.	 2	 at	 LaRC’s	 8-Foot	 High	

Temperature Tunnel. These were the first tests of a hydrocarbon-fu

eled, fuel-cooled scramjet with full-authority digital engine control at 

hypersonic conditions. 

­

•	 The	Hypersonics	Project	completed	a	preliminary	design	review	of	the	

Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition Flight Experiment (HyBoLT). 

This flight test will acquire data for the effects of protuberances and 

cavities on aerodynamic heating to support the Space Shuttle. 

Aviation Safety Program 

The restructured Aviation Safety Program provides aircraft safety-related 

concepts, tools, and technologies that will help ensure the safety of the U.S. Air 

Transportation	System	as	it	transitions	to	meet	the	future	needs	of	the	NGATS.	

These needs include the anticipated significant increases in air traffic, increased 

reliance on automation, increased diversity of air vehicles, and increased complexity 
23 in the system. The long-range goals of the research include reduced occurrence of 

in-flight failures, onboard systems capable of self-correcting anomalies, improved 

crew workload allocation and situational awareness, and advanced flight controls 

to ensure flight safety during adverse flight conditions. In addition, the Aviation 

Safety Program technologies can be leveraged to improve the resilience of future 

space vehicles against the hazards of long-duration space travel, as well as operations 

in harsh and/or remote environments. 

The restructured program has four projects. The Integrated Vehicle Health 

Management (IVHM) Project addresses the challenge of integrating, processing, 

and effectively using large amounts of information across highly integrated and 

complex flight critical systems. The Aircraft Aging and Durability (AAD) Project 

addresses the challenge of improving the operational resiliency of future structures 

and advanced materials. The Integrated Intelligent Flight Deck (IIFD) Project 

addresses the challenge of ensuring the proper integration of the human operator 

in a highly automated and complex operational environment. The Integrated 

Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) Project addresses the challenge of providing 

onboard control resilience to ensure safe flight in the presence of adverse 

conditions. 

The Aviation Safety Program achieved the following accomplishments 

in FY06: 

•	 The	IVHM	 Project	 completed	 initial	 designs	 and	 a	testbed	 of	the	

Scalable Processor-Independent Design for Extended Reliability for 

IVHM architecture. 

•	 The	AAD	Project	developed	a	multiscale	analysis	methodology	that	

models damage processes and more efficiently represents material 

behavior near crack tips. This work is critical to developing better 

criteria for crack growth propagation and to engineering more 

damage-tolerant and durable structural materials. 

•	 The	 IIFD	 Project	 completed	 the	 Information	 Sharing	 Initiative	

demonstration in response to the industry’s need for advanced tools 

and technologies that can query large sources of disparate data. 

•	 The	 IRAC	 Project	 completed	 the	 Airborne	 Subscale	 Transport	

Aircraft Research (AirSTAR) testbed to support research in upset 

modeling, prevention, and recovery. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
24 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

•	 The	IRAC	Project	conducted	a	series	of	flight	tests	of	the	Intelligent	

Flight Control System (IFCS)—an integrated state-of-the-art direct 

adaptive neural network technology with flight control algorithms 

that correctly respond to changes in aircraft stability and control 

characteristics and that adjust to maintain the best possible flight per

formance during an unexpected failure. The tests showed that, with 

the direct adaptive neural networks turned on, the pitch rate of the 

aircraft more closely followed the pilot pitch commands than when 

the neural networks were off. 

­

•	 Improvements	were	 made	to	the	Icing	Research	Tunnel	 at	 GRC	

and to a Viking S-3 aircraft to enable new icing physics research on 

large super-cooled droplet dynamics. Super-cooled droplets that hit 

freezing surfaces such as aircraft wings can form thin layers of ice and 

impede performance. 

Airspace Systems Program 

The primary goal of the Airspace Systems Program (ASP) is to develop revolutionary concepts, capabilities, and technologies in air traffic management that 

will enable significant increases in the capacity, efficiency, and flexibility of our 

National Airspace System (NAS). 

Consistent	with	NGATS	capabilities,	ASP	focuses	on	two	major	NGATS	

ATM	 projects:	 Airspace	 and	 Airportal.	 The	 NGATS	 ATM	 Airspace	 Project	

focuses on developing capabilities in traffic flow management, dynamic airspace 

configuration, separation assurance, and airspace super density operations, which 

are supported by cross-cutting, technical areas of trajectory synthesis, prediction, 

and uncertainty, performance-based services, and system-level design, analysis 

,and	simulation	tools.	The	NGATS	ATM	Airportal	Project	focuses	on	developing	

airportal and terminal capabilities in three areas: safe and efficient surface 

operations, coordinated arrival/departure operations, and airportal transition and 

integration management. Research in the two projects will be integrated for gateto-gate solutions. 
25 The Airspace Systems Program achieved the following accomplishments 

in FY06: 

•	 The	 Virtual	 Airspace	 Modeling	 and	 Simulation	 project	 completed	

development of its concept for enhancing future National Airspace 

System capacity. 

•	 A	 flexible	software	tool	 called	 FACET	(Future	Air	traffic	manage

ment Concepts Evaluation Tool) was honored as NASA’s Software of 

the Year for 2006. FACET’s simulation capabilities can rapidly gener

ate thousands of aircraft trajectories to enable efficient planning for 

traffic flows at the national level. 

­

­

Aeronautics Test Program 

The goal of the Aeronautics Test Program is to ensure the strategic availability of a critical suite of aeronautical test facilities that are necessary to meet the 

long-term needs and requirements of the Agency and the Nation. The program is 

responsible for the strategic and business management of the major wind tunnels 

and	ground	test	facilities	at	ARC,	GRC,	LaRC,	the	Western	Aeronautical	Test	

Range (WATR), and for the Support Aircraft and Testbed Aircraft at DFRC. The 

program ensures the funding levels allow for continuous operations at its facilities 

and for the appropriate levels of maintenance and investments in test technology/ 

test techniques. A major benefit of this program is that it establishes stable user 

pricing at its facilities. 

The Aeronautics Test Program achieved the following accomplishments

 in FY06: 

•	 Invested	nearly	$1	million	in	Agency-wide	test	technologies	(aerodynamic force measurement system improvements, angle-of-attack 

measurement systems, virtual diagnostic interfaces, and facility con

trol system simulations). 

­

•	 Reduced	maintenance	 backlog	 by	 $10	million,	thereby	 cutting	the	

number of lost-days-of-testing. 

•	 Reached	a	71	percent	facility	utilization	goal,	keeping	it	on	track	to	a	

90 percent utilization goal. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
26 National Aeronautics R&D Policy Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

President	George	W.	Bush	issued	Executive	Order	13419,	entitled	“National	

Aeronautics Research and Development,” on December 20, 2006. Section 1 of the 

order established a National Aeronautics Research and Development Policy: 

Section 1. National Aeronautics Research and Development Policy. 

Continued progress in aeronautics, the science of flight, is essential 

to America’s economic success and the protection of America’s 

security interests at home and around the globe. Accordingly, it 

shall be the policy of the United States to facilitate progress in 

aeronautics research and development (R&D) through appropriate 

funding	and	activities	of	the	Federal	Government,	in	cooperation	

with State, territorial, tribal, local, and foreign governments, 

international organizations, academic and research institutions, 

private organizations, and other entities, as appropriate. The Federal 

Government	shall	only	undertake	roles	in	supporting	aeronautics	

R&D that are not more appropriately performed by the private 

sector. The National Aeronautics Research and Development Policy 

prepared by the National Science and Technology Council should, 

to the extent consistent with this order and its implementation, 

guide the aeronautics R&D programs of the United States through 

2020. 

The President’s order and the National Science and Technology Council 

document to which it refers establish an aeronautics R&D policy for the Nation 

through 2020 and fulfill the request for such a policy in Section 101(c) of the 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005 (Public 

Law 109-155)(42 U.S.C. 16611(c)) and Section 628 of the Science, State, Justice, 

Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 (Public Law 109-108). 

NASA’s aeronautics programs are well aligned with this first-ever national 

aeronautics R&D policy. The essence of the policy is captured in its overarching 

goal, which is to “advance U.S. technological leadership in aeronautics by fostering 

a	vibrant	and	dynamic	aeronautics	R&D	community	that	includes	Government,	

industry, and academia.” ARMD contributes to the realization of this national 

goal by: 

•	 Focusing	 on	 high-quality,	 cutting-edge	 research	 that	 benefits	 the	

constituents of the entire aeronautics community, including founda

tional research across a breadth of core aeronautics competencies that 

supports aeronautics and space exploration activities; research in key ­
27 areas related to the development of advanced aircraft technologies 

and systems, including those related to aircraft safety, environmental 

compatibility,	and	fuel	efficiency;	and	research	that	supports	NGATS	

in partnership with JPDO. 

•	 Disseminating	the	results	of	all	its	research	to	the	widest	practical	

and appropriate extent (consistent with national security and for

eign policy). 

­

•	 Pursuing	a	coordinated	approach	to	managing	the	Nation’s	research,	

development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) infrastructure. 

•	 Fostering	 intellectual	 partnerships	 with	 industry	 and	 academia	 by	

means of cooperative Space Act Agreements and fully and openly 

competed research awards that emphasize true collaborations among 

all partners. 

•	 Establishing	strong	partnerships	with	other	Government	agencies	and	

organizations, especially the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 

DOD, and JPDO. 

Forming	Partnerships	with	Government	and	Industry

Creating strong intellectual partnerships with the broad aeronautics community was a focus of ARMD’s activities during FY06. 

NASA continued its work as a key member of the JPDO. In addition to 

conducting	 research	 that	 directly	 addresses	 the	 NGATS	 challenges,	 ARMD	

provides workforce, analysis tools, and funding directly to the JDPO in order to 

assist with the JPDO’s responsibility of planning, coordinating, and overseeing the 

research	and	implementation	for	the	NGATS.

In May 2006, NASA signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 

with the FAA to outline cooperation in collaborative activities in aviation and 

space transportation. Potential areas of collaboration include aviation and space 

transportation safety, airspace system efficiency, environmental compatibility, and 

international leadership. Under this partnership, the agencies coordinate their 

planning efforts, and senior management monitors the collaborative activities 

between the two parties. 

In August 2006, NASA announced an MOU forming an aeronautics research 

partnership between NASA and the U.S. Air Force (USAF). The agreement builds 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
28 upon the longstanding relationship between the two organizations and facilitates 

the exchange of research information, reduces duplication of research, and enhances 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

long-term research planning for both organizations. The MOU covers areas such as 

advanced aircraft design, integrated propulsion concepts, multifunctional materials 

development, and advanced aviation safety technologies. 

Examples of other aeronautics partnerships include: 

•	 NASA’s	Fundamental	Aeronautics	Program	continued	its	participa­

tion in the Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engine (VAATE) 

Technology Program, which coordinates turbine engine science and 

technology	(S&T)	across	Government	agencies.	

•	 The	Aviation	Safety	Program	participated	in	the	Commercial	Avia­

tion Safety Team with the FAA and industry, a forum that worked to 

identify safety problems and solutions. 

•	 NASA	 continued	 its	 participation	 in	 the	 Aircraft	 Icing	 Research	

Alliance, an international group that coordinates joint activities 

among NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), the FAA, Environment Canada, 

Transport Canada, the Canadian National Research Council, 

the	National	Defence	of	Canada,	and	the	United	Kingdom	(UK)	

Defence Science and Technology Lab. 

Developing the Future Workforce 

On June 1, 2006, in Washington, DC, ARMD convened more than 50 repre­

sentatives from academia, technical associations, and industry to explore issues 

associated with attracting students to aerospace and related engineering disciplines. 

“We all recognize that it is critically important to the U.S. aeronautics community to 

continue to foster new generations of highly-skilled scientists and engineers,” stated 

Dr. Lisa Porter, ARMD Associate Administrator, in the workshop invitation. 

In January 2007, NASA coordinated a followup workforce workshop in 

conjunction with the annual AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and 

Astronautics) Aerospace Sciences conference. 
29 Aeronautics Research Benefits 

With the restructuring of its aeronautics programs, NASA’s ARMD improved 

its ability to serve the American public by conducting high-quality, innovative, 

integrated research across the fundamental disciplines of aeronautics, thereby 

creating revolutionary tools, concepts, and technologies that lead to a safer, more 

environmentally friendly, and more efficient national air transportation system. 

Some of the areas in which ARMD focused its efforts include: 

•	 Reducing	 noise	 and	 emissions	 for	 fixed	 wing,	 rotary	 wing,	 and	

supersonic aircraft. 

•	 Reducing	pilot	error.

•	 Improving	the	ability	to	avoid	hazards.

•	 Improving	fuel	efficiency.

•	 Improving	aircraft	airworthiness	and	durability.

•	 Improving	flight	performance	and	control.

•	 Improving	airspace	capacity.

•	 Improving	the	collection,	analysis,	integration,	and	display	of	infor­

mation for air and ground operations. 

•	 Improving	the	viability	and	capabilities	of	our	Nation’s	aeronautics	

testing facilities. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
30
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
31 

The deparTmenT of defense 

DOD 

During FY06, the DOD engaged in a wide-ranging effort to develop and field 

next-generation space systems critical to maintaining the asymmetric advantage 

of the U.S. in the space domain. Modernization efforts covered the entire range of 

vital capabilities including missile warning, navigation, communications, weather, 

launch, surveillance, counterspace, and ground-based space systems. 

The DOD Executive Agent for Space’s Back to Basics initiative is a key 

component of the DOD’s plan to improve space acquisitions and deliver capability 

to the warfighter. The Back to Basics initiative promotes a renewed emphasis on 

stabilizing and aligning requirements and resources, an increased emphasis on disciplined systems engineering, and moves issues of national security in space towards a 

more effective management system. This will deliberately spread development risk 

across the life cycle of the program as part of up-front acquisition strategy planning. 

The Back to Basics initiative adopts an evolutionary block approach strategy 

to modernization, which is focused on delivering military capability through discrete 

value-added increments. In 2006, the USAF restructured several programs to comply 

with	the	Back	to	Basics	strategy	initiative.	The	GPS	III,	National	Polar-orbiting	

Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), and Transformational 

Satellite Communication System (TSAT) programs were restructured to reduce 

risk and define executable block strategies, thereby delivering the best value warfighting capabilities in the least amount of time. 

The Defense Support Program (DSP) continued to provide critical 

space-based missile warning. Preparations continued for the final DSP launch— 

DSP-23—in spring 2007. Development of the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) 

progressed.	To	mitigate	the	risks	associated	with	the	SBIRS	GEO	(geosynchronous	

orbit) development, the USAF awarded risk-reduction contracts for the Alternative 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
32 Infrared Satellite System (AIRSS) flight-qualifiable infrared spectrometer (IR) 

sensor assemblies. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

The	 Global	 Positioning	 System	 Wing	 (GPSW)	 successfully	 launched	 the	

second	GPS	IIR(M2)	satellite	in	FY06.	This	new	satellite	provides	a	new	military	

signal more resistant to jamming, as well as a new civil signal for improved position	accuracy.	Work	also	continued	on	the	follow-on	system,	GPS	IIF,	which	will	

provide IIR-M capabilities plus add an additional civil signal for aviation safetyof-life	 services,	 and	 the	 next-generation	 GPS	 III,	 which	 will	 further	 enhance	

navigation capabilities and provide increased power for improved resistance to 

jamming.	A	third	civil	signal	compatible	with	the	European	Galileo	System	was	

also	added.	Consistent	with	Back	to	Basics,	the	GPS	III	program	was	restructured	

into a block approach to reduce risk, increase cost, and provide confidence in the 

ability of the team to meet the published schedule. 

The operational DOD Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) 

constellations—Defense	 Satellite	 Communications	 System	 (DSCS),	 Global	

Broadcast	Service	(GBS),	Ultra	High	Frequency	Follow-On	(UFO),	and	Milstar—

continued to provide space-based communications to U.S. and allied activities 

throughout the world, including operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and to natural 

disaster response missions. 

The DOD continued development of next generation systems to meet the 

ever-increasing user demand for satellite communication capabilities. The follow-on 

spacecraft	program	to	DSCS	and	GBS,	the	Wideband	Gapfiller	System	(WGS)—

since	 renamed	 Wideband	 Global	 SATCOM—spacecraft	 Satellite	 Vehicle	 (SV)	

completed final assembly and integration, as well as most of the system-level testing 

required in preparation for launch in 2007. Additionally, in February 2006, the 

USAF	awarded	a	contract	for	the	Block	II	WGS	SV	4-5	that	will	provide	greater	

ISR (intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance) capabilities than the Block I satellites (SV 1-3). The Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) program, the 

follow-on to Milstar, successfully completed its first End-To-End Communication 

Test with Milstar terminals in June 2006 and is on track for first launch in 2008. 

The Mobile User Objective System, the follow-on to UFO, executed the detailed 

design phase of the program. 

TSAT, which will complete the AEHF constellation and thereby enable 

DOD net-centric operations, focused on maturing key technologies, such as the 
33 laser-based communications components and pieces of the Internet Protocol 

(IP) router. TSAT is the first MILSATCOM acquisition fully implementing the 

USecAF’s (Under Secretary of the Air Force) new Back to Basics approach to Space 

Acquisition and has become the flagship for future space acquisitions. The USAF 

awarded the TSAT Mission Operations System (TMOS) contract in January 2006 

to	improve	development	and	horizontal	integration	with	other	Global	Information	

Grid	(GIG)	systems.

Space Radar (SR), another key transformational space-based intelligencesurveillance-reconnaissance (ISR) program, continued risk-reduction activities on 

the	path	to	KDP-B—the	key	decision	point	by	which	a	funding	baseline	must	be	

established—decision in FY09. 

The NPOESS—a tri-agency program among the DOD, the Department 

of Commerce (DOC), and NASA—provides timely high-quality environmental 

data to warfighters, as well as to domestic first responders. In 2006, the NPOESS 

program was restructured to reduce integration risks by removing several of the 

planned sensors from the spacecraft. The restructured program provides data continuity and constellation management flexibility and delivers the greatest capability 

for the least cost. 

The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program continued to 

provide assured access to space. In 2006, the EELV program conducted four successful launches, including two NASA missions. In addition to EELV, the USAF 

successfully launched the last remaining Titan IV, a National Reconnaissance 

Office (NRO) classified mission (B-26), culminating 50 years of Titan service to 

the U.S. space program. The Delta II Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) program 

conducted three operational launches, including two successful DOD missions 

and one NASA mission. DOD missions included the Defense Advanced Research 

Projects Agency (DARPA) micro-satellite technology experiment (MiTEx) and 

the	GPS	II-R15(M2)	modernized	GPS	satellite.	In	April	2006,	the	Rocket	Systems	

Launch Program (RSLP) continued its string of 5/5 successful Minotaur launches 

with the DOD/DOC/Taiwanese Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, 

Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) mission to study the atmosphere. The DOD 

also supported the March 2006 Pegasus launch of SpaceTech 5. 

The USAF continued to modernize its fleet of Intercontinental 

Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) with the deployment of the first Safety Enhanced 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
34 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

Reentry Vehicle (SERV) on an operational Minuteman III missile. In addition, 

by	the	end	of	2006,	the	USAF	had	fielded	427	Guidance	Replacement	Program	

(GRP)	guidance	sets	and	293	Propulsion	Replacement	Program	(PRP)	booster	

sets. Finally, the USAF conducted four successful Minuteman III flight tests 

within six months. 

In 2006, the USAF established the Space Development and Test Wing, 

headquartered	at	Kirtland	Air	Force	Base,	New	Mexico,	to	focus	on	the	development	

and testing of orbital assets with the goal of reinvigorating innovation in the space 

mission area. One of the Wing’s key responsibilities is the Operationally Responsive 

Space (ORS) effort. The ORS program has the ability to launch, activate, and 

employ low-cost and militarily useful satellites to provide surge capability, 

reconstitute damaged or incapacitated satellites, and provide timely availability of 

tailored or new capabilities. 
35 

federal aviaTion 

adminisTraTion 

FAA 

FY06 brought new accomplishments for scientists and engineers directed 

by the FAA Office of Aviation Research and Development. To accomplish their 

work, FAA researchers maintained many liaisons with public agencies, private 

companies, and academic institutions that share common safety goals at airports 

and aboard aircraft. 

One major concern of the FAA is fire prevention. Recently, FAA scientists 

perfected a procedure that will greatly accelerate discovery of ultra-fire resistant 

plastics. The thermal analytical method known as pyrolysis-combustion flow calorimetry allows the FAA to measure quickly the flammability of hundreds of tiny 

milligram-sized samples of new plastics and compositions. 

Researchers synthesized and evaluated nearly three dozen different polycarbonates to find one better suited to build the plastic portion of aircraft cabins. 

The material containing the chemical group 1,1-dichloro-2,2-diphenylethene had 

a lower heat release rate than the current plastics in use. This past year, fire safety 

researchers also contributed their expertise to writers of FAA Advisory Circular 

25.856-2, which addressed the testing and installation of thermal acoustic insulation. Researchers resolved issues with evaluating burnthrough resistance and 

installing protection blankets that overlap. The voluntary guidelines will help 

airframe manufacturers, customizers, foreign regulatory authorities, and FAA-type 

certification engineers keep aircraft safe. 

FAA researchers investigated the ignition hazard of electronic equipment 

near aircraft fuel tanks. They recreated real-life conditions to determine the lowest 

electric current needed to short circuit and spark a fire in types of steel wool. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
36 Following several cargo fires involving lithium-ion batteries, other scientists discovered a relatively small source could ignite the power supplies for laptop computers. Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

In looking at self-heating prepackaged meals, researchers decided flameless ration 

heaters release hydrogen gas, which pose a threat aboard airliners. 

The FAA supported firefighting operations of the U.S. Forest Service (FS) 

by researching the tanker aircraft that carry loads heavier than originally intended. 

Loads experts determined the highest stress occurs while pilots are rushing tankers 

to the drop zone, not during the retardant’s release. They recommend the FS 

adopt a structural health monitoring program and require aircraft certification to 

include a fatigue and damage tolerance assessment of critical areas. In addition, 

researchers used an international airline’s loads data from more than 10,000 Boeing 

777-200ER flights to analyze both ground and flight operations. 

Specialists in aging aircraft continued their exploration of widespread fatigue 

damage by also calculating the effectiveness of 20 nondestructive inspection (NDI) 

techniques to detect small hidden cracks without disassembling aircraft. They created 

a database to share that information with engineering organizations so the aviation 

community could calibrate and validate methodologies for finding structural fatigue. 

The FAA continued to work with industry to enhance the current life 

management processes for aircraft engines. In FY06, an FAA team made a giant 

stride to remove flawed aircraft engine components during the manufacturing 

process based on the probability of detection (POD). Researchers took advantage 

of more powerful computers to form better POD estimates of titanium alloy rotors. 

New probability curves for ultrasonic inspection of so-called hard alpha defects will 

help shape future damage-tolerant designs. Researchers developed a new version 

of the tool called Design Assessment of Reliability with Inspection (DARWIN

®) 

that helps engine manufacturers enhance life management processes for rotating 

components in high-energy turbines. FAA researchers also worked with the Naval 

Air Warfare Center to release an improved version of the Uncontained Engine 

Debris Damage Assessment Model (UEDDAM), a tool that allows manufacturers 

to protect proprietary data within the code. 

Several technological developments in FY06 will help engineers generate 

new power system protection technologies and safety guidelines. FAA-sponsored 

engineers developed a new risk analysis software package that checks a plane’s 

electrical wire interconnect system (EWIS), making it easier to detect structural 
37 hazards and potential fire sources, as well as helping certification officials analyze 

EWIS designs. Meanwhile, specialists at the FAA Arc Fault Evaluation Laboratory 

discovered a new method of quantifying damage from electrical hazards. They also 

determined minimum distances between certain wire bundles. 

The FAA, the National Rotorcraft Technology Center, and the Center 

for Rotorcraft Innovation are adapting fixed-wing damage tolerance technologies 

for rotorcraft applications. In 2006, the FAA launched proposal solicitations and 

awarded multiyear research contracts to Bell Helicopter Textron Incorporation, 

Mississippi State University, and Vanderbilt University. The research team, which 

includes NASA, is finalizing a new test method to replace or supplement the 

existing standard test method for threshold crack growth, and the FAA has begun 

a rulemaking process to establish requirements for rotorcraft damage tolerance 

certification. In addition, researchers are analyzing U.S. Army data gathered from 

its Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) in Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk 

helicopters. The FAA is collaborating with British researchers in establishing a 

uniform standard for rotorcraft HUMS applications. 

FAA researchers continued their investigations of general aviation aircraft. 

They collaborated with colleagues at the South Dakota State University to find an 

alternative unleaded, high-octane fuel for general aviation use and evaluated an 

ethanol-based aviation fuel at the FAA Small Engine Test Facility. The FAA also 

worked closely with Cessna Aircraft to test and evaluate an ethanol derivative as a 

possible option to leaded aviation gasoline. 

Two	studies	of	aircraft	deicing	showed	a	Remote	On-Ground	Ice	Detection	

System	 (ROGIDS)	 technology	 works	 better	 than	 the	 present	 sight	 and	 touch	

inspections by icing personnel. Both the FAA and Transport Canada endorsed 

future	 development	 of	 the	 special	 infrared	 ROGIDS	 camera,	 which	 captures	

reflections from ice on aircraft wings. Researchers also worked with Canadian 

counterparts in determining an acceptable window for an aircraft taking off after 

workers had applied anti-icing fluid when light ice pellets were falling. In addition, 

the FAA provided four technical notes as guidance on the variety of instruments 

used to analyze and measure properties of icing conditions during flights. 

To help pilots avoid in-flight icing, the FAA upgraded its Current Icing 

Potential product during FY06. The renamed Current Icing Product shows finer 

detail, includes a severity index, and extends the vertical range to 30,000 feet. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
38 Aviation weather improvements include an investment in new storm detection 

and nowcasting capabilities. Researchers hope to combine more than a dozen legacy 

forecast products into the Consolidated Aviation Storm Forecast system. The FAA 

also began Nationwide deployment of the Terminal Convective Weather Forecast 

product, a new tool that provides an animated one-hour forecast of thunderstorms— 

including growth and decay—and shows both summer and winter precipitation 

more vividly. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

Researchers made other weather enhancements this past year. FAA-funded 

experts	created	the	Graphical	Turbulence	Guidance	product.	Anyone	may	access	

this tool, which depicts turbulence at different altitudes, through the Web-based 

Aviation Digital Data Service at http://adds.aviationweather.gov/. A Volcanic Ash 

Coordination Tool, deployed in Alaska, allowed the FAA, the National Weather 

Service, and other agencies to synchronize efforts to avoid airspace made dangerous 

by volcanoes. Researchers also improved the Real-Time Verification System (http:// 

rtvs.noaa.gov/) that the FAA, the National Weather Service, and the airlines’ deci

sion makers use to confirm the various forecasts by FAA weather products. 

­

FAA and FAA-funded researchers studied possible improvements in the air 

traffic management system. One team is analyzing current air traffic control workstation procedures and evaluating proposed changes to both personal interfaces and 

automated functions to reduce controller workloads. Combining electronic flight 

data with the airport surface detection equipment, another research team designed 

two prototype touch-sensitive Electronic Flight Data Interfaces for use by local and 

ground controllers in airport traffic control towers. Other researchers are also investigating the roles, responsibilities, resources, and tasks of controllers’ supervisors to 

identify the best ways to prevent operational errors. After examining exemplary 

performance at six Air Route Traffic Control Centers, researchers distributed an 

operations supervisor reference guide to the participating centers for feedback. 

Researchers funded by the FAA are studying processes and procedures 

operations on board airliners, using a methodology to monitor and diagnose flight 

operations. They have conducted several thousand observations, called Line 

Operations Safety Audits, involving 25 carriers. Human factors researchers are 

also looking into how to integrate electronic flight bags onto the flight deck and 

the transition from paper flight operations documents to electronic ones. They 

published a report this past year detailing methods to help users inexpensively 

incorporate electronic flight bag technology. 
39 To avoid design-induced human performance errors, the FAA has created 

a computer-based software program to help aircraft certification personnel ensure 

user-friendly flight deck technologies. The Aircraft Certification Job Aid is being 

deployed within the FAA, and the agency is noticing increased commercial inter

est in its use. In addition, human factors researchers have produced a handbook 

for pilots, instructors, and evaluators of technically advanced aircraft. The FAA 

also coordinated research to improve pilot training for automated flight decks, and 

regional airlines are already testing procedural changes for autopilot systems. 

­

Because nearly three-fourths of the air traffic control workforce will reach 

mandatory retirement age within eight years, the Human Factors Subcommittee 

of the FAA’s Research, Engineering, and Development Advisory Committee 

(REDAC) studied how to best find qualified replacements. The REDAC 

subcommittee contributed to the Controller Workforce Integrated Action Plan 

that proposes improvements in training and other areas. The FAA also recently 

adopted many recommendations of the REDAC Air Traffic Services Subcommittee 

Transition	Working	Group,	which	analyzed	barriers	to	the	transition	of	technology	

from	 research	 to	 operations.	 REDAC’s	 Separation	 Standards	 Working	 Group	

provided the FAA Administrator with recommendations on what R&D activities 

would help reduce separation standards without jeopardizing safety. 

At the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI), researchers are 

studying records of more than 20,000 pilots to determine ways in which risk may 

be reduced when establishing medical certification requirements. Another study, 

which examined how molecular changes caused by pilot fatigue affect a pilot’s 

performance or perception, provided critical information that will help the FAA 

create regulations and develop intervention therapies for workers with extendedduty shifts. Also being studied are the regulations for which altitudes general 

aviation pilots would require supplemental oxygen. 

FY06 ended with numerous improvements in the FAA’s airport technology 

research and development program. Engineers determined the most conspicuous 

configuration and combination of color and materials for a screen to shield planes 

moving on end-around taxiways from those taking off from runways. With nearly 

20 Engineered Material Arresting Systems installed to decelerate safely aircraft 

overrunning runways, researchers have constructed a testbed to assess their longterm environmental durability. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
40 In addition, researchers worked to extend the lifetime of airport pavements. 

Rubblization testing, in which a machine breaks apart existing concrete before 

workers overlay a new asphalt surface, will help the FAA modernize its design guid

ance. Engineers conducted traffic testing on rigid (concrete) overlay pavements, 

updating 35-year-old data to reflect current construction practices and aircraft 

loads. They incorporated the latest information into a new computer program for 

airport runway construction managers. Called FAA Rigid and Flexible Iterative 

Elastic Layer Design (FAArfield 1.0), the program uses structural analysis to evalu

ate stresses for pavement and overlay thicknesses. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

­­

During the past year, FAA partners initiated 33 pavement and airport visual 

guidance projects under the Airport Cooperative Research Program. The program 

supports research on problems shared by airport operating authorities such as those 

listed below: 

•	 Establishing	data	collection	and	use	guidelines	for	airfield	pavement	

management. 

•	 Developing	 improved	 civil	 aircraft	 arresting	 systems	 or	 seeking	

alternatives. 

•	 Developing	 guidebooks	 on	 the	 management	 of	 small	 airports,	 the	

implementation of airport Safety Management Systems, and the 

application of airport-user survey methodology. 

•	 Studying	new	design	concepts	for	airport	terminal	landside	facilities.

•	 Studying	use	of	LIDAR	in	obstruction	surveys.

•	 Determining	 appropriate	 methods	 for	 using	 Lightning-Warning	

Systems. 

•	 Analyzing	 hazard	 mitigation	 for	 runway	 end-approach	 lighting	

structures. 

•	 Developing	 alternative	 aircraft	 and	 airfield	 deicing	 and	 anti-icing	

fluid formulas. 

With NASA and Transport Canada, the FAA cosponsors a Center of 

Excellence called the Partnership for Air Transportation Noise and Emissions 

Reduction (PARTNER). Ten universities comprise PARTNER, and projects are 

funded at three other colleges. The 50 members of PARTNER’s advisory board 

include aerospace manufacturers; airlines and airports; National, State, and local 
41 Governments;	professional	and	trade	associations;	and	nongovernmental	organizations and community groups. 

In 2006, PARTNER researchers completed a prototype of the Aviation 

Environmental Portfolio Management Tool (APMT). During the past year, 

PARTNER used AEDT to conduct the NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) Demonstration 

Study for the FAA that integrated aircraft noise readings to calculate aircraft 

emissions with the goal of developing benchmark relationships between noise and 

various emissions at the local, regional, and global levels. The FAA is expanding 

research into aviation-related health impacts and has asked the Harvard School 

of Public Health to look into air pollutants and the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill to investigate how emissions affect air quality. In 2006, researchers 

made a preliminary evaluation of data from the project, measuring engine emissions that they say will shed new light on particulate matter, a known cause of 

respiratory diseases. 

Other PARTNER projects involve an assessment of global emissions, aviation fuel conservation, finding alternative aviation fuels, a study of low-frequency 

noise, reducing sonic booms, implementing more gradual descent approaches, and 

managing airport land use. 

The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 requires that 

spaceflight participants be informed of the health risks associated with shortduration spaceflight. Although much is known about how young, healthy 

individuals withstand the rigors of long-duration spaceflights, the medical risks 

of short-duration microgravity exposure are not well understood. In addition, 

the typical space tourist who boards a suborbital flight will not always be young 

and healthy. Hence, the regulatory community needs to understand better the 

physiological challenges of manned spaceflight to ensure optimal performance 

and safety for a wide range of passengers. 

In 2006, the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation completed 

a research project in preparation for collecting voluntary medical data from 

commercial flight crew and spaceflight participants. Researchers defined the 

biomedical parameters recommended for preflight, in-flight, and post-flight 

monitoring to form a more complete understanding of the effects of suborbital flight 

on human physiology. The successful completion of this research project enabled 

the FAA to recommend to launch operators the specific types of biomedical 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
42 data—along with methodologies for their proper collection and processing—needed 

to clarify the physiological effects of short-duration spaceflight. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

FAA researchers completed a milestone study on debris risk analysis. The 

agency often uses computer-based models to anticipate public casualties related to 

commercial launch accidents. Researchers examined how well current computer 

models predict the hazards to humans inside buildings subjected to external 

explosive forces by comparing model predictions to the outcomes of historic realworld incidents and to the results of explosive debris and blast forces on uninhabited 

test articles. The study found a correlation between predicted and actual results 

that reinforces the credibility of how insurance requirements and liability limits are 

currently established for commercial launch activities. 

In a related 2006 project designed to further determine and refine the accuracy 

of debris dispersion models, FAA and NASA researchers studied characteristics of 

debris recovered from the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. As part of this study, 

researchers established a processing area and set up scales, cameras, computers, 

and other equipment for recording information into a database. Then they began 

to develop and optimize the procedures for the labor-intensive task of processing 

the large quantity of debris. The debris collection, stored in the Vehicle Assembly 

Building	at	KSC,	contains	over	84,000	items,	most	of	which	are	associated	with	GPS	

latitude and longitude impact coordinates. The coordinates, along with physical 

measurements and aerodynamic features, such as shape and ballistic coefficient, can 

help researchers and analysts develop and refine debris dispersion models that are 

used for establishing safety requirements and evaluating public risk associated with 

space operations. 

As the commercial space transportation industry evolves, so does the FAA as 

part of its responsibility to ensure public safety. With a focus on the rapid evolution 

and complexity of new launch vehicles, agency researchers are leading efforts to 

establish new processes to evaluate and approve the safety of critical launch vehicle 

components, systems, and space vehicle traffic. During FY06, researchers began a 

study on the separation requirements that will allow certain aircraft and commercial spacecraft to operate safely together within the national aerospace system. 

In FY06, the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation issued licenses 

for eight commercial space launches. Information about the Office of Commercial 

Space Transportation, reports, and other documents can be found at http://ast.faa.gov. 
43 

deparTmenT of CommerCe 

DOC 

In FY06, the Department of Commerce engaged in a wide variety of activities that furthered U.S. interests in aeronautics and space, including national policy 

development, satellite operations, technology development, measurement and calibration, international cooperation, trade promotion, and spectrum management. 

At the departmental level, DOC continued its active role on the National 

Security Council’s Space Policy Coordinating Committee (Space PCC), through the 

direct participation of the Deputy Secretary of Commerce and staff from NOAA, the 

International Trade Administration (ITA), the National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration (NTIA) and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). 

Among the Space PCC’s accomplishments was the release of the new National Space 

Policy. During the development of this policy, ITA arranged briefings to U.S. industry that ensured commercial interests were adequately addressed. 

Also at the departmental level, DOC continued to play a key role on the 

National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Executive 

Committee—the senior body that advises and coordinates Federal departments 

and	agencies	on	matters	concerning	GPS	and	related	systems.	Deputy	Secretary	

of Commerce David Sampson hosted the meetings of the Executive Committee 

and established the National Space-Based PNT Coordination Office to include 

DOC personnel and resources. In January 2006, Dr. Sampson delivered the keynote 

address at a media event organized by DOC and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 

to	 announce	 the	 availability	 of	 civilian	 upgrades	 to	 GPS.	 DOC	 completed	 an	

economic study of the benefits of those upgrades and published the results in the 

trade press. DOC also contributed to the development of several strategic documents used by the Executive Committee to implement the President’s 2004 policy 

on space-based PNT. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
44 DOC participated in an interagency initiative to develop an Integrated Plan 

for	the	Next	Generation	Air	Transportation	System.	ITA	contributed	to	the	forma-

tion of the interagency JPDO, as well as various related technical working groups, 

and contributed to the Administration’s review of the U.S. export control regime. 

Furthermore, NOAA is leading the Weather Integrated Product Team. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

DOC participated in the review of Administration policies on aeronautical 

research and development through the National Science and Technology Council’s 

(NSTC) Aeronautics S&T Subcommittee. Over the course of the year, ITA staff 

participated in the S&T Subcommittee development of a draft National Policy on 

Aeronautics Research and Development that establishes principles, goals, priorities, and processes for Federal aeronautics research and development investments 

and policies. 

DOC continued to represent commercial remote sensing interests within the 

Remote	Sensing	Interagency	Working	Group	(RSIWG).	The	RSIWG	is	charged	

with coordinating policy for the export of remote sensing satellite systems and 

negotiating	 Government-to-Government	 agreements	 covering	 the	 safeguarding	

of those systems’ technology. The group held consultations with several countries 

on remote sensing satellite cooperation and met with industry to understand the 

impact of this technology on their interests. 

Within NOAA, space-related activities occurred across the entire 

organization. Two satellite launches during FY06 ensured continued access to 

geostationary	and	polar-orbiting	satellite	data	for	users.	On	May	24,	2006,	GOES-N	

(Geostationary	 Operational	 Environmental	 Satellite)	 was	 successfully	 launched.	

Upon	reaching	final	orbit,	the	satellite	was	renamed	GOES-13.	It	is	the	first	in	a	

new series of geostationary satellites that feature a more stable platform, enabling 

improved instrument performance. NOAA instruments were launched on the 

European MetOp-A polar-orbiting satellite. Combined with NOAA and DOD 

satellites, MetOp will help provide global data regarding severe weather forecasts, 

disaster mitigation, and environmental monitoring. This launch ushered in a new 

era of U.S.-European cooperation in environmental observing. 

NOAA’s Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) 

continued to provide an uninterrupted flow of global environmental information. 

POES provided support for oceanic and space environmental modeling, tropical 

storm analysis and forecasting, local weather forecasting, ecosystem monitoring, 
45 and climate monitoring. The global data from these satellites are used extensively 

in NOAA’s weather and climate prediction numerical models. 

As	part	of	the	United	States’	contribution	to	the	international	Global	Earth	

Observation	System	of	Systems	(GEOSS),	NOAA	agreed	to	reposition	a	geostationary	satellite,	GOES-10,	over	South	America	to	provide	better	meteorological	

coverage for the region. In addition to increasing NOAA’s ability to image the 

eastern Atlantic for hurricanes, the move helps South American meteorological 

centers in their efforts to improve weather forecasting and is a key demonstration of 

the type of international effort needed to achieve the integrated Earth observation 

benefits	envisioned	by	the	Group	on	Earth	Observations	(GEO).	

In 2006, NOAA satellite operations and data processing groups began 

moving into their new home in the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF). 

NSOF houses the NOAA satellite command, control functions, and data and 

distribution activities that are central to the NOAA mission. NSOF also houses the 

U.S. Mission Control Center for the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking 

program (SARSAT) and the National Ice Center (NIC), a joint NOAA/DOD 

mission to track ice floes and issue warnings to the Nation’s maritime force. 

In September 2006, NOAA convened a second International Commercial 

Remote	 Sensing	 Satellite	 Symposium.	 Attended	 by	 over	 200	 Government	

and industry leaders from around the world, this symposium brought together 

international	business	and	Government	leaders	to	explore	the	current	policy	issues	

facing the commercial remote sensing satellite sector. NOAA continued to license 

the operation of U.S. commercial remote sensing satellites and oversee technical 

analyses and support efforts to better characterize the remote sensing market 

and foreign commercial availability of these sensitive technologies. NOAA also 

continued to manage the Federal Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote 

Sensing (ACCRES). 

In	 2006,	 the	 GEONETCast	 (Group	 on	 Earth	 Observations	 Network)	

Implementation	 Group	 comprised	 of	 NOAA,	 EUMETSAT	 (European	

Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the World 

Meteorological	Organization	sought	to	identify	other	GEONETCast	providers	to	

assist	in	the	development	of	a	global	dissemination	capability.	GEONETCast	is	a	

GEOSS-related	dissemination	system	by	which	environmental	in	situ,	airborne,	

and space-based observations, products, and services will be transmitted to users 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
46 through a global network of communications satellites. In August, discussions 

were held with China regarding its FengYunCast system, which has now been 

offered	as	a	contribution	to	GEONETCast	and	will	provide	coverage	for	most	of	

Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Western Pacific. A major thrust in 2006 

for	GEONETCast	was	to	demonstrate	an	initial	technical	capability.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

NOAA and EUMETSAT continued their cooperation in a joint polarorbiting satellite system. Under a joint agreement, a EUMETSAT instrument 

has been provided to NOAA-18 and NOAA-N Prime. In return, EUMETSAT 

will provide and launch three European-built satellites, the MetOp series, which 

will carry key NOAA instruments. NOAA signed a four-partner agreement with 

NASA, the French Space Agency (CNES), and EUMETSAT for the Ocean Surface 

Topography Mission (OSTM). Under this agreement, the parties will cooperate in 

the development, launch, and operation of a Jason-2 satellite that will provide sea 

surface height information from satellite altimetry. 

NOAA satellites helped save 272 people from potentially life-jeopardizing 

emergencies throughout the United States and its surrounding waters in 2006. This 

number is up from 222 the previous year. NOAA’s polar-orbiting and geostationary 

satellites and Russia’s COSPAS spacecraft, along with instruments from France and 

Canada, make up the powerful international Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided 

Tracking System, called COSPAS-SARSAT. Worldwide, the COSPAS-SARSAT 

system helped save over 1,500 lives in 2006. 

Using commercially available, high-resolution color satellite imagery, 

NOAA mapped the estimated 36,800 square kilometers of shallow-water coral 

ecosystems in the Nation’s tropical and subtropical waters. The availability of 

this imagery, which has minimal sun glint and cloud cover, has made possible the 

mapping of geographically and logistically remote areas, including the Northern 

Marianas and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. 

NOAA combined satellite imagery with other data to monitor ocean conditions	 and	 predict	 probable	 harmful	 algal	 blooms	(HABs)	 in	 the	 Gulf	 of	 Mexico.	

HABs, which can have devastating environmental, economic, and human health 

impacts, were monitored and mapped as they occurred so that officials and citizens in 

the impacted communities could be notified via the Internet. During FY06, 117 HAB 

bulletins were sent to 181 resource managers at 50 Federal, State, and local institu­
47 tions. NOAA’s system synthesizes OrbView-2 ocean color imagery with field observations, meteorological data, and transport models to produce the HAB information. 

NOAA worked with numerous satellite ocean data providers to develop 

an Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) that routinely and continuously 

provided	information	on	current	and	future	states	of	the	oceans	and	Great	Lakes—

from the global scale of ocean basins to local scales of coastal ecosystems. Satellites 

are one of the major observation platforms used by IOOS to measure parameters 

such as chlorophyll concentrations, sea surface temperature, winds, and other 

meteorological conditions. 

Major improvements were made to NOAA’s emergency response technology 

and procedures in 2006 due to the overwhelming response to NOAA’s post-storm 

aerial	 imagery	 of	 areas	 affected	 by	 Hurricanes	 Katrina	 and	 Rita.	 As	 shown	 with	

Tropical Storm Ernesto, NOAA provides Web-accessible, geo-referenced imagery 

within six hours of survey aircraft touch down. This typically means within 18 hours 

of storm landfall. After Ernesto made landfall in September 2006, NOAA collected 

1,131 images over northeastern North Carolina, an area damaged by extensive 

flooding. NOAA’s emergency response technology supports safe navigation while 

providing critical baseline data for demarcating the Nation’s territorial limits. 

In	the	area	of	GPS	data	services,	NOAA	continued	to	expand	the	national	

and international network of Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS), 

providing	highly	accurate	positional	coordinates	to	GPS	users	through	Web-based	

utilities such as NOAA’s Online Positioning User Service (OPUS). OPUS allows 

users,	 such	 as	 professional	 surveyors,	 to	 submit	 their	 GPS	 observations	 via	 the	

Internet	to	NOAA.	As	a	result,	anyone	with	a	single	geodetic	quality	GPS	receiver	

may position themselves in the National Spatial Reference System to an accuracy 

of two centimeters with just two hours of data. 

Through CORS and OPUS, NOAA provided critical assistance to the U.S. 

Army	 in	 the	 design,	 development,	 and	 implementation	 of	 the	 Iraqi	 Geospatial	

Reference	 System	 (IGRS).	 The	 IGRS	 was	 modeled	 after	 the	 National	 Spatial	

Reference System used in the United States, which provides a consistent national 

coordinate system to support mapping, charting, navigation, boundary determination, property delineation, infrastructure development, resource evaluation 

surveys, and scientific applications. Currently, six Iraqi CORS are fully operational. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
48 Army, Air Force, Marine, and civilian surveyors from many nations and disciplines 

used the CORS stations and NOAA’s OPUS for projects in Iraq. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

In response to the need to improve tropical cyclone prediction, NOAA 

scientists and the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere created 

a new product for Tropical Cyclone Formation Probability (TCFP). Combining 

the vertical shear of the wind, the sea surface temperature, and images in the water 

vapor	channel	from	the	GOES-East	satellite,	the	product	determines	the	probability	

that a tropical cyclone will form within the next 24 hours. The product also indicates the climatological probability of cyclone formation for a given region. The 

product covers the area of forecast responsibility of the National Hurricane Center, 

including the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific Oceans. NOAA’s product became 

operational in time for the 2006 hurricane season. In July 2006, Tropical Storm 

Carlotta was located in the Pacific Ocean west of Mexico. The product pinpointed 

an area where formation of a tropical cyclone was much more likely than average. 

Hurricane Daniel formed in this region the next day. 

NOAA scientists developed methods to use bending angle and refractive 

index	 measurements	 from	 GPS	 satellites	 in	 the	 Global	 Forecast	 System	 (GFS)	

model.	The	signals	from	GPS	satellites	are	used	to	probe	the	atmosphere	and	assist	

weather	forecasters.	Observations	from	the	German	Challenging	Micro-Satellite	

Payload mission were used successfully to test these methods. 

In June 2006, NOAA CoastWatch launched its newest region, the East 

Coast Node, at the Chesapeake Bay office of NOAA in Annapolis, Maryland. 

The new node provides a range of diverse data from multiple satellites and makes 

the products available via the Internet. Scientists, resource managers, and fishermen use the data to forecast atmospheric events, predict harmful algal blooms, and 

study the presence and distribution of fish and marine mammals along the eastern 

seaboard of the United States. 

During FY06, NOAA’s Office of Space Commercialization (OSC) 

reinvigorated its efforts to promote U.S. space commerce across a range of sectors, 

including space-based PNT, commercial remote sensing, space transportation, 

and space exploration. With new staffing, resources, and management, OSC reestablished its capability to serve the commercial space industry’s interests through 

policy and advocacy activities. Throughout the year, OSC engaged in significant 

outreach to the U.S. space industry, including speeches at various conferences 
49 and testimony at a congressional hearing on the economic importance of spacebased assets. 

OSC worked closely with the State Department to develop strate

gies	 for	 international	 cooperation	 related	 to	 GPS,	 promote	 the	 U.S.	 message	 at	

international satellite navigation conferences, and participate in bilateral consul

tations	with	Russia	on	GPS	and	the	Global	Orbiting	Navigation	Satellite	System	

(GLONASS).	 OSC	 also	 organized	 meetings	 with	 U.S.	 industry	 to	 discuss	 trade	

concerns under the auspices of the U.S.-European agreement on cooperation in 

satellite navigation. 

­

­

Outside NOAA, the BIS, with involvement from OSC and ITA, initiated 

a comprehensive survey of the U.S. space industry to collect specific information 

regarding the industrial, economic, and financial performance of over 350 individual companies. The survey was requested by the DOD’s National Security Space 

Office to investigate the health and competitiveness of the U.S. space industrial 

base with a focus on the impact of export controls. 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) performed a 

broad array of aeronautics and space-related measurements, technology development, and industry support activities in FY06. As described below, NIST activities 

addressed areas such as fire research, nanotechnology, manufacturing and materials, 

optics, sensors, electronics, and electromagnetics. 

NIST	worked	with	GRC	to	characterize	and	calibrate	smoke	measurement	

instrumentation for use in the SAME aboard the ISS. The instrument, which 

provides for better characterization of smoke particulate from various practical 

materials, is used for spacecraft fire safety applications and to obtain data critical 

to the design of reliable smoke detection for long-duration space missions and 

explorations. NIST performed the calibrations of the instruments using a wide 

range of smoke particle sizes and concentrations. 

NIST initiated research in 2006 to study the feasibility of using temperature	gradient	focusing	(TGF)	to	improve	the	detection	limits	of	the	Mars	Organic	

Analyzer currently being developed at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Because organic molecules have not yet actually been detected on Mars, the detection limits that will be required for an instrument such as the Mars Organic Analyzer 

are not yet known. The last attempt to detect and measure organic molecules on 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
50 the surface of Mars failed because the detection limits of that instrument turned out 

to be inadequate. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

NIST worked with the aerospace industry and their suppliers to standardize 

the exchange of feature-based part data between Computer-Aided Design (CAD) 

and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) systems and machining systems. The 

international standard developed, called the Standard for the Exchange of Process 

Model data for Numerical Control (STEP-NC), allows the exchange of digital 

design data between the design team and the manufacturing team. 

Engineers	from	NIST	and	GSFC	had	significant	interactions	aimed	at	devel­

oping ways to integrate multiple components into a functioning space qualified 

complex sensor. 

Relating	 to	 nanotechnology,	 NIST	 signed	 an	 MOU	 involving	 GSFC,	

the Army Research Laboratory, Lehigh University, ARC, and the Maryland 

Department of Business and Economic Development. The MOU covered nano­

technology application development, facility access, and research collaborations. 

The NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) continued its 

work with aerospace industry suppliers to develop a greater understanding of the 

technology drivers impacting the industry. The MEP system provided manufacturing improvements services to Boeing suppliers and expanded its partnership with 

the Boeing Company through state-supplier training programs in eight states— 

Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, and Washington. 

The Boeing Company and the MEP system reached over 1,400 aerospace suppliers 

to ensure they were in compliance with industry standards. 

NIST hosted a meeting of the NASA Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) 

working group in 2006 to further develop collaborations on new instrumentation and metrology for the evaluation of structural integrity. Joint development of 

acoustic emission technology also continued toward improved identification and 

location of defects in structural materials. This effort supports NASA’s general 

NDE program for evaluation and inspection of aircraft and spacecraft structures 

with overall goals to improve sensitivity, reduce uncertainty, and ensure reliable 

use of NDE in the field. 

NIST developed Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUID) 

multiplexers with two orders of magnitude greater immunity to stray fields from the 

environment. This immunity will be critical for systematic error control in high 
51 precision systems to study the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). NIST also 

developed new microwave interrogation techniques to read out extremely large 

arrays of SQUIDs without power dissipation. These microwave SQUID multiplexers 

will make it possible to scale to even larger transition-edge sensor (TES) arrays. 

NIST and international collaborators also successfully demonstrated prototype submillimeter imagers for the Submillimeter Common-User Bolometer Array 

(SCUBA-2) camera. 

NIST researchers completed a series of liquid permittivity measurements for 

JPL. Using the improved measurement system, NIST successfully delivered in 2006 

the required measurements of electrical permittivity as a function of temperature 

and frequency on three liquids that are needed to ensure proper calibration of the 

Mars Phoenix Lander’s dielectric probe prior to launch, scheduled for 2007. 

NIST continued to support the Shuttle program through electromagnetic 

shielding measurements, presenting shielding data to the Shuttle Evaluation Panel 

at JSC and delivering a final report to NASA that summarizes the measurement 

methods, shielding results, and measurement uncertainties. 

The NIST measurements of the Shuttle are part of a broader NIST effort— 

supported by the FAA, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and 

Boeing—to support the aerospace industry through development of efficient 

techniques for measuring the shielding of aircraft to electromagnetic radiation. 

Shielding is needed to reduce interference between aircraft navigation systems, 

external radiation, and onboard laptops and cell phones. Over the past several 

years, NIST has developed new time domain techniques to enable fast, reliable 

measurements in scattering rich environments, such as an assembly hangar. The 

method has been successfully applied to a wide range of aircraft, including a 

Boeing	 737	 and	 767-400,	 a	 Bombardier	 Global	 5000	 business	 jet,	 an	 Airborne	

Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, and the Space Shuttle. 

With strong NASA support, NIST continues production and critical 

compilation of atomic spectroscopic data needed by space astronomers. Critical 

data compilations include iron spectra; spectra of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, argon; 

and spectra of other elements with relatively high cosmic abundance. The measured 

and tabulated spectroscopic quantities are transition energies (wavelengths), energy 

levels, oscillator strengths, and branching ratios. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
52 NIST also signed a cooperative research agreement with Utah State University 

Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) to advance the development and calibration of 

optical sensors. The agreement emphasizes the calibration of satellite imagers and 

sensors that are important for climate-change research and remote sensing. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

NIST’s Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF III) served as a 

source of soft x rays and vacuum ultraviolet light to calibrate mirrors, detectors, and 

spectrometers used in NASA spacecraft that study solar flares and astronomical bodies, 

such as the Extreme-ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE), part of NASA’s Solar 

Dynamics Observatory mission. SURF III was also used to calibrate the NOAAsupported Avalanche-photodiode X-ray Spectrometer. SURF III also continued to 

provide the calibration standard for experimental determination of atomic radiation 

intensities required for interpretation of Hubble Space Telescope data. 

In addition to the calibration work cited above, NIST worked with other 

agencies on a variety of calibration methods and standards for satellite and 

spacecraft sensors. With funding from NASA partner European Space Agency, 

NIST developed better calibration standards for the Space Telescope Imaging 

Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. NIST partnered with the Air Force 

Research Laboratory to improve the accuracy of infrared signature measurements 

on aerospace vehicles. NIST collaborated with NOAA and NASA on the 

GOES-R	satellite	program	to	aid	the	future	calibration	and	validation	of	the	satellite	

optical sensors, and participated in the review of calibration-validation plans and 

developed	 measurement	 technology	 to	 ensure	 that	 GOES-R	 measurements	 are	

tied to international standards. 

The NIST Low Background Infrared (LBIR) facility, under a contract from 

the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), continued development of a cryogenic Fourier 

Transform Infrared Spectrometer/Transfer Standard Radiometer (MDXR) for 

characterizing their sensor test chambers. This will provide MDA new capability 

to characterize the chambers that test the performance of missile defense sensors. 

This work reduces the need for field testing and cuts down enormously the cost of 

missile defense development. 

ITA continued to play an important role in promoting U.S. aerospace trade 

interests as the industry faced mounting competition from abroad. ITA participated 

in and organized trade events, as well as provided advocacy to support U.S. 

companies in international aerospace competitions. 
53 ITA was involved in various aviation security activities throughout 2006, 

including participation in the DOC working group regarding the National Strategy 

for Aviation Security (NSAS). ITA authored the section on DOC roles and respon

sibilities within the main strategy document. ITA coordinated with interagency 

and other DOC staff to ensure that the strategy reflected the goals and aspirations 

of	 the	 NGATS	 Initiative.	 In	 addition,	 ITA	 facilitated	 greater	 interagency	 coop

eration	through	representation	in	both	the	Global	Harmonization	and	the	Security	

Integrated	Product	Teams	of	the	JPDO,	the	main	coordinating	body	for	the	NGATS	

Initiative. ITA conducted industry outreach through various venues, including the 

JPDO and industry meetings. 

­

­

In FY06, ITA developed new market and policy assessments for civil-use 

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (UAS). ITA initiated public outreach on UAS 

issues, including giving presentations at several industry conferences and publishing	articles	on	the	impact	of	Government	policies	on	the	establishment	of	domestic	

and international UAS markets. 

ITA continued to support the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in its 

many meetings with the World Trade Organization and at negotiations for free 

trade agreements. In particular, support for the ongoing U.S./EU (European Union) 

trade dispute over Large Civil Aircraft has required detailed support and industry 

knowledge only found in the aerospace team. The USTR has been kept up to date 

regarding changes in the market, actions of the major stakeholders, and political 

analyses of the countries impacted. Close cooperation between the USTR and 

DOC has resulted in a united front in which industry has been well represented. 

ITA continued to participate in negotiations at the Organization for Economic 

Cooperation and Development (OECD) aimed at revising the Aircraft Sector 

Understanding.	The	Governments	of	most	countries	with	major	aircraft	manufacturers are signatories to the OECD Arrangement of Officially Supported Export 

Credits, which establishes rules for export credit agencies and the way in which they 

finance civil aircraft sales. The arrangement, along with an annexed Aircraft Sector 

Understanding,	is	aimed	at	ensuring	that	Government-provided	export	financing	

is not a competitive factor in civil aircraft sales competitions. ITA supported the 

U.S. delegation’s successful efforts to engage Brazil as a full negotiating partner in 

these talks given the emergence of Brazilian-based Embraer as a leading exporter of 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
54 aircraft that will soon compete directly with U.S. firms. DOC has hosted ten meetings and two conference calls to consult with industry on this topic. Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

In June 2006, ITA organized and supported DOC’s participation in the 

Farnborough	 International	 Air	 Show	 (London,	 UK)	 and	 arranged	 senior-level	

meetings	for	the	Deputy	Secretary	with	foreign	Government	and	industry	officials,	

as well as with U.S. industry executives. 

In 2006, ITA initiated a dialogue with the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation 

on the topic of possible reductions in the maximum age of aircraft imported into 

India. The Ministry of Civil Aviation is considering reducing the current limit of 

15 years, which has been in place since 1993, to 12 years. In July 2006, ITA participated	in	a	video	conference	with	members	of	the	Office	of	Directorate	General	

Civil Aviation to discuss the proposed change in policy and possible alternatives. 

ITA formed an ad hoc committee comprised of DOC personnel, industry, and 

trade association representatives to monitor the status of the proposed change, and 

ITA continues to press for its nonadoption. 

ITA’s U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (US&FCS) recorded 268 

export successes in FY06 (a 22 percent increase from FY05) valued at over $16 

billion. Commercial Service (CS) personnel impacted deals not only with smalland medium-sized companies, but also with larger corporations such as Boeing, 

Lockheed	Martin,	Raytheon,	and	Northrop	Grumman.	

ITA’s Commercial Service held over 975 counseling sessions with U.S. aerospace companies, helping them to resolve international trade issues, identify new 

export markets, and develop strategies for entering those markets. 

ITA’s Commercial Service participated in 35 international trade events at 

which the CS Aerospace Team members provided U.S. industry support through 

one-on-one counseling sessions, arranging individualized buyer-to-buyer meetings 

with international business partners, and conducting additional export counseling 

services. ITA also sponsored Aerospace Products Literature Centers (APLCs) at 

several air shows, which offered to U.S. small- to medium-sized aerospace companies low-cost, efficient venues to explore international and niche aerospace markets. 

The APLCs generated hundreds of trade leads for participating companies, allowing 

them to enter or expand their exports to international markets. These international 

trade events included Asian Aerospace 2006 (Singapore), the Seoul International 

Air Show, the Dubai Air Show, 2006 FIDAE International Air Show (Chile), ILA 
55 2006	Aviation	Airshow	(Germany),	Africa	Aerospace	&	Defense	(South	Africa),	

and	the	Farnborough	International	Air	Show	(London,	UK).

DOC’s NTIA undertook a number of policy initiatives regarding satellites 

and other space-based communications systems as the lead advisory agency for 

Federal	Government	telecommunications	issues.	NTIA	provided	policy	guidance	

on issues concerning the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization 

and the International Mobile Satellite Organization. NTIA also continued to 

manage	 the	 Federal	 Government’s	 assignments,	 nationally	 and	 internationally,	

for	use	of	the	radio	spectrum	for	NOAA,	NASA,	DOD,	and	other	Government	

agencies with satellite programs. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
56
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
57 

deparTmenT of The inTerior 

DOI 

The	 U.S.	 Geological	 Survey	 (USGS)	 Landsat	 5	 Flight	 Operations	 Team	

was selected by the AIAA to receive the International Space Operations Award 

for Outstanding Achievement for 2006. The team received the award at the 9th 

International Conference on Space Operations in Rome, Italy, on June 19-23, 2006. 

Quoting	the	citation,	the	USGS	team	received	the	award,	“for	dedicated	efforts	in	

recovering Landsat 5 from two potentially mission-ending hardware anomalies and 

restoring the mission to full operations.” In November 2005, the solar array that 

generates power for Landsat 5 stopped working properly; in March 2006, the downlink transmitter that sends image data to ground stations tripped a circuit breaker 

and stopped transmitting data. In each case, the Flight Operations Team was able 

to devise corrective procedures and restore the 22-year-old Landsat 5 spacecraft to 

full operations. As a result of the team’s efforts, image data from Landsat 5 continues to be available to scientists around the globe. 

The Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) instrument is 

currently operating in SAM (Scan Angle Monitor) mode to control the motion 

of the scan mirror during imaging. Over time, wear of the scan mirror assembly 

will cause the instrument to lose the ability to synchronize the calibration shutter 

with the scan mirror. Current projections show this to occur between March 2007 

and January 2008. As a result, changes to operations and software are necessary to 

switch the instrument to an alternate mode, known as “bumper mode.” 

In preparation for this event, on March 3 and 19, 2006, the Landsat 7 

Flight Operations Team successfully tested bumper mode operations over several 

geometric calibration sites. Analysis of the preliminary data show the movement 

of one of the antennas impacted image acquisition, but this error can be corrected 

by the ground processing system. Additional in-depth research is underway, but 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
58 this successful bumper mode test is a positive indicator for the continuation of the 

Landsat 7 mission. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

On December 23, 2005, the Office of Science Technology and Policy 

(OSTP) announced that the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) was to 

be launched as a free flyer mission, with NASA responsible for the space segment 

and	the	launch	segment,	and	the	USGS	responsible	for	communicating	with	and	

operating	the	LDCM	satellite.	The	USGS	is	also	working	with	NASA	on	science	

and mission requirements, operations concepts, and coordination processes. The 

USGS	has	organized	a	Landsat	Science	Team	and	begun	research	on	the	current	

and historic Landsat user community to gain user community insight, input, and 

advice.	The	USGS	has	been	documenting	its	own	ground	system	responsibilities	

and requirements and is working on requirements analysis, project planning, technology investigation, and implementation of earned value management for the 

entire	USGS	project.	

There has been increasing demand for research utilizing all information 

generated from LIDAR remote sensing data. This technology is a proven mapping 

tool, effective for generating bare Earth Digital Elevation Models (DEM), although 

research on using the entire capability of this remote sensing data for scientific 

applications have been slowed by the high cost of collecting LIDAR and a steep 

learning curve on utilizing the complexities of LIDAR data. 

The	 USGS	 Center	 for	 Earth	 Resources	 Observation	 and	 Science	 (USGS/

EROS) launched a new Web portal designed to assist users in accessing LIDAR remote 

sensing	 data.	 The	 Center	 for	 LIDAR	 Information	 Coordination	 and	 Knowledge	

(CLICK)	is	designed	to	facilitate	innovation	in	the	scientific	community	by	providing	

a	place	for	all	LIDAR	users—inside	and	outside	the	USGS—to	visit,	ask	and	answer	

questions, and coordinate with others who are seeking or have data. By having ready 

access to LIDAR data and information, scientists have the opportunity to incorporate 

that	data	into	their	applications.	CLICK’s	main	mission	is	to	invite	people	in	the	

LIDAR community to exchange ideas, information, and even raw point cloud data for 

scientific	needs.	To	learn	more	about	CLICK,	visit	http://lidar.cr.usgs.gov. 

CLICK	currently	holds	and	is	disseminating	over	two	terabytes	of	LIDAR	

data, has 127 registered members from 22 countries, and has seen over 10,000 views 

of the Web site since it went public in February 2006. 
59 The	 USGS	 is	 offering	 Web-enabled	 access	 to	 selected	 Landsat	 satellite	

scenes that have been preprocessed to a consistent set of parameters, including 

orthorectification. 

The	Tri-decadal	Global	Landsat	Orthorectified	data	collection	is	a	global	set	

of high-quality, relatively cloud-free orthorectified imagery totaling nearly 32,000 

scenes. The sources of these images include Landsat 1-3 Multispectral Scanner 

(circa 1975), Landsat 4-5 Thematic Mapper (circa 1990), and Landsat 7 Enhanced 

Thematic Mapper Plus (circa 2000). Beginning in early FY06, users were able to 

download an entire scene, containing all bands, metadata, and header information. 

Some data users, especially those requiring numerous Landsat scenes, 

continue to purchase these data on media. However, since the release of these 

data	 through	 the	 Global	 Visualization	 Viewer	(GloVis)	 at	 http://glovis.usgs.gov/ 

and Earth Explorer at http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/, nearly 8,700 scenes have been 

downloaded over the Internet to the user. 

USGS/EROS	 released	 a	 Web	 portal	 for	 the	 USGS	 Land	 Cover	 Institute	

on May 29, 2006. Recognizing the large and growing need for land cover data 

and	 information	 to	 support	 land	 cover	 research	 and	 applications,	 the	 USGS	

has established the Web-based Land Cover Institute. The Institute serves as an 

impartial advocate for land science research through seminars, workshops, and the 

Web site, http://landcover.usgs.gov/. The site is a resource for land cover scientists 

who use satellite images and other datasets to assess national and global land cover 

characteristics and to monitor the speed and manner of land cover changes. 

Scientists from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) 

worked	 with	 USGS/EROS	 as	 part	 of	 an	 international	 effort	 to	 conduct	 a	 test	

downlink of satellite imagery from the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite-2 

(CBERS-2). CBERS-2 was launched in October 2003 as a joint effort between 

INPE in Brazil and the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST). On 

March	30	and	again	on	March	31,	2006,	INPE	and	USGS	received	and	processed	

data from CBERS-2. This downlink marked the first time that CBERS-2 data were 

collected outside of Brazil and China. 

With	the	successful	downlink	of	CBERS-2	data	to	EROS,	the	USGS	continues to evaluate the usability of the data for science and operational programs. It is 

part	of	an	ongoing	effort	at	USGS	to	assess	the	utility	and	value	of	alternative	and	

complementary Landsat-like satellite data sources. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
60 The	 USGS	 is	 also	 working	 directly	 with	 the	 Indian Space Research 

Organization to assess data from the ResourceSat-1 satellite and other satellite 

data providers, both internationally and in the U.S., to understand the quality and 

potential for data from existing and planned systems. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

U.S.	Fish	and	Wildlife	Service	(FWS)	scientists	use	GPS	technology	and	

remotely sensed data in several ways to support their mission activities. The FWS 

has	been	using	GPS	and	remote	sensing	data	for	many	years	to	conduct	trend	analy­

sis that monitors changes to vegetation and habitat in order to create new maps of 

their locations. In some cases, the data are used to monitor invasive species as well. 

Many of these applications are done in partnership with other governmental or 

conservation groups. Recent applications include: 

•	 The	Gulf	of	Maine	Coastal	Program	is	using	real-time	submeter	GPS	

to conduct mapping work on seabird nesting islands off the Maine 

coast in coordination with the National Audubon Society and Maine 

Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge. This technology is especially 

useful in placing search grids designed with geographic information 

system	(GIS)	software	on	the	islands	without	the	use	of	bulky	survey	

equipment. This helps biologists map habitat use over time and plan 

for future management that will aid in species recovery. 

•	 Personnel	 at	 Big	 Stone	 National	 Wildlife	 Refuge	 in	 Minnesota,	 in	

coordination	 with	 personnel	 from	 the	 USGS,	 used	 infrared	 photo	

imagery	 and	 GPS	 units	 to	 create	 a	 digital	 vegetation	 cover	 map	

for	 refuge	 GIS	 applications.	 Refuge	 personnel	 also	 used	 GPS	 units	

to document location data for biocontrol agent releases for leafy 

spurge control. 

•	 GIS	support	personnel	from	the	Raleigh,	North	Carolina	Ecological

Services	Field	Station	worked	with	the	North	Carolina	Gap	Analysis

Project	 (NC-GAP)	 to	 use	 Landsat	 imagery	 to	 generate	 potential

vertebrate species habitat data layers for a Web-based raster habitat

analysis system. 

Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) scientists used natural color 1-meter resolution National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery to map residential and 

commercial structures in the potential flood zone below the New Melones Dam in 

California’s San Joaquin Valley. This map was used to derive population at risk 

estimates from a modeled dam failure scenario. 
61 BOR staff also used high-definition video acquired from a helicopter to map 

exotic Russian olive stands along the Animas River in northwest New Mexico and 

southwest Colorado. Russian olive is an exotic species that consumes a significant 

proportion of the flow of the Animas River. The Russian olive stand maps are being 

used to plan efforts to remove this species from selected areas along the river. 

Staff scientists continued to use Landsat TM imagery, Indian Remote 

Sensing	satellite	imagery,	USGS	digital	orthophoto	quarterquads,	and	NAIP	imagery to map agricultural crops in the Colorado River basin, Southeastern California, 

and the Central Valley of California. Water managers used crop maps to verify 

crop fallowing agreements and combined them with crop water use coefficients and 

locally varying climate data to calculate agricultural consumptive water use. In the 

Lower Colorado River Basin, water usage by riparian vegetation was estimated in a 

similar fashion using riparian vegetation maps generated from Landsat TM imagery 

and high-resolution digital aerial imagery. 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has used an array of remote sensing 

technologies to inventory, monitor, and address concerns about resource conditions, as well as energy and mineral resource extraction on public lands. During 

FY06, remote sensing data from a variety of platforms, ranging from hand-held digital cameras to MODIS satellites, were combined with other spatial data from the 

Bureau’s	Enterprise	Geographic	Information	System	to	support	management	activities associated with minerals, fire, oil and gas, cadastral, wildlife habitat, forestry, 

wilderness, land exchanges, recreation, rangeland, cultural resources, and hazardous 

materials. These projects provided information for the Federal, State, and local 

land managers to make better informed decisions regarding resources in the areas 

under their jurisdiction. 

The largest source of remote sensing data used in the BLM comes from aerial 

photography programs. The BLM partners with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) for 

orthoimagery through the NAIP. The NAIP program acquires orthoimagery from 

airborne sensors over the entire country on an annual basis. Over the past three 

years, all of the Western U.S., except Arizona and Alaska, has been acquired. In 

FY06, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, and Washington were acquired. As the NAIP is a 

national program, the FSA is able to leverage outstanding pricing for these products 

and pass this savings on to their partners, allowing the BLM to acquire orthoimagery coverage at a fraction of the cost than if procured separately. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
62 BLM used the NAIP for a variety of resource management planning activi

ties, such as changing detection and surface disturbance delineation; providing 

road development updates and route inventory creation; characterizing land 

exchanges, mining, reclamation and recreation facilities; monitoring the health 

of rangelands and the impact of oil and gas development; treating vegetation; and 

fire planning. No other dataset provides the level of flexibility and coverage that 

NAIP can provide. 

­

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

Not all BLM’s orthoimagery came from the NAIP. For example, the Oregon/ 

Washington BLM completed acquisition of 1-foot natural color and color-infrared 

orthoimagery of the John Day River. The imagery provides baseline vegetation 

data (extent, percent cover, and category identification of forbs, shrubs, and trees) 

for managing the health of the river. Additionally, the BLM contracted for numer­

ous photogrammetric projects to assist with a variety of engineering activities. 

In addition to partnering with FSA, BLM continued to work with other 

Government	and	university	partners	to	expand	the	use	of	remote	sensing	systems	for	

resource	management	needs.	Multiple	groups	within	USGS,	including	the	Center	

for	 EROS,	 Fort	 Collins	 Science	 Center,	 and	 the	 Rocky	 Mountain	 Geographic	

Science Center, in addition to partners Agricultural Research Service, University 

of New Mexico, Utah State University, USFS, and NASA all collaborated on a 

variety of projects with the BLM. Examples of successful partnerships include: 

•	 Research	into	the	use	of	VLSA	(Very-Large	Scale	Aerial	Photography)	

stereo imagery is currently being conducted in the Idaho Falls District, 

Upper Snake Field Office. During the summer of 2006, the Agricultural 

Research Service conducted an aerial flight of the Medicine Lodge 

project in which 1mm resolution data and 10mm stereo imagery was 

acquired for the project area. Approximately 5,000 images were taken 

on an area of 50,000 acres. 

•	 A	joint	effort	between	USGS	and	Interferometric	Synthetic	Aperture	

Radar (IFSAR) collected historical water data over parts of the 

National Petroleum Reserve Area. 

•	 USGS	assisted	BLM	in	the	development	of	a	protocol	to	delineate	

surface disturbance activities in oil/gas development regions using 

orthophotography and high-resolution satellite data. 
63 •	 Utah	State	University	and	the	Utah	State	Office	explored	the	30-year	

history of Landsat data to develop a standardized protocol for examin

ing changes to rangelands over time. 

­

New tools need to be developed in response to the changing demands placed 

on public rangeland managers tasked with overseeing vast areas. To address the 

spatial and temporal constraints imposed on the BLM’s currently deployed decision 

support system, the BLM is exploring new ways of doing business. One such 

project, in collaboration with the University of New Mexico, is using established 

relationships between vegetation reactions to precipitation inputs. Predictive 

models of future vegetation greenness have been successfully developed by fusing 

high-temporal frequency remote sensing products from MODIS and precipitation 

products	from	the	Next	Generation	Weather	Radar	(NEXRAD)	program.	When	

deployed, these models allow managers to assess ongoing management in a proactive 

and efficient manner by forecasting conditions 16 days into the future based on 

current vegetation and climate conditions. The ability to view forecast conditions 

for entire regions allows managers to target areas of concern before problems occur, 

thus achieving a cost-effective solution to efficiently manage public resources. 

The Utah State Office is employing a combination of aerial photography 

and satellite imagery in order to complete a statewide inventory of forest stands 

in Utah. To date, nearly 4 million acres in Southwestern Utah has been mapped 

utilizing a new methodology of modeling vegetation with remote sensing; that 

is, digital orthophoto quadrangle-format natural color aerial photography and 

Landsat satellite imagery was evaluated in conjunction with other ancillary data, 

such as elevation, slope, aspect, and several vegetation indices created in the 

modeling process. 

With the pressures of increased domestic energy development, the BLM in 

Wyoming is leading the way in exploring new ways of using remote sensing technologies to assist to land management responsibilities. The diversity of projects includes: 

•	 In	Southwest	and	Central	Wyoming,	BLM	and	its	partners	(Wyoming	

Game	and	Fish	and	the	University	of	Wyoming)	are	utilizing	Landsat,	

Quickbird, orthophotography, and other ancillary data to map land 

cover to characterize habitat and land cover change. Included in this 

mapping effort was a specific study to identify aspen stands within 

broader deciduous forest class to quantify changes to its distribution. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
64 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

•	 The	Wyoming	State	Office	acquired	Quickbird	high-resolution	sat

ellite imagery for areas of high-profile energy development, such as 

Jonah Field, to quantify surface disturbance activities and assist land 

managers in monitoring Application for Permit to Drill (APD) pro

cesses in the area. 

­­

•	 In	conjunction	with	the	USGS,	under	the	Central	Region	Integrated	

Science Partnership Funds (CRISP), BLM participated in additional 

projects using remote sensing data to help us better understand 

human	 impacts	 on	 the	 landscape.	 USGS	 is	 using	 high-resolution	

Quickbird imagery to develop methodologies to identify and map 

species, cover, and height classes of sagebrush. Physical impacts of 

reenacted Mormon Handcart Journeys on the Mormon Trail were 

studied by comparing historic and current aerial photography to 

quantify changes caused by modern hikers. 

•	 Potential	 cheatgrass	 locations	 were	 identified	 for	 the	 Southeast	

Wyoming Cheatgrass Partnership. Modeling incorporated DEMs 

and a vegetation layer that the University of Wyoming created from 

Landsat imagery. Members of the partnership included the BLM, 

Wyoming	 Game	 and	 Fish,	 the	 Natural	 Resources	 Conservation	

Service (NRCS), FS, county weed and pest districts, and the 

University of Wyoming. 

The Owyhee Uplands Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) 

project is one of several components of the BLM’s National Monitoring Strategy, 

and it addresses the integration of resource inventory, monitoring, and assessment 

data at the regional scale. This pilot project focuses on a relatively intact 

sagebrush ecosystem in Idaho, Oregon, and Utah. It includes nearly 12 million 

acres of mostly public land administered by the BLM. The common issues that 

bind this area together revolve primarily around the health and resilience of its 

sagebrush communities, as well as the common threats or disturbance factors that 

bear on health and resilience. Three subprojects highlight the direction the BLM 

is taking to make operational use of remote sensing data to meet the requirements 

of the project: 

1.	 Given	the	regional	extent	of	this	pilot	project,	a	primary	goal	is	to	

identify specific questions for, and uses of, remotely sensed data in 

documenting vegetation distributions and trends. For example, in 
65 collaboration with Nevada Natural Heritage Program a cheatgrass 

(Bromus tectorum) canopy cover model was completed for Nevada 

and the Owyhee Uplands portion of Idaho and Oregon. This model

ing effort used Landsat and MODIS time series imagery to construct 

a phenology-based model for presence and canopy cover estimates 

of cheatgrass. Cheatgrass is a non-native invasive species that, once 

established, can result in significant alterations to fire regimes of many 

fire-dependent	Great	Basin	ecosystems.	The	resulting	model	and	map	

will provide information for both current land management planning 

and baseline information for documenting future trends in Cheatgrass 

expansion. Detailed information about this project can be found at 

http://heritage.nv.gov/gis/gis.htm#cheatgrass/. 

­

2.	 The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and BLM are exploring the use of 

various spatial modeling and image object analysis approaches as part 

of the Owyhee Upland project as well. This partnership has evaluated topology and hydrologic models that use various biophysical 

data (digital elevation models, aspect, slope, etc.) inputs to describe 

landforms. Specifically, scaling relationships were explored with these 

models to identify appropriate grain and extent required to characterize major landforms found in landscapes. 

3.	 In collaboration with Boise State University and Battelle Pacific 

Northwest Laboratory, the Owyhee Uplands project evaluated the use 

of image object analysis to identify and classify developmental phases 

of western juniper (Juniperous occidentalis). This work involves the use 

of image-object analysis and NAIP data. 

BLM Alaska is an active user of remote sensing data and products to fulfill 

its multiple-use mission. However, the main use of remotely sensed data centers 

around supporting these fire operations: 

•	 The	 BLM	 Alaska	 Fire	 Service	 (AFS)	 and	 University	 of	 Alaska	

Fairbanks,	Geographic	Information	Network	of	Alaska	(GINA)	coop

erate though an MOU for the utilization of near real-time MODIS and 

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery and 

other derived products. These products include the detection of new 

fires, monitoring of remote fires, and the tracking of smoke plumes. 

In	addition	to	imagery,	GINA	provides	remote	sensing	expertise	and	

­

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
66 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

advice when needed to assist AFS in its mission. In return, the AFS 

provides	 GINA	 with	 fire	 and	 fuels	 information	 such	 as	 perimeters,	

data from the BLM Remote Automated Weather Station network, 

the BLM Fire Weather Index, and other fire indices. 

•	 Landsat	data	were	used	extensively	by	AFS	for	the	mapping	and	analysis	

of fires and their effects on the land. In 2006, AFS utilized Landsat for 

perimeter mapping of large fires. AFS has also collected Landsat images 

to build a statewide earthcover and Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating 

System (CFFDRS) fuel model at a 30-meter scale. Previous statewide 

fuel models were developed using AVHRR data at a 1-kilometer scale. 

USGS	scientists	use	a	variety	of	remotely	sensed	multispectral	spatial	data	to	

develop statistically rigorous mapping products that assess habitat within the sagebrush ecosystem. The imagery used has a resolution range from 0.6m (Quickbird) 

pixels up to a 56m (IRS) pixel size. Scientists collected data for the entire State 

of Wyoming in FY06, and compiled initial analyses using the Quickbird imagery 

on a test site in Southwest Wyoming. Models will provide much needed habitat 

maps depicting the extent and abundance of sagebrush, herbaceous ground cover, 

and bare ground, which are essential to the management of habitats for sagebrush 

species of concern. 

Concurrently, scientists spatially mapped all developments (roads, energy 

developments, infrastructure, etc.) using high-resolution satellite imagery to accurately depict all surface disturbance in Wyoming. Scientists have been testing 

models in the same habitat pilot study area in Southwest Wyoming, with the intent 

of developing a spatial map of infrastructure across Wyoming. 

Saltcedar (Tamarix sp.) is a high-priority invasive species, contributing 

to the $120 billion economic loss suffered by the United States each year. The 

Invasive	 Species	 Group	 at	 the	 Fort	 Collins	 Science	 Center	 identified	 a	 habitat	

of saltcedar with very high accuracy using Landsat 7 data. This habitat map was 

created at a 30m resolution and was able to locate habitat patches on a scale that 

is	useful	to	land	managers.	In	conjunction	with	NASA,	the	USGS	also	created	a	

national map of saltcedar (Tamarix sp.) habitat. This map, which used MODIS 

and	GPS	field	data	to	locate	saltcedar	habitat	and	rank	each	state	by	area	of	salt­

cedar suitability, provided a broad look at the areas that expected to be invaded 

by saltcedar in the future. 
67 The	invasive	species	group	at	the	USGS	Fort	Collins	Science	Center	used	

vegetation indexes created from Landsat 7 data to locate butterfly species richness 

in Rocky Mountain National Park. This study suggested that spatial heterogeneity 

greatly influences patterns in butterfly species richness and that managers should 

consider wider landscape contexts in regards to butterflies. 

The National Institute for Invasive Species Science in Fort Collins, Colorado, 

used Landsat 7 data and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index derived from 

it to fill in data gaps in biodiversity, filling data gaps in poorly surveyed areas and 

estimating the density of native and non-native plant species. This information 

was used to set priorities for conservation and invasion mitigation, prevention, and 

control efforts. 

USGS	 scientists	obtained	 GPS	locations	 from	satellite	transmitters	on	 up	

to	24	American	White	Pelicans.	The	GPS	data	allow	scientists	to	determine	the	

locations	of	these	pelicans	throughout	the	year.	Investigators	were	able	to	plot	GPS	

locations on NAIP images or Landsat TM images to evaluate habitat use and assess 

distances between foraging and breeding sites. Together these data helped identify 

sites of importance to pelicans during breeding, migration, and wintering, as well as 

providing basic information needed to better understand the reproductive requirements of this species. 

Scientists	 used	 NAIP	 images	 as	 a	 GIS	 map	 layer	 in	 studies	 on	 Valentine	

National Wildlife Refuge to help select sampling units and to guide deployment 

of transects in each of the grazing treatments (e.g., long-rest and short-rest). These 

images serve as the basis for field maps used during data collection. In turn, the data 

collected are being used to evaluate the effects of the refuge’s grazing management 

on vegetation characteristics and on songbird diversity and density. 

Scientists	at	the	USGS’s	Northern	Prairie	Wildlife	Research	Center	in	cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are analyzing Quickbird imagery to 

inventory, map, estimate, and monitor habitat for least tern and piping plovers on four 

segments of the Upper Missouri River in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and 

Montana. The purpose of this science is to develop cost-effective and semi-automated 

methods to quantify habitats for these endangered and threatened bird species. The 

scientists are also investigating the use of LIDAR data to quantify the elevation of the 

emergent sandbar habitats and changes in habitat availability with river discharge. 

The	USGS	is	at	the	forefront	in	using	satellite	imagery	for	mapping	burn	

severity characteristics of current and historical wildfire fires. Research efforts by 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
68 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

USGS	and	National	Park	Service	staff	have	resulted	in	a	robust	method	to	quantify	

size, spatial patterns, frequency, and the overall environmental effects of wildfires. 

The	 USGS	 has	 been	 providing	 burned	 area	 emergency	 response	 (BAER)	

teams with rapid mapping support to minimize post-fire hazards of downstream 

flooding,	landslides,	and	soil	erosion.	For	FY06,	the	USGS	mapped	over	30	fires	at	

the request of the BAER teams. Observations from the Landsat 5 and 7 satellites are 

the primary source of data for the burn severity assessments. 

The	USGS/EROS	produces	derived	products	for	countries	approved	by	the	

National	 Geospatial-Intelligence	 Agency	 from	 the	 Shuttle	 Radar	 Topography	

Mission (SRTM) data. Products completed and distributed by staff for Central 

America and the Caribbean and selected countries in South America can be found at 

http://edcintl.cr.usgs.gov/iabin_datadownload.html/. Derived products were prepared to 

assist the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in flood control projects in 

Somalia. The products facilitate basin delineations that support land cover, conserva

tion, specialty coffee, and biodiversity projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

These	 products	 and	 applications	 are	 available	 at	 the	 USGS/EROS	 and	 through	

NASA SERVIR (Sistema de Monitoreo y Visualizacion para Mesoamerica). 

­

In cooperation with the International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF) 

and	TNC,	USGS/EROS	scientists	completed	a	Global	Observation	of	Forest	Cover	

(GOFC)	project	with	land	cover	maps	for	seven	countries	in	the	Caribbean.	

Scientists	 from	 the	 USGS	 and	 the	 National	 Weather	 Service’s	 Climate	

Prediction Center are partners in the Famine Early Warning Project. The Climate 

Prediction Center produces daily gridded precipitation estimates for Africa and 

Asia	 by	 blending	 satellite	 and	 rain	 gauge	 observations.	 USGS	 scientists	 use	 the	

data to create a number of drought-monitoring products, such as a water requirement satisfaction index (crop water balance model); a standardized precipitation 

index (places current rainfall in historical, probable context); number of rain days/ 

dry spells in the last 30 days; and snow/water equivalent mapping for Afghanistan. 

USGS	 scientists	 investigated	 techniques	 for	 quantifying	 the	 effects	 of	 an	

urban forest in Seattle and Puget Sound, Washington, in response to environmental management issues. Neural networks were used to delineate vegetation and to 

estimate total biomass using Ikonos satellite imagery, natural color aerial photography and LIDAR point data. 
69 The effectiveness of land cover mapping efforts in high arctic tundra 

environments composed of a mosaic of thaw lakes and drained thaw lake basins are 

likely significantly influenced by the spatial resolution of the available remote sensing 

data. Certain land cover types can most likely only be mapped with higher resolution 

imagery and classification techniques that utilize information from both the spectral 

and	spatial	domains.	In	FY06,	scientists	at	the	USGS	Alaska	Science	Center	used	

a 2.5m spatial resolution color infrared aerial photography mosaic to examine the 

changes in land cover types along a 800km2 transect of the arctic coastal plain of 

Alaska.	 Graphs	 of	 local	 variance	 for	 imagery	 resampled	 to	 resolutions	 ranging	

from 2.5m to 2000m indicated peaks in local variance at ~5m and ~500m, likely 

corresponding to the characteristics of within-basin polygon networks and the thaw 

lake basins, respectively. 

Boreal lakes in Alaska provide food and habitat for a number of mammal and 

fishery resources. Recent observations, however, have reported that lakes in Alaska 

are changing. Analysis of Landsat ETM+ imagery from circa-2000 has revealed 

7,356 lakes greater than 1 hectare with a total lake surface water area of 80,456 

hectare. Comparing these results with a lake classification conducted from Landsat 

TM imagery from the mid-1980s indicates that total lake surface water area has 

decreased by 1.1 percent, while the number of lakes has increased by 0.9 percent over 

the 15-year period. The net decrease in lake surface water area with an associated 

increase in the number of lakes could reflect the disjunction of larger water bodies 

due to lake level lowering. Further, the changes that have occurred in the ecoregion 

have not been uniform across the study area, with some lakes expanding within a few 

kilometers of lakes that are drying. 

The analysis of land cover trends provided important information on the 

understanding of rates, trends, causes, and consequences of contemporary land use 

and	land	cover	change	in	both	urban	and	non-urban	areas.	Scientists	at	the	USGS	

Alaska Science Center used historical (circa 1970-1990) and recent (circa 2000) 

Landsat imagery and historical aerial photography (circa 1985) to document the 

types, rates, and temporal variability of land cover change over the Palmer, Alaska, 

urban area. Between 1973 and 2000, there were significant increases in urban development, mining (primarily gravel removal), and mechanical disturbance (primarily 

logging). These activities resulted in reductions to forest cover, agriculture, and a 

small amount of wetland loss. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
70 In FY06, multidate topographic data was used for detecting and analyzing 

significant humanmade changes to the shape of the land surface. Historical data 

derived	from	USGS	topographic	maps	reflected	the	condition	of	the	land	surface	

prior to disturbance, and recent data derived from satellite radar images reflect 

the conditions of the altered landscape. Comparing these two geospatial datasets 

produced maps useful for locating and studying the effects of earthmoving opera

tions such as surface mining. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

­

	USGS/EROS	and	the	National	Drought	Mitigation	Center	(NDMC)	collab­

orated on the development and delivery of timely geographic drought information 

at a 1km resolution. The research team developed an experimental drought indicator, the Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI), to provide subcounty scale 

information of drought effects on vegetation. VegDRI is currently available over 

seven states in the central U.S. Drought information is available at http://gisdata. 

usgs.gov/website/Drought_Monitoring/ and http://www.drought.unl.edu/index.html/. 

USGS	 scientists	 continued	 to	 use	 Landsat	 and	 Quickbird	 imagery,	 aerial	

photography,	small	format	digital	camera	imagery,	and	GPS	to	monitor	and	assess	

the amount of on-land soil erosion and pollution to the nearshore coral reef environments in Moloka’i, Hawai’i. In addition, underwater camera imagery was used 

to assess the impacts of the onshore sediment loads to the coral reefs. Besides using 

very-high-resolution spaceborne and aerial imaging, the Scanning Hydrographic 

Operational Airborne LIDAR Survey (SHOALS) system was used to collect detailed 

bathymetry of the coral reef on the southern coastal waters of Moloka’i. These data 

were augmented using spectral radiometer information from the Hanalei river, 

Moloka’i. The spectral radiometer data were used to correlate the suspended sediment concentration values derived from the water sampling to the spectral values 

from the radiometer, and, ultimately, to estimates of sediment laden runoff. 

To assist San Carlos Apache and White Mountain Apache Tribes in Arizona, 

USGS	scientists	used	MODIS	and	Landsat	satellite	imagery	and	aerial	photography	

to create a number of different reservation-wide, multidecade landscape change 

analysis datasets. These included the analysis of rangeland (grassland) health; 

evaluation of the spread of invasive species (such as introduced Cheatgrass and Red 

Brome; native Beargrass (Nolina microcarpa) and Cholla); production of a multiscale 

analysis of identification of existing water bodies; evaluation of ponderosa forest/ 

stands for Bark Beetle infestation; and the development of long-term monitoring 

methods for use by the tribes. 
71 

federal CommuniCaTions 

Commission 

FCC 

The FCC’s accomplishments for FY06 related primarily to commercial 

communications satellites and Earth observation satellites. 

The FCC initiated two major rule-making proceedings in FY06 involving 

proposals to increase the radio-frequency spectrum available for the broadcast 

satellite service, which is the service by which most U.S. consumers receive satellite television. In one proceeding, the FCC proposed rules and policies for a new 

frequency band for the broadcast satellite service. In another proceeding, the FCC 

proposed revised rules and procedures for licensing broadcast satellite services in an 

existing frequency band. The FCC sought comment on the potential for interference to existing service and on rules and policies for the licensing of satellites at 

reduced orbital spacing. 

The FCC authorized a number of commercial communication satellite 

launches and operations. The authorizations are as follows: 

•	 Afrispace	to	launch	and	operate	a	satellite	at	the	longitude	21o	east	

orbit location. 

•	 Orbimage	to	launch	and	operate	an	imaging	satellite	in	LEO.

•	 Panamsat	 to	 launch	 and	 operate	 a	 replacement	 satellite	 at	 the	

longitude	99o	west	orbit	location.

•	 Echostar	 to	 launch	 and	 operate	 a	 replacement	 satellite	 at	 the	

longitude	110o	west	orbit	location.

•	 MEO	to	launch	and	operate	satellites	at	the	longitude	83o	west,	121o	

west,	34o	east,	and	130o	east	orbit	locations,	and	to	construct	three	

additional satellites that would operate in highly elliptical orbits. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
72 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

•	 DIRECTV	 to	 launch	 and	 operate	 the	 DTV	 9S	 satellite	 at	 the	

longitude	101o	west	orbit	location.

The FCC granted a number of license modifications and Special Temporary 

Authorizations for satellite networks. Many involved routine testing or redeployment of satellites within a multiple-satellite system. Several actions, however, 

warrant particular mention: 

•	 A	number	of	companies	were	granted	authority	to	continue	earth	sta­

tion operations, previously performed using the Inmarsat 3F2 satellite, 

using the replacement Inmarsat 4F2 satellite. 

•	 DIRECTV	was	granted	authority	to	move	the	DIRECTV	2	satellite	to	

the	longitude	91o	west	orbit	location,	where	the	satellite	would	oper­

ate pursuant to a Canadian authorization and be used to enhance the 

reliability of Canadian service. 

•	 SES	Americom	was	granted	authority	to	move	the	AMC-16	satellite	

to	the	longitude	118.75o	west	orbit	location,	and	to	transfer	control	

of the satellite to Telesat Canada. At the new location, the satellite 

would operate pursuant to a Canadian authorization. The FCC also 

authorized reception of signals from AMC-16 in the United States 

in order to provide increased capacity for delivery of signals to 

U.S. consumers. 

•	 Several	companies	were	granted	authority	for	earth	station	operations	

to provide mobile broadband service, including for any relief opera

tions during hurricane season, using the Inmarsat 4F2 satellite. 

­

In addition to AMC-16 and Satcom C-4, the FCC added three non-U.S.

licensed space stations to the Commission's permitted space station list in order to 

allow these space stations to provide domestic and international satellite service 

to U.S. earth stations that have routine technical parameters. Specifically, the 

FCC	added	the	Japanese	Superbird-B2	satellite	to	its	permitted	list	for	Ku-band	­

•	 SES	Americom	was	granted	authority	to	move	the	Satcom	C-4	satellite	

to the longitude 104.95 west orbit location, and to transfer control of 

the	satellite	to	SES	Gibraltar.	At	the	new	location,	the	satellite	would	

operate	pursuant	to	a	Gibraltar	authorization.	The	FCC	also	authorized	

reception of signals from Satcom C-4 in the United States to provide 

increased capacity for delivery of signals to U.S. consumers.
73 frequencies, the Brazilian Brazil Star One C1 satellite to its permitted list for C- and 

Ku-band	frequencies,	and	the	Mexican	Satmex	6	satellite	to	its	permitted	list	for	

C-	and	Ku-band	frequencies.	

The FCC also authorized the following non-U.S.-licensed space stations to 

provide service in the United States on a nonroutine basis: 

•	 One	million	receive-only	terminals	to	access	the	Anik	F3	satellite	for	

direct-to-home	services	in	certain	Ku-band	frequencies.

•	 Earth	 station	 to	 communicate	 with	 the	 Amazonas	 1	 satellite	 in	

certain	Ku-band	frequencies.

•	 One	 million	 receive-only	 terminals	 to	 access	 Mexico’s	 Echostar	

4 satellite. 

As part of the FCC’s efforts to coordinate international satellites, the agency 

reached an Administration-to-Administration Coordination Agreement for a U.S. 

network with Canada. In addition, the FCC reached a total of 240 Administrationto-Administration Coordination Agreements for U.S. networks with Argentina, 

Australia, Belarus, Canada, Malaysia, and Australia. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
74
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
75 

u.s. deparTmenT of 

agriCulTure 

USDA 

Several agencies within the USDA used remote sensing data and related 

technologies to help fulfill departmental mandates. 

FSA administers vital farm programs that ensure a strong and viable agriculture 

sector in the United States. FSA’s geospatial and remote sensing activities play 

a fundamental role in the management of farm programs. The agency maintains 

a nationally consistent geospatial dataset representing farm and field boundaries 

known as Common Land Units (CLUs). FSA used CLUs, digital soil surveys, 

1-meter imagery, and other datasets for program implementation and monitoring, 

as well as for response and recovery efforts during natural disasters. 

Through the National Agriculture Imagery Program, FSA has been 

the primary source of aerial imagery for the USDA, acquiring imagery over the 

continental United States (CONUS) during the agricultural growing season. In 

many cases, NAIP has been the most current pre-event imagery available during 

a disaster event. In preparation for the 2006 hurricane season, FSA established a 

public Web service with the most up-to-date NAIP imagery for the southeastern 

and	Gulf	Coast	States.	Prepackaged	hard	drives	available	for	delivery	upon	request	

were updated on a regular basis, and FSA leveraged existing technologies to provide 

emergency responders with a variety of methods for accessing NAIP imagery. NAIP 

imagery acquired over the rest of the country was available through the USDA 

Geospatial	Data	Gateway.

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Production Estimates and Crop 

Assessment Division served as the focal point within FAS and USDA for assessing 

the global agricultural production outlook and conditions that affected world food 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
76 security. The FAS also housed the USDA Satellite Imagery Archive (SIA). The 

SIA saved USDA millions of dollars through a USDA-wide data sharing agreement 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

that employed a centralized acquisition strategy to eliminate redundant satellite 

purchases and decrease satellite data costs. The FAS satellite remote sensing program 

remained a critical element in USDA’s analysis of global agricultural production 

and crop conditions by providing timely, accurate, and unbiased estimates of 

global area, yield, and production. Satellite-derived early warnings of unusual 

crop conditions and production enabled more rapid and precise determinations of 

global supply conditions. FAS exploited many global imagery datasets, including 

vegetation health products from the University of Maryland and NASA, while 

continuing to purchase most of its satellite data from the commercial industry. 

As the failures of the Landsat program continued, FAS was forced to move to 

alternate sensors provided by the commercial and international community. All the 

while,	FAS	supported	the	U.S.	Government	space	agencies	and	the	DOD	through	

cooperative agreements in which the agency shared its satellite imagery and data 

products	throughout	the	U.S.	Government.	In	addition,	FAS	and	NASA	cooperated	

on many projects to exploit space technologies, including near-real-time satellite data 

acquisition	 and	 global	 reservoir	 monitoring.	 This	 Global	 Agriculture	 Monitoring	

partnership continued to expand to multiple universities, commercial companies, 

and international organizations. Information on the FAS remote sensing program 

could be found on the Internet at http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/. 

The Forest Service continued to process data from NASA’s MODIS sensor 

on board the Terra and Aqua satellites as part of the MODIS Active Fire Mapping 

Program. These data were used to produce daily active wildland fire mapping products for the CONUS, Alaska, and Canada. The program utilized real time MODIS 

imagery and derived fire detection data for the Western United States collected by 

the receiving station located at the agency’s Remote Sensing Applications Center 

(RSAC) facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as additional real-time MODIS 

fire detection data for Alaska, Western Canada, and the Eastern United States. 

These products were posted on the Internet (http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us), where 

they were accessible to national fire managers and the general public. During 2006, 

nearly one million users accessed the MODIS Active Fire Mapping Web site. The 

MODIS fire mapping products provided the interagency fire community with a 

synoptic view of the wildland fire situation, aiding in the strategic allocation of 
77 firefighting resources and assets throughout the country. This service is an ongo

ing,	collaborative	effort	with	GSFC	and	the	University	of	Maryland.	Several	major	

media entities, including the New York Times, the Cable News Network, and the 

Associated Press, used the maps and fire detection data. 

­

The	FS	continued	to	work	with	both	ARC	and	GSFC	on	a	number	of	firerelated technologies. ARC’s work included advanced sensor design and image 

processing from airborne platforms, as well as unpiloted aerial vehicle (UAV) development and mission profiling for tactical wildland fire mapping. The FS and ARC 

also collaborated on several significant flight demonstrations in 2006. A demonstration	 of	 a	 small	 UAV	 was	 held	 in	 June	 at	 Fort	 Hunter	 Liggett	 Garrison	 near	

King	City,	California.	This	demonstration	utilized	four	vendor-supplied	and	vendoroperated UAVs flying over controlled burns during the day and night. Over 100 

invited observers from the wildfire, aviation, and academic communities attended 

the	event.	In	October	2006,	a	General	Atomics	(GA-ASI)	Altair	flew	for	22	hours	

over Yosemite National Park and Inyo National Forest, providing near-real-time 

imagery	in	a	Google	Earth	viewer	throughout	the	course	of	the	overflight.	This	flight	

was	 a	 collaborative	 effort	 between	 ARC,	 RSAC,	 DFRC,	 and	 GA-ASI.	 In	 addition, the Altair was flown over the Esperanza Fire in late October after the State of 

California requested an emergency “certificate of authorization” from the FAA. The 

unmanned aircraft flew over the fire for 16 hours overnight on October 28-29, taking 

infrared thermal images and other data with a sensor on its underbelly. The data 

was transported via satellite link to ARC at Moffett Field near San Jose, California, 

where it was transferred onto topographical maps and sent to Esperanza fire incident 

commanders	within	minutes.	The	FS	continued	to	work	with	GSFC	on	a	satellite	

communications system that will enable rapid transmission of FS airborne thermal 

image products to incident command personnel during the fire season. 

The mission of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is to 

provide timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. These 

statistics cover virtually every facet of U.S. agriculture, from production and 

supply of food and fiber to prices paid and received by farmers and ranchers. Every 

five years, NASS conducts the Census of Agriculture—a comprehensive statistical 

summary of many aspects of U.S. agriculture. Remote sensing data and techniques 

are used to improve the accuracy of NASS statistics. During FY06, NASS used 

remote sensing data to construct and sample area frames for statistical surveys, 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
78 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

estimate	 crop	 area,	 and	 create	 crop-specific	 land	 cover	 data	 layers	 for	 GIS.	 For	

example, NASS used Landsat imagery, digital orthophoto quadrangles, and other 

remotely sensed inputs for all 48 Continental States and Puerto Rico to select the 

yearly area-based samples and supplemental samples that was used to measure the 

completeness of the Agricultural Census in 2007. In addition, NASS constructed 

a new area-based sampling frame in Washington. Another project—the Remote 

Sensing Acreage Estimation Project—analyzed Landsat data over 11 States from 

the 2005 crop season and collected data for the 2006 crop season in 12 Midwestern 

and Mississippi Delta States. This project used the ResourceSat-1 Advanced Wide 

Field Sensor (AWiFS) to produce crop acreage estimates for major crops at the 

State and county levels, and a crop-specific categorization in the form of a digital 

mosaic of scenes distributed to users on DVD. 

NASS also forged new remote sensing partnerships during FY06, as well as 

maintained existing partnerships. These partnerships included: 

•	 Existing	and	new	agreements	with	state	organizations	and	universi­

ties to decentralize ResourceSat-1 AWiFS processing and analysis to 

produce additional or enhanced crop-specific categorizations. 

•	 Existing	agreements	to	maintain	a	GIS	of	the	commercial	citrus	groves	

in Florida. 

•	 A	 continuing	 partnership	with	the	 USDA’s	 Agricultural	Research	

Service (ARS) to conduct research using MODIS sensor data for 

setting small-area yield estimates in several Mid-Western States. 

NRCS was the primary Federal agency working with private landowners to 

help protect and conserve the Nation’s natural resources. For over 50 years, NRCS 

has used remote sensing products to carry out conservation programs. Aerial and 

satellite imagery processed in the form of digital orthoimagery remained the primary 

remote sensing product used by NRCS to inventory, monitor, manage, and assess our 

natural	resources	in	GIS	Nationwide.	By	partnering	with	FSA	and	other	Federal	and	

State agencies, NRCS acquired statewide one-meter or better resolution orthoimagery for 11 States and parts of Alaska and Hawai’i. All orthoimagery purchased by 

NRCS was made available to internal users and the general public via the USDA 

Geospatial	Data	Gateway	Web	site.	

NRCS contracted for high-resolution aerial photography (4” ground 

resolving distance) over 70,000 confidential statistical sites to collect natural 
79 resource data for the annual National Resources Inventory (NRI) program. One 

such contract was used to monitor Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) easements in 

17 States. In addition, the NRCS awarded a multiyear contract for remote sensing 

services, NRI data collection, and WRP monitoring at three newly established 

remote sensing laboratories. High-resolution satellite imagery was also acquired 

for conducting the NRI in Alaska and Hawai’i. NRCS’ use of Landsat has dropped 

significantly due to Landsat operational problems. NRCS continued to purchase 

licensed IFSAR digital elevation data at five-meter posting to use in automating 

soil survey three-dimensional mapping and improving the overall accuracy of 

digital orthoimagery. 

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) used 

remote sensing to support agency emergency and regulatory programs. The Centers 

for Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH) and the Center for Plant Health 

Science and Technology (CPHST) within APHIS sought to expand the understanding and application of remote sensing data within the animal and plant 

health and protection fields. AVHRR data from NOAA polar-orbiting satellites, 

Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 Thematic Mapper data, MODIS imagery, Ikonos data, 

Quickbird imagery, and aerial photography were used within APHIS for various 

projects. 

Remote sensing data were used in several CEAH projects. CEAH used 

AVHRR data to evaluate habitat for the biting midge vectors of bluetongue viruses 

in the U.S., Italy, central Europe, and northern Africa. CEAH also used MODIS 

imagery to identify wetland areas relative to bird band recovery data as part of 

an H5N1 Avian Influenza surveillance effort. To examine factors that might lead 

to the mutation of enzootic forms of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE) that 

make the virus more pathogenic and lead to epizootic transmission, CEAH used 

Landsat Thematic Mapper data to evaluate the role of deforestation in the natural 

cycle of VEE virus in Iquitos, Peru. A second study to develop a predictive model to 

forecast when and where epizootics of VEE virus might occur used Landsat imagery 

to characterize coastal vegetation and mosquito habitat in Chiapas, Mexico. These 

remote sensing studies facilitated the understanding of disease transmission and 

helped in planning for a U.S. response to a possible outbreak of VEE virus. CEAH 

also used Ikonos, Quickbird, and aerial photography to evaluate areas in Southwest 

Texas where cattle fever ticks might be introduced into the U.S. on wildlife species 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
80 crossing	the	Rio	Grande	and	entering	the	quarantine	zone.	A	similar	project	used	

this imagery to evaluate habitat for feral swine. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

CPHST utilized remote sensing hyperspectral imagery to discriminate ash 

trees from other deciduous trees, in order to identify ash trees under infestation by the 

emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle. CPHST also evaluated pattern recognition software 

that performs automated feature extraction from three band aerial photographs in 

order to extract various landscape features that support invasive weed distribution 

analysis. To evaluate the use of remote sensing data as a performance measure of 

a biocontrol effort, CPHST used airborne collected hyperspectral image data to 

examine the effectiveness and accuracy of remote sensing tools in mapping the 

distribution of saltcedar (Tamarix sp.) in a biocontrol study site. CPHST developed 

remote sensing techniques that monitored the establishment and spread of biological 

control insects at a release site and measured the changes of the targeted weed. 

The Economic Research Service (ERS) used a host of derived datasets, such 

as	 USGS’s	 National	 Land	 Cover	 and	 Global	 Land	 Cover	 datasets,	 to	 quantify	

domestic and international agricultural efficiency, as well as to track environmen

tal responses to changes in agricultural markets and policies. ERS also used USDA 

imagery-derived products—FSA’s CLU and Conservation Reserve Program bound

aries, NRCS’ detailed soils database and NRI data, and NASS’ survey area frames 

and cropland datasets—to support a host of research projects informing natural 

resource agricultural policy decisions. 

­­

Through the ERS farm and field-level survey program, ERS collected and tabu

lated	information	on	the	usage	of	remote	sensing	and	GPS	technologies	by	farmers.	

­

In	2006,	the	Risk	Management	Agency	developed	and	offered	a	pilot	Group	

Risk Protection risk management program for pasture, rangeland, and forage. 

This pilot program, developed to provide livestock producers with the ability to 

purchase insurance protection for losses of forage produced for grazing or harvested 

for hay, was based on vegetation greenness derived from satellite data. This program 

is intended to become a risk management tool for the 588 million acres of U.S. 

pastureland and the 61.5 million acres of hayland. Beginning with the 2007 crop 

year, the pilot program will be available for a limited number of acres for testing in 

selected States. 

The Vegetation Index used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index 

(NDVI)	 data	 from	 the	 U.S.	 Geological	 Survey	 Earth	 Resources	 Observation	 and	
81 Science data center. The NDVI is an alternative measure of vegetation greenness 

and correlated to forage condition and productive capacity in approximately 4.8 by 

4.8 mile grids. In general, the healthier the plants are in a given grid, the higher 

the NDVI value. With this plan of insurance, producers could select one or more 

three-month time periods, called index intervals, that represent a producer’s forage 

species production. The losses calculated using the Vegetation Index were indemni

fied based on the deviation from normal within the grid and the index interval(s) 

selected. 

­

ARS, the primary research agency for USDA, conducts basic and applied 

research to solve problems affecting food and fiber production. ARS scientists 

researched how remote sensing could be used to address water quality, soil productivity, and global change issues, as well as detecting and mapping invasive species 

and managing crops. The sensor systems used included on-the-go sensors mounted 

on field equipment, airborne systems such as UAVs, and satellite systems. ARS 

partnered with NASA and other USDA agencies (e.g., NRCS, FAS, NASS) to 

develop operational systems that would help the agencies carry out their missions. 

Hydrology was a major emphasis of ARS remote sensing research. Thermal 

infrared data were explored as a means of mapping evapotranspiration and plant 

moisture stress across CONUS. These procedures appeared to work well on spatial 

scales appropriate for use by farmers seeking to improve irrigation efficiency and at 

regional and continental scales for quantifying and mapping drought. Analysis of 

data collected during soil moisture experiments addressed operational algorithm 

development for future satellites to be used in soil moisture mapping. The research 

also developed algorithms that will improve the accuracy of the satellite-based soil 

moisture estimates. 

Several ARS laboratories worked on procedures to parameterize hydrologic 

models with remotely sensed information. Forested wetlands mapping using radar, 

biomass mapping for nutrient content using optical data, and mapping and measuring tillage intensity at multiple scales were investigated as inputs to water quality 

models. A combined modeling and remote sensing approach was used to infer 

distributed soil hydraulic properties. Assimilation of remotely sensed soil moisture 

from satellite into simple water balance models was shown to improve the model’s 

ability to forecast runoff from storm events. Much of this research was conducted at 

the request of NRCS to satisfy NRI and conservation program requirements. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
82
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
83 

naTional sCienCe 

foundaTion 

NSF 

The National Science Foundation continued to serve as the lead Federal 

agency for the support of ground-based astronomy and space science. Through the 

Divisions of Astronomical Sciences, Atmospheric Sciences, and Physics, as well 

as through the Office of Polar Programs (OPP), the NSF sponsored a broad base 

of observational, theoretical, and laboratory research aimed at understanding the 

states of matter and physical processes in the universe. Areas of research ranged 

from the most distant reaches of the universe and the earliest moments of its existence to nearby stars and planets, including our own planetary system. 

In FY06, the NSF supported the development of advanced technologies and 

instrumentation for astronomical sciences, in addition to providing core support 

for the optical and radio observatories whose state-of-the-art instrumentation and 

observing capabilities are accessible to the community on the basis of scientific merit. 

The NSF’s national astronomical facilities include the National Radio Astronomy 

Observatory (NRAO), the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC), 

the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), and the National Solar 

Observatory	(NSO).	The	NSF	also	served	as	the	executive	agency	for	the	Gemini	

Observatory—an international partnership operating optical/infrared telescopes in 

both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres—by providing the U.S.’s share of 

support for the program. 

In partnership with Europe, Canada, and Japan, construction continued 

on the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), an interferometer located near 

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. FY06 saw the completion of project rebaselining—in 

which the complement of antennas was reduced from 54 to 60—and the approval 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
84 of a new budget. The ALMA site camp currently houses the 200-300 construction 

workers erecting operations buildings at the mid-level (9000 feet elevation) and 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

high-level (17000 feet elevation) sites. The front-end integration center at NRAO 

in Charlottesville, Virginia, is operational, and preproduction models of each of the 

first four receivers have been integrated into the first cryostat. 

In FY06, the NSF’s Division of Astronomical Sciences and the Office of 

Multidisciplinary Activities continued to fund a four-year technology development and design effort for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). The 

LSST will be a 6.5-meter effective aperture telescope with a field of view exceeding 

three degrees. In addition, the LSST will use a three-gigapixel camera to repeatedly image the entire accessible sky, producing approximately 20 terabytes of data 

nightly. The science goals of the LSST project are extremely broad, spanning the 

fields of cosmology, galactic structure, and solar system astronomy. The LSST will 

undertake both a census of distant (trans-Neptunian) solar system objects, as well 

as surveys of near-Earth and potentially hazardous asteroids. Over a ten-year lifetime, the LSST should provide a 90-percent complete sample of potentially hazardous objects with diameters greater than 250 meters and an 80-percent sample down 

to 140 meters. 

The NSF’s Division of Astronomical Sciences, in collaboration with the 

Division of Atmospheric Sciences, continued support for the development of the 

Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST), the next-generation U.S. groundbased solar telescope. The ATST, a collaboration of scientists from 22 institutions 

representing a broad segment of the U.S. solar physics community, had previously 

earned the strong recommendation of the National Research Council of the 

National Academy of Sciences. In FY06, the ATST advanced to the Readiness 

Stage in NSF’s Major Research Equipment Facilities Construction queue. The 

ATST	 Site	 Selection	 and	 Science	 Working	 Groups	 selected	 the	 Haleakala	

Observatories on the Hawaiian island of Maui as the preferred site for the telescope. 

Selection criteria included measurements of atmospheric turbulence, fraction of 

clear skies, and sky brightness. 

The Upper Atmospheric Research Section (UARS) in NSF’s Division 

of Atmospheric Sciences supported a wide variety of research programs in space 

science. These included the funding of advanced radar systems to study the 

ionosphere and magnetosphere, ground-based optical equipment to study the aurora 
85 and airglow, partial support to ground-based solar telescopes and instruments, 

and a wide-ranging portfolio of basic research in space physics. Major UARSfunded activities included the Upper Atmospheric Facilities (UAF); the National 

Space Weather Program (NSWP); the Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of 

Atmospheric	Regions	(CEDAR)	program;	the	Geospace	Environment	Modeling	

(GEM)	 program;	 and	 the	 Solar,	 Heliosphere,	 and	 INterplanetary	 Environment	

(SHINE) program. In addition, a formal NSF Science and Technology Center 

called the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling (CISM) continued to 

develop and test an end-to-end computer simulation for space physics research and 

applications. CISM’s coupled models simulated the processes by which energy from 

the Sun and solar wind propagates to Earth, as well as the resulting effects on Earth’s 

magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere. CISM researchers integrated these 

results with educational and outreach activities. An effective knowledge transfer 

program also ensured that CISM models were transferred for use in operational 

space weather forecasting centers. 

Research facilities have always been a key component of UARS’ efforts. The 

major goal of the UAF program in FY06 continued to be the promotion of basic 

research on the structure and dynamics of Earth’s upper atmosphere. Research efforts 

utilizing	these	facilities	were	linked	strongly	to	the	CEDAR	and	GEM	programs.	

The recent addition of the Advanced Modular Incoherent-Scatter Radar (AMISR) 

as a UAF asset, which was under construction in 2004 and saw first light in 2005, 

has been a true success story. AMISR is deployable to any geographic location 

on the globe for ionospheric research. In 2006, 25 percent of a complete AMISR 

radar system was constructed and successfully operated at Poker Flat, Alaska. Two 

small prototype AMISR systems were used for a variety of science experiments at 

Jicamarca,	Peru	and	Gakona,	Alaska.

In response to several recent community surveys of the health and vitality 

of solar and space sciences within university teaching faculties, UARS provided 

awards intended to create new tenure-track faculty positions under the Faculty 

Development in the Space Sciences (FDSS) program. FDSS awards were targeted 

to facilitate the integration of solar and space physics research with university 

programs in basic physics, astronomy, electrical engineering, geoscience, 

meteorology, computer science, and applied mathematics. Eight FDSS awardee 

institutions began their faculty selection process in 2005. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
86 A multiagency Federal program, the NSWP seeks to mitigate the adverse 

effects of space weather on the Nation’s technological infrastructure by providing 

timely, accurate, and reliable space environment observations, specifications, and 

forecasts. Information about the NSWP can be obtained from the NSWP Strategic 

Plan and Implementation Plan, available online through the Office of the Federal 

Coordinator for Meteorology (OFCM). In 2005, OFCM, under its broad mandate 

to coordinate U.S. environmental research, initiated a formal yearlong assessment 

of the accomplishments and progress of the NSWP over the last decade. OFCM 

commissioned a panel of eight scientists, including Dr. Louis Lanzerotti—a member 

of the National Science Board of the NSF—to perform this function and solicit 

input from the space weather community. The Lanzerotti panel presented its report 

to OFCM and the multiagency NSWP in 2006, and the recommendations have 

been discussed with the community. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

In FY06, a NASA HQ senior review panel gave a high rating to the NSF 

and NASA cosponsored Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC), 

resulting in an increased multiyear budget allocation. The CCMC, located at 

GSFC,	was	incorporated	into	a	new	Space	Weather	Laboratory,	with	the	CCMC	

Director promoted to Laboratory Chief. Also in FY06, the UARS entered into 

a partnership with NASA’s Living With a Star (LWS) program to promote 

medium-size space weather modeling efforts. These were collaborative space 

weather modeling projects with annual costs in the range of approximately 

$400,000. A total of six projects were funded, each for a duration of five years. 

The Division of Atmospheric Science’s high-altitude aircraft project HIAPER 

(High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research) 

centers	on	a	highly	structurally	modified	Gulfstream	V	midsize	jet	aircraft	certified	

to operate at 51,000 feet. It is certified to fly at the highest altitude of any civilian 

aircraft, and its long duration (over 12 hours), range (over 6,000 kilometers), and 

scientific payload (6,000 pounds) will enable scientific research heretofore not possible. The aircraft represents the most advanced airborne research platform in the U.S. 

civilian fleet. After concluding a number of progressive science missions (for systems 

and flight verification) in early FY06, the research aircraft participated in a large 

international field program called T-REX (Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment). The 

aircraft met or exceeded its performance goals, which included two other research 

aircraft and a suite of ground-based observing systems. During the acquisition and 
87 modification phases of the project, HIAPER was managed from a Project Office at 

the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), an NSF federally funded 

research and development center. The research facility has now transitioned into the 

operations phase and is operated and maintained by the Research Aircraft Facility of 

NCAR, which also operates and maintains NSF’s C-130Q research aircraft. Because 

the aircraft’s expected lifetime is 10–25 years, the airframe design allows for new 

instrumentation innovations to be integrated as appropriate. 

A globe-spanning constellation of six satellites was launched in FY06 to 

improve weather forecasts, monitor climate change, and enhance space weather 

research. The low-orbiting satellites are the first to provide atmospheric data daily, 

in real time, over thousands of points on Earth for both research and operational 

weather	 forecasting	 by	 measuring	 the	 bending	 of	 radio	 signals	 from	 GPS	 as	

the signals pass through Earth’s atmosphere. Called COSMIC (Constellation 

Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate) in the U.S. and 

FORMOSAT-3 in Taiwan, the $100 million satellite network is the product 

of an agreement between the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei 

Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States. The array is 

based on a system design provided by the University Corporation for Atmospheric 

Research (UCAR). 

Temperature	and	water	vapor	profiles	derived	from	the	GPS	data	by	COSMIC	

not only improve many areas of weather prediction, but also help meteorologists 

observe, research, and forecast hurricanes, typhoons, and other storm patterns over 

the oceans. The stability, consistency, and accuracy of the measurements should 

be a boon to scientists quantifying long-term climate change trends. COSMIC’s 

measurements of electron density in the ionosphere are expected to improve 

analysis and forecasting of space weather, including geomagnetic storms that can 

interrupt sensitive satellite and communications systems and affect power grids on 

the ground. 

The primary activities of the OPP in ground-based space science and astronomy were the continued construction of the ten-meter, off-axis telescope to survey 

galaxy clusters and the IceCube neutrino telescope. 

While the ten-meter telescope was still being erected, the analysis of the 

IceCube South Pole Neutrino Telescope data was beginning, and included filtering 

and reconstruction of the data from the South Pole, simulations of data from the 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
88 IceCube monte carlo model, and data comparisons. Topics under study included 

searches for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMP), neutrino point sources, 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

and monopoles. Scientists detected the first muon neutrino candidates from the 

nine detector strings. 

Continuing research programs were maintained in the study of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. Increased precision in the measurements 

on medium-to-large angular scales is allowing BICEP (Background Imaging of 

Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization), a millimeter-wave telescope/camera consisting 

of 98 bolometers, to probe directly for the gravitational wave signature of inflation, 

which can answer crucial questions about the beginnings of the universe. 

Other continuing programs included a search for extrasolar planets and a 

number of ground-based experiments investigating the structure of Earth’s upper 

atmosphere, Earth’s interactions with the solar wind, and auroral radio emissions. 
89 

deparTmenT of sTaTe 

DOS 

The DOS supports U.S. space activities through the negotiation of bilateral 

and multilateral agreements of scientific and technical cooperation with partner 

countries. Through its outreach programs, DOS supports key U.S. foreign and space 

policy objectives, including sustained economic growth and sound environmental 

and safety management. 

Advancing Presidential Diplomacy 

In 2006, President Bush authorized a new national space policy that reflects 

an expanded commitment to the long-term security of our space assets. The policy 

establishes the goal of ensuring access to space-based imaging, communication, 

positioning, navigation, and timing assets that are critical to U.S. diplomatic, intelligence, military, and economic activities. 

The policy puts emphasis on strengthening interagency coordination, 

collaboration, and information sharing. It also gives prominence to several goals 

only touched upon in previous policy documents, including strengthening the 

space science and technology base, developing space professionals, and strengthening U.S. industrial competitiveness through the use of U.S. commercial space 

capabilities. Equally important, the new policy is designed to foster the use of U.S. 

commercial space capabilities. 

FY06 provided many opportunities to continue integration of space issues 

into U.S. diplomacy, including: 

•	 The	development	of	a	strategic	partnership	between	NASA	and	the	

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) regarding a collabora

tion on two instruments on the Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission. 

­

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
90 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

•	 The	 first	 official	 meeting	 of	 the	 U.S.-Brazil	 Joint	 Commission	 on	

Science and Technology in which space cooperation was among the 

topics reviewed. 

•	 Participation	in	the	Fifth	Space	Conference	of	the	Americas	held	in	

Quito, Ecuador, that led to several new U.S. initiatives for coopera

tion on Earth observation programs for the Latin American region. 

­

•	 Participation	in	a	workshop	on	Geoinformation	for	Sustainable	Cities	

that was held in Amman, Jordan. 

•	 Several	international	conferences	to	enhance	global	understanding	of	

the VSE, to encourage international collaboration, and to exchange 

information on a global exploration strategy that will include both 

commercial and international participation for lunar science activi

ties, lunar robotics and operations, and human exploration beyond 

low-Earth orbit. 

­

Supporting Presidential Initiatives 

As called for at the U.S.-EU Summit in 2005, the United States and the 

European Union held the first session of the U.S.-EU Dialogue on Civil Space 

Cooperation in Brussels on March 24-25, 2006. The meeting facilitated the 

exchange of information on civil space policy and promoted closer ties in the area 

of Earth observation, an issue of particular importance in light of the establishment 

by	the	EU	of	its	new	Global	Monitoring	for	the	Environment	and	Security	system	

of Earth observation satellites. 

The DOS led negotiations on a new framework agreement covering civil 

space cooperation with France, which was signed in late 2006. Negotiations began 

in FY06 on a similar agreement with Canada. These agreements provide the framework for continued and expanded cooperation between the space and Earth observation agencies of the countries involved. 

In support of the 2004 National Security Presidential Directive on U.S. 

Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Policy, DOS in FY06 continued	to	lead	Government	interagency	efforts	to	ensure	that	GPS	remains	an	essential component of internationally accepted positioning, navigation, and timing 

services. DOS participated in the PNT Executive Committee on the implementation of the PNT Policy. 
In	January	2006,	DOS	led	GPS	consultations	with	Japan	on	the	continuing	

cooperation	between	the	countries	on	the	civilian	use	of	GPS.	Among	the	topics	

discussed were Japan’s plans to construct a regional satellite positioning system— 

the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS)—designed to be both supplementary 

and	interoperable	with	GPS.	QZSS	is	expected	to	strengthen	cooperative	relations	

between the United States and Japan, provide new economic and public transpor

tation safety benefits to Japan and its neighbors, and contribute to the peaceful 

development of the Asia-Pacific region. 

In FY06, DOS set up working group meetings under the 2004 U.S.-EU 

Agreement	on	cooperation	between	GPS	and	Europe’s	planned	Galileo	satellite	

navigation system to ensure radio frequency compatibility and interoperability 

for	GPS.	Significant	progress	has	been	made	in	ensuring	interoperability	between	

the two systems. DOS also initiated several technical and policy working group 

meetings	 with	 Russia	 in	 pursuit	 of	 greater	 interoperability	 between	 GPS	 and	

the	 Russian	 GLONASS	 satellite	 navigation	 system.	 In	 cooperation	 with	 the	

Government	of	China,	the	European	Space	Agency,	and	the	UN	Office	of	Outer	

Space Affairs, DOS participated in an Asia-Pacific regional workshop to promote 

the	use	of	GPS	and	its	applications,	and	provided	key	speakers	on	the	U.S.	spacebased	 PNT	 policy,	 GPS	 modernization,	 Global	 Navigation	 Satellite	 System	

(GNSS)	applications,	and	GPS	international	cooperation	activities.

Promoting U.S. Exports 

91 

­

As part of the U.S.-India New Strategic Partnership, the United States and 

India	began	preparations	in	2006	for	the	second	U.S.-India	Joint	Working	Group	

on Civil Space Cooperation. 

DOS continued to represent the U.S. on the United Nations Committee 

on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), and led negotiations on 

the	establishment	of	the	International	Committee	on	Global	Navigation	Satellite	

Systems	(ICG).	The	ICG	is	a	unique	mix	of	systems	providers,	UN	organizations,	

and	major	international	user	groups	dedicated	to	promoting	GNSS	applications,	

particularly in the developing world. DOS also proposed the establishment of a 

GNSS	 Providers	 Forum	 to	 discuss	 common	 issues,	 such	 as	 interoperability	 and	

compatibility.	DOS	provided	funding	for	the	administration	of	the	ICG	and	for	

the	regional	GNSS	workshops	and	experts	meetings	held	under	the	auspices	of	

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
92 the UN Programme on Space Applications. These workshops brought together 

regional experts and decision makers to advance awareness of and support for 

the	 use	 of	 GNSS	 applications	 for	 sustained	 growth,	 transportation	 safety,	 and	

environmental management. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

Promoting the Safe Use of Space 

With so many countries now participating in space, promoting its safe use 

remained an important DOS effort. In FY06, DOS promoted an international strat

egy for mitigating orbital debris. In addition, DOS modernized and placed online 

the	U.S.	Registry	of	Objects	Launched	into	Outer	Space.	In	September,	the	USG	

offered to provide China with advance warning if its Shenzhen VI manned space

craft became in danger of colliding with space objects. China agreed, although ulti

mately Shenzhen VI returned safely to Earth without having coming close enough 

to	such	objects	to	trigger	such	a	warning.	At	UNCOPUOS,	DOS	led	USG	efforts	

on the problem of orbital space debris, meteorology, astronomy and astrophysics, 

space transportation, nuclear power sources in space, and legal issues related to the 

international liability and responsibility of the launching nations. 

­­­
93 

deparTmenT of energy 

DOE 

In FY06, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science (SC) cooperated with 

NASA on a wide variety of activities, such as developing experimental techniques 

of fundamental physics for use in outer space, using plasma science to devise 

new propulsion systems, engaging in joint efforts to understand atmospheric and 

environmental phenomena, and entering into a working partnership in advanced 

computing research. These activities were carried out under an MOU between 

NASA	 and	 DOE	 signed	 by	 NASA	 Administrator	 Daniel	 Goldin	 and	 DOE	

Secretary James Watkins in 1992. In late 2005, NASA and DOE (Naval Reactors) 

mutually agreed to bring to orderly closure all activities associated with this space 

reactor engineering development work for Prometheus-1, the Jupiter Icy Moons 

Orbiter mission. This decision was made in view of NASA’s need to properly 

support near-term space exploration goals, such as developing and launching the 

CEV. 

Through an Implementing Arrangement with NASA signed in 1995, SC 

continued to work on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) for use on the ISS. 

In FY06, this work focused on the integration of the instrument at the European 

Organization	for	Nuclear	Research	(CERN)	in	Geneva,	Switzerland.	The	AMS	is	

an international experiment designed to use the unique environment of space to 

search for and measure, with a much greater sensitivity than heretofore possible, 

various unusual types of matter. The AMS will study the properties and origin 

of cosmic particles and nuclei, including antimatter and dark matter. Detailed 

information on either material will increase scientists’ understanding of the early 

universe and could lead to a clearer understanding of the actual origin of the 

universe. DOE provided funding in FY06 to support the research group at the 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that is leading the AMS program. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
94 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

SC and SMD have collaborated since FY00 on the Large Area Telescope 

(LAT),	 the	 primary	 instrument	 for	 NASA’s	 Gamma-ray	 Large	 Area	 Space	

Telescope	(GLAST)	mission	scheduled	for	launch	in	early	2008.	This	device,	using	

the	techniques	of	experimental	particle	physics	research,	will	be	used	by	the	GLAST	

international scientific collaboration to detect gamma rays emitted by the most 

energetic objects and phenomena in the universe. The Stanford Linear Accelerator 

Center (SLAC) has responsibility for the overall management of the LAT project. 

Fabrication of the LAT was completed in early FY06. The LAT then underwent 

commissioning and began integration on the spacecraft. DOE provided funding in 

FY06	in	conjunction	with	NASA	and	international	partners	for	GLAST	commis

sioning and preoperations activities. 

­

DOE and NASA both have the determination of the nature of dark energy, 

which is causing the acceleration of the expansion of the universe, as a highpriority science objective in their planned programs. The Joint Dark Energy Mission 

(JDEM) is a plan for a space-based mission endorsed by both DOE and NASA for 

the study of dark energy. In this plan, both DOE and NASA are responsible for 

the success of the mission, with NASA leading the space mission management. 

In FY06, DOE supported R&D activities for the Supernova Acceleration Probe 

(SNAP) collaboration, led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). 

NASA awarded grants in FY06 to three collaborations—Advanced Dark Energy 

Physics Telescope (ADEPT), Dark Energy Space Telescope (Destiny), and SNAP, 

to begin mission concept studies for JDEM. 

The Office of Nuclear Physics within SC continued to make available 

the	 Alternating	 Gradient	 Synchrotron	 (AGS),	 an	 essential	 component	 of	 the	

Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) complex at Brookhaven National 

Laboratory	(BNL).	The	AGS	is	the	only	accelerator	in	the	United	States	capable	

of	 providing	 heavy	 ion	 beams	 at	 energies	 (up	 to	 1	 GeV/nucleon)	 of	 interest	 to	

the space radiobiology community. It allows for radiobiology experiments funded 

by NASA to be performed with silicon, iron, and gold beams. The NASA Space 

Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) also is in place at BNL, operating as an efficient 

and effective radiation simulation facility for human space exploration. The SC 

and NASA continued to develop mutually beneficial technical resources for 

experimentation and data analysis at BNL. For example, DOE and NASA supported 

the design and fabrication of the Electron Beam Ion Source (EBIS) at BNL 
95 in FY06. NASA is contributing approximately 25 percent of the project cost of EBIS 

to accelerate project completion. This joint DOE/NASA project will enhance the 

range and intensities of heavy ion beams available to the RHIC complex, including 

the NSRL. 

In FY06, the Office of Nuclear Physics continued to support astrophysicists 

who used 2.4 million processor hours at the National Energy Research Scientificcomputing Center (NERSC), which is funded by DOE’s Office of Advanced 

Scientific Computing Research. Most of these processor hours were for simulations 

of supernovae explosions, such as those observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. 

NERSC computer capabilities were also used for studies on galaxy formation and 

black holes. 

Other space-related aspects of the Nuclear Physics Program have relevance to 

NASA, other Federal agencies (e.g., National Reconnaissance Office and USAF), 

and the private sector. To facilitate testing of electronic components used in highradiation space environments, Nuclear Physics Program accelerator facilities (BNL 

Tandem, LBNL 88-Inch Cyclotron, Texas A&M Superconducting Cyclotron) 

regularly provide beamtime to NASA, DOE-applied laboratories, European and 

Japanese space agencies, and private companies. 

In FY06 the SC Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (OFES) continued to transfer knowledge and research capabilities to NASA. Through the use of plasma and 

fusion propulsion, NASA-funded research activities have the potential of revolutionizing interplanetary space travel. Specifically, NASA studied fusion propulsion 

concepts for use in advanced interplanetary missions based upon the spherical torus 

and plasma-jet-driven magneto-inertial fusion. OFES supports exploration of the 

physics of the spherical torus in its National Spherical Torus Experiment at the 

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) as part of its research program. OFES 

also	 investigated	 plasma-jet-driven	 magneto-inertial	 fusion	 at	 General	 Atomics,	

LLNL, HyperV Technologies Corporation, and the University of Wisconsin at 

Madison as part of its high-energy density physics program. Researchers at the 

University of Wisconsin completed a preliminary computational study on the 

feasibility of the plasma-jet-driven magneto-inertial fusion for space propulsion for 

MSFC using a computer code developed in the OFES high-energy density physics program. The two fusion rocket concepts, based upon the spherical torus and 

the magneto-inertial fusion approach, have the potential of reducing traveling 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
96 times to the planets by more than a factor of 10. The advanced plasma jet research 

has potential as a very high-power plasma thruster as well. PPPL researchers also 

worked on a high-power Hall thruster, a form of electric thruster. The high-power 

Hall thruster has potential performance levels that are relevant to sending advanced 

NASA science missions to the outer planets. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), PPPL, the Institute of 

Fusion Studies at the University of Texas in Austin, and JSC continued to collabo­

rate on the development of an advanced plasma rocket technology—the Variable 

Specific Impulse Magneto-plasma Rocket—that has the potential of cutting in half 

the time required to reach Mars. A key to the technology is the capability to vary 

the plasma exhaust to maintain optimal propulsive efficiency. 

PPPL worked on several other basic plasma science projects that comple­

mented and enhanced the science activities at NASA. Partially funded under the 

DOE/NSF Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering, these projects 

focused on magnetic reconnection and other work on ionosphere and space-related 

plasma physics topics. The Magnetic Reconnection Experiment investigates the 

coupling between microscale reconnection layers and global forcing and plasma 

topology evolution. 

SC and NASA worked together to calculate the daily primary productiv­

ity of terrestrial ecosystems at diverse sites in Northern and Central States. SC’s 

AmeriFlux program continued to provide real-time meteorological, solar radiation, 

and CO2 flux data, which were combined with NASA/MODIS data to calculate 

annual net and gross primary productivity. This joint work investigated continentalscale seasonal and geographic patterns of carbon-cycle processes related to the North 

American carbon program. The AmeriFlux program produced unique ground-based 

measurements of net ecosystem production and atmospheric CO2 concentration 

from some 30 locations across the United States. Radiometric instrumentation 

upgrades have been initiated at select AmeriFlux sites to provide improved calibra­

tion information for Terra platform observations. Collectively, the ground surface 

observations from AmeriFlux sites are providing critical baseline data for calibrating 

existing and planned NASA satellite data streams. 

SC’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) provided ground validation 

support for NASA’s AIRS instrument—a high-spectral resolution infrared sounder on 

the Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua platform. Additional measurements were 

conducted to coincide with overpasses of the Aqua satellite carrying the AIRS sensor 
97 at the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) and North Slope of Alaska sites. The ARM 

data have been used to improve the water vapor and temperature profiles retrieved 

from the AIRS sensor. Information on water vapor and temperature are important 

parameters for the development and validation of climate models. In FY06, ARM 

continued support of NASA’s solar-viewing Bruker 125 HR (high-resolution) Fourier 

transform spectrometer (FTS) at the TWP facility. The FTS validates space-based 

column CO2 retrievals. This validation procedure has been used to ensure the accuracy of CO2 source and sink information derived from Orbiting Carbon Observatory 

(OCO) space-based data. 

NASA, NOAA, and DOE jointly sponsored a series of workshops on the use 

of Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for weather research and measuring climate 

change. The focus of these workshops was to identify the key scientific questions that 

could be addressed using the current capabilities of UAVs, and to identify aircraft 

or instrument technology gaps that would require future development of UAV 

capabilities and their applications. The workshops brought together distinguished 

scientists from Federal agencies, universities, and private industry. Three agencies 

are presently formulating an MOU in order to facilitate a collaborative, cost-sharing 

partnership among NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, NOAA’s Office of Oceanic 

and Marine Operations (NMAO), and DOE’s Office of Science. One of their goals 

is to define how UAVs may extend climate and weather-related measurements over 

regions of Earth that are currently undersampled. 

SC, NSF, and NASA continued their collaborative effort to develop and 

employ climate models, supporting a variety of activities associated with the 

Community Climate System Model. SC’s Scientific Discovery through Advanced 

Scientific Computing project (SciDAC) continued to develop and increase the 

level of sophistication in complex climate models. NASA, DOE, NOAA, and NSF 

participated in the interagency Climate Model Evaluation Project to support the 

evaluation of U.S. coupled-climate model simulations. The aim of this effort is to 

increase community-wide diagnostic research into the quality of model simulations 

to improve evaluations of model predictions and quantification of uncertainty in 

projections of future climate. 

DOE and NASA principal investigators coordinated an effort to use computing resources at the National Leadership Computing Facility (NLCF) at ORNL to 

incorporate biogeochemistry in coupled-climate models. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
98 SC’s Low Dose Radiation Research Program continued to interact with the 

Space Radiation Project within NASA’s HRP. The Low Dose Radiation Research 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

Program focuses on doses of radiation that are at or below current workplace exposure 

limits. The primary area of emphasis of the NASA Space Radiation Project is to under­

stand the biological effects of space radiation so that radiation risks may be accurately 

accessed. In FY01, NASA and DOE developed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) 

to better coordinate their efforts to understand and predict the health risks associated 

with exposure to low-dose radiation. Seventeen jointly funded projects were ongoing 

in FY06, including two NSCOR (NASA Specialized Center of Research) projects. 

DOE’s Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) and NASA’s Research and 

Education Network (NREN) continued their close working relationship. ESnet used 

its contracts to procure the long-haul telecommunications circuits and some of the 

associated equipment used by NREN to build its network. ESnet also has one of its 

major peering points (points where it connects to other networks) at ARC. 

NASA and DOE also collaborated in the deployment and testing of 

advanced networking technologies, such as high-speed transport protocols, highspeed data transfer services, and end-to-end network monitoring toolkits developed 

by SC researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Argonne National 

Laboratory, and SLAC. 

DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy continued to support NASA’s space 

exploration program by pursuing development of specific technologies for future 

space missions and by maintaining the necessary program and nuclear facilities 

infrastructure to provide radioisotope power systems and heater units. In FY06, DOE 

delivered	a	Radioisotope	Thermoelectric	Generator	for	the	New	Horizons	mission	

to Pluto, which was launched in January 2006. 

DOE continued to develop two new radioisotope power systems for future 

use in multiple mission environments, including planetary surfaces and deep space. 

These	two	systems,	a	Multi-Mission	Radioisotope	Thermoelectric	Generator	and	an	

Advanced	Stirling	Radioisotope	Generator,	will	each	provide	greater	than	100	watts	

of electricity for over 14 years. As part of maintaining the required infrastructure, 

DOE continued operation of facilities at ORNL, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), 

and LANL. In FY06, the INL, ORNL, LANL, Sandia National Laboratory, and 

Argonne National Laboratory supported NASA studies of surface reactor power and 

nuclear thermal propulsion technologies and systems. The national laboratories also 

participated in development activities related to the design of a fission surface power 

system that may be launched in the year 2020. 
99 

smiThsonian insTiTuTion 

The Smithsonian Institution continued to contribute to national aerospace goals through the activities of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 

(SAO), which together with the Harvard College Observatory in Cambridge, 

Massachusetts, forms the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Through 

this organization, more than 300 scientists engage in a broad program of research 

in astronomy, astrophysics, and science education. The Smithsonian National Air 

and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, DC, also contributed to national 

aerospace goals through its research and educational activities. 

In FY06, SAO scientists participated in the first astronomy press conference 

held at the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, DC. They presented the discovery 

of a swollen planet orbiting a distant star that may be the archetype for a new class 

of “puffy” planets. This press conference also featured an alien identification chart 

that used Earth’s atmospheric history to classify the atmospheres of distant Earthlike worlds that potentially may contain extraterrestrial life. 

SAO astronomers discovered that the North Star is actually a triple star 

system, and that a moon-forming dusty disk orbits an 8 Jupiter-mass extrasolar 

planet. Theoretical findings included the finding that most Milky Way stars are 

single, and that so-called “super-Earths” may be three times more common than the 

Jupiter-sized planets orbiting distant stars. 

FY06 marked the third year of operations for NASA’s Spitzer Space 

Telescope—operated by JPL—whose Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) was developed 

at SAO. Spitzer studies the universe at infrared wavelengths of light, enabling it to 

peer into nearby dust-obscured regions, as well as to spot distant, highly red-shifted 

galaxies. 

Findings made by the Spitzer Space Telescope include: 

•	 A	nebula	that	resembled	a	giant	tornado	shaped	by	a	cosmic	jet	plowing through clouds of interstellar gas and dust. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
100 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

•	 The	first	substellar	companion	(brown	dwarf)	directly	imaged	around	

a nearby star that harbors a close-in planet, whose existence supports 

the idea that the high eccentricities of close-in planets may be the 

result of perturbations by low-mass companions at wide separations. 

•	 New	IRAC	large-area	images	of	the	Orion	Cloud	Complex—including	

the Orion Nebula—that revealed new wonders in the intricate nebu

losity, particularly the billowing clouds of the gigantic ring extending 

from the Nebula. 

­

•	 Nearly	2,300	planet-forming	disks	in	the	Orion	Cloud	Complex.

•	 Improved	images	of	the	Andromeda	galaxy—red	waves	of	dust	over	a	

blue sea of stars—confirmed there are approximately one trillion stars 

in that galaxy and showed the distribution of dust in Andromeda. 

•	 Massive	 galaxies	 that	 existed	 when	 the	 universe	 was	 less	 than	

800 million years old. 

•	 IRAC	measurements	of	fluctuations	in	the	universe’s	diffuse	infrared	

background—radiation that was emitted from the first stars when the 

universe was less than 200 million years old. 

FY06 marked the successful launch of the Solar-B Hinode satellite into 

an orbit that provides continuous viewing of the Sun. SAO’s X-ray Telescope 

(XRT)—launched on board Hinode—is the highest resolution telescope of its type 

ever flown for solar studies and can be operated in collaboration with the other 

telescopes on board Hinode, as well as with other satellites and ground-based observatories. The XRT observes x rays from the solar corona and is ideally suited for 

determining both the large-scale global configurations responsible for solar activity 

and the small-scale processes that initiate instabilities and eruptions. A science 

operations center at SAO serves as the focal point from which both satellite operations and scientific studies are coordinated. 

SAO scientists using the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) 

on the SOHO spacecraft continued to make new discoveries about the explosive 

ejections of matter and magnetic fields from the Sun called coronal mass 

ejection events. A three-dimensional model of a CME expansion was developed 

from observed ultraviolet intensities and Doppler shifts. This model can be 

used to specify how the energy of the CME plasma is distributed. A 2006 paper 

reported the first measurements of a super-hot CME current sheet seen sideways. 
The UVCS measurements indicated that the material in the current sheet— 

a region where oppositely directed magnetic fields meet and annihilate each other— 

has temperatures above six million degrees Celsius. UVCS researchers were able to 

track this material out to the distance of the Ulysses spacecraft at four astronomical 

units (four times the Sun-Earth distance) from the Sun. High ionization charge 

states of iron were confirmed with measurements by instruments on both SOHO 

and Ulysses. The strong fluctuations in the highly ionized iron measurements 

suggest burst-like, rather than smooth, magnetic reconnection in the current sheet. 

Current sheets are thought to be sources of energetic particle hazards. 

101 

Another UVCS study is designed to track the changes in the physical properties of solar coronal holes over the 11-year solar-activity cycle. Coronal holes 

are “open” regions in the Sun’s magnetic field that produce fast solar wind, which 

expands to fill a large part of interplanetary space. UVCS spectroscopic observations of more than 160 coronal holes have demonstrated that different coronal 

holes exhibit different acceleration rates, and the material that escapes from them 

can have a broad range of temperatures. In the Sun’s vicinity, the winds from coronal holes near the poles of the Sun are faster and hotter than the winds produced 

from coronal holes near the Sun’s equator. 

Scientists using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which is operated by 

SAO, announced a number of discoveries in FY06. Research with Chandra contributed to many areas of astrophysics such as supernovas, neutron stars, black holes, 

galaxy clusters, and cosmology. 

One of the year's most spectacular results came from combining images from 

Chandra and optical telescopes of the tremendous collision of two large clusters of 

galaxies. Scientists found that dark matter and normal matter had been wrenched 

apart by the collision, a discovery that provided the first direct evidence for the 

existence of dark matter. 

Astronomers also continued to use Chandra to make significant advances 

in understanding black holes. One study demonstrated that black holes are the 

most fuel-efficient engines in the universe. Another team found evidence that the 

supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way may have helped spawn 

an unusual generation of massive stars. Other scientists showed that jets and winds 

from the vicinity of supermassive black holes could have profound effects on host 

galaxies and beyond. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
102 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

In FY06, Chandra independently determined the Hubble constant, a criti

cally important number that specifies the expansion rate of the universe. This new 

value matches recent measurements using other independent methods and extends 

the validity of the measurements to greater distances, thus allowing astronomers to 

probe earlier epochs in the evolution of the universe. 

­

Using its unique ability to make high angular resolution images at submillimeter wavelengths, the Smithsonian’s Submillimeter Array (SMA), located near 

the	 summit	 of	 Mauna	 Kea,	 Hawai’i,	 explored	 a	 wide	 range	 of	 cosmic	 phenom­

ena. Antennas 7 and 8 came up to their full specifications, and efficiency was 

improved in the wavelength range around one millimeter—where the SMA is 

most sensitive to emission from the cool universe. Observing time with the SMA 

continued to be oversubscribed by a large factor in this wavelength range. More than 

30 papers with SMA results were published or submitted to refereed journals. Using 

the unique submillimeter polarization capability, SMA observations of Faraday rotation in the ionized gas around Sagittarius A-star (SgrA*)—the compact radio source 

at	the	center	of	the	Galaxy	believed	to	be	a	supermassive	black	hole—provided	new	

constraints on the accretion mechanism, free from obscuration and confusion, as 

well as evidence of variability. Astronomers also imaged the magnetic field shape 

in a protostar envelope through observations of polarized dust emission, providing 

the first conclusive evidence that magnetic fields regulate the formation of stars like 

the Sun. 

SMA observations provided further evidence for the growth of dust grains 

from submicron to millimeter sizes in the disks around a sample of young stars, 

an important early step in making planets. The SMA also made some of the best 

images of the dust and gas in disks around young stars with twice the mass of the 

Sun, showing that properties such as mass, size, and motions (and by inference 

the potential to form planetary systems) are similar to young Sun-like stars. SMA 

observations in nearby regions of star formation in the Milky Way provided new 

insight into the powerful bi-directional outflow phenomenon that occurs during 

star birth, with high-resolution images showing gas motions consistent with jetdriven bow shock models. The SMA explored more distant star-forming regions in 

the galaxy, finding previously unknown, deeply embedded, small groups of young 

massive stars in the centers of young star clusters. 
SMA imaging of the interstellar medium of a nearby starburst galaxy showed 

unexpected “superbubbles” in the gas that contained properties consistent with 

formation by explosions produced in star clusters with a million times the mass 

of the Sun. The SMA also made the first high-resolution observations of the cold 

gas and dust in the most luminous galaxy in the neighborhood of the Milky Way, 

showing new details in the starburst fuel and revealing a powerful galactic wind that 

plays an important role in dispersing the gas. Finally, the SMA detected in ionized 

carbon emission a galaxy more than 90 percent of the way back to the Big Bang— 

a new and important diagnostic of galaxy gas properties. 

103 Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 

During FY06, the Cosmic Questions traveling museum exhibition developed by SAO’s Science Education Department (SED) completed its official 

Nationwide tour with appearances at the Lafayette Museum of Natural History 

and Planetarium in Lafayette, Louisiana, and at the Boonshoft Discovery Museum 

in Dayton, Ohio. During its tour, over 1.5 million visitors learned about advances 

in our understanding of the universe. Ancillary programs and materials reached an 

additional 250,000 people. Cosmic Questions, a 5,000-square-foot exhibition for 

science centers and museums, invites audiences to examine fundamental questions 

and recent discoveries about the origin, evolution, and structure of the universe. 

Aimed at increasing the quantity and quality of classroom investigations 

of concepts from the middle and high school science standards related to astronomy, SED initiated its Beyond the Solar System (BtSS) Professional Development 

Project. A team of SAO scientists and educators, through the NASA-funded 

Universe Education Forum, collaborated to develop a DVD-based teaching and 

learning tool for teachers of Earth science, physical science, physics, and chemistry to grades 8-12. The DVD contains resources for teaching about the structure 

and evolution of the universe, including the evidence and explanations for the Big 

Bang model and the expansion of the universe. In the summer of 2006, a national 

leadership team of 25 teacher-educators attended an institute to learn how to use 

the BtSS DVD in professional development settings, and through them over 500 

teachers representing over 50,000 students received training in science content, 

inquiry-based classroom materials, and student assessment. 

SAO’s NASA-funded Universe Education Forum supports a network of 

online robotic telescopes called MicroObservatory that allows students and teachers in middle and high schools Nationwide to investigate the night sky from the 
104 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

convenience of their classrooms. Users control the telescopes by means of an intui

tive Web interface. MicroObservatory telescopes are also accessible to museum 

visitors through the Cosmic Questions exhibition. SED continued to expand its 

audience to afterschool programs that target teens from urban districts with large 

populations of underserved youth. The MicroObservatory telescopes delivered over 

30,000 images to users in all 50 states and 22 foreign countries. 

­

Associated with the 2005 World Year of Physics, Inside Einstein’s Universe 

(IEU)—an educational outreach program for museums, planetariums, and other 

venues across the country—celebrated the Einstein Centennial and the astronomical implications of his 1905 “miracle year.” Over 100 participating organizations 

received educational and content support surrounding the topics of cosmology, 

black holes, general astronomy, and space science explorations. Over 95,000 participants took part in IEU events. 

In public outreach, SAO sponsored a program featuring women in science, 

including a special panel discussion held at the Harvard Science Center. SAO 

continued to offer to the public its monthly Observatory Night lectures and telescope observing, as well as its Author’s Night programs and Sci-Fi Movie Nights 

that explored the theme, “Everything I learned about science, I learned at the 

movies.” SAO also tested a new program of Family Friendly Nights aimed at families with younger children. 

In FY06, NASM celebrated the 60-year anniversary of President Truman 

signing the law creating the National Air Museum. With numerous educational 

family	events,	the	Exploring	Space	and	General	Electric	Aviation	Lecture	series,	

installation of a unit on the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe in the Explore 

the Universe gallery, and the start of construction of a brand new air transportation 

gallery called America by Air. 

Staff members in NASM’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies (CEPS) 

continued to participate on the science teams of several spacecraft missions. Dr. John 

Grant	is	Chair	of	the	Mars	Exploration	Rover	(MER)	mission	Science	Operations	

Working	Group.	CEPS	staff	are	also	on	the	science	teams	for	the	Messenger	mission	

to Mercury, the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding 

(MARSIS) radar instrument on Mars Express, and both the High Resolution 

Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and Shallow Subsurface Radar (SHARAD) 
instruments on the MRO that arrived at Mars in 2006 and has begun returning new 105 data detailing the surface and subsurface of the planet. 

CEPS continued its active research program in planetary and terrestrial geology and geophysics using remote sensing data from Earth-orbiting satellites, as well 

as piloted and unpiloted space missions. The scope of research activities included 

work on Mercury, Venus, Earth, the Moon, and Mars, resulting in 20 peer-reviewed 

publications. Research topics included MER results, Martian fluvial processes, 

properties of lunar regolith, radar studies of the Martian subsurface, Venus geologic 

mapping, Mars hemispheric dichotomy, Mercury basin structure, and terrestrial 

analogs to Martian features. In addition, CEPS scientists used new capabilities in 

focused Earth-based radar imaging to study the surface and deep deposits of the 

Moon at resolutions comparable to those of photos taken from lunar orbit. This 

work has great importance for understanding potential mineral resources and landing hazards for future human exploration. 

As a NASA Regional Planetary Image Facility (RPIF), CEPS continued to 

house a collection of over 300,000 images of the planets and their satellites that is 

a reference library for science researchers and the public, serving the Mid-Atlantic 

and Southeastern U.S. The CEPS RPIF holds the most complete collection of lunar 

images of any RPIF in the world. 

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
106
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
107


appendiCes

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 
Appendix A-1 

u.s. governmenT spaCeCrafT reCord 

(Includes spacecraft from cooperating countries launched by U.S. launch vehicles.) 

Calendar

Year 

Earth Orbita Earth Escapea 

Success Failure Success Failure 

1957 0 1 0 0 

1958 5 8 0 4 

1959 9 9 1 2 

1960 16 12 1 2 

1961 35 12 0 2 

1962 55 12 4 1 

1963 62 11 0 0 

1964 69 8 4 0 

1965 93 7 4 1 

1966 94 12 7 1 b 

1967 78 4 10 0 

1968 61 15 3 0 

1969 58 1 8 1 

1970 36 1 3 0 

1971 45 2 8 1 

1972 33 2 8 0 

1973 23 2 3 0 

1974 27 2 1 0 

1975 30 4 4 0 

1976 33 0 1 0 

1977 27 2 2 0 

1978 34 2 7 0 

1979 18 0 0 0 

1980 16 4 0 0 

1981 20 1 0 0 

1982 21 0 0 0 

1983 31 0 0 0 

1984 35 3 0 0 

1985 37 1 0 0 

1986 11 4 0 0 

1987 9 1 0 0 

1988 16 1 0 0 

1989 24 0 2 0 

1990 40 0 1 0 

32 c 1991 0 0 0 

1992 26 c 0 1 0 

1993 28 c 1 1 0 

1994 31 c 1 1 0 

24 c, d 1995 2 1 0 

1996 30 1 3 0 

1997 22 e 0 1 0 

1998 23 0 2 0 

1999 35 4 2 0 

31 f 2000 0 0 0 

2001 23 0 3 0 

1 b 2002 18 0 0 

28 c, f 2003 0 2 0 

2004 8 c 0 1 0 

2005 10 0 2 0 

2006 (through September 30, 2006) 14 d 0 1 0 

TOTAL 1,584 153 103 16 

108 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

a.The criterion of success or failure used is attainment of Earth orbit or Earth escape rather than judgment of mission success. 

“Escape” flights include all that were intended to go to at least an altitude equal to lunar distance from Earth. 

b.This Earth-escape failure did attain Earth orbit and, therefore, is included in the Earth-orbit success totals. 

c.This excludes commercial satellites. It counts separately spacecraft launched by the same launch vehicle. 

d.This counts various sets of microsatellites as a single payload. 

e.This includes the Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative (SSTI) Lewis spacecraft that began spinning out of control shortly after it 

achieved Earth orbit. 

f. This includes American spacecraft not launched in the U.S. 
Appendix A-2 

World reCord of spaCe launChes suCCessful 

in aTTaining earTh orbiT or beyond 

(Enumerates launches rather than spacecraft; some launches orbited multiple spacecraft.)a 

People’s 

Republic 

of China

Australia 

Fiscal Year

Calendar 

Year 

United 

States b 

USSR/ 

CIS	

France c Italy c Japan	 United 

Kingdom

European 

Space 

Agency 

India Israel 

1957 2 

1958 5 1 

1959 10 3 

1960 16 3 

1961 29 6 

109 20 06 Activities 

1962 52 20 

1963 38 17 

1964 57 30 

1965 63 48 1 

1966 73 44 1 

1967 57 66 2 1	 1 

1968 45 74 

1969 40 70 

1970 28 81 2 1 1 1 

1971 30 83 1 2 2 1 1 

1972 30 74 1 1 

1973 23 86 

1974 22 81 2 1 

1975 27 89 3 1 2 3 

1976 26 99	 1 2 

1977 24 98	 2 

1978 32 88 	 3 1 

1979 16 87 2	 1 

1980 13 89 2	 1 

1981 18 98 3 1	 2 1 

1982 18 101	 1 1 

1983 22 98 3 1	 2 1 

1984 22 97 3 3	 4 

1985 17 98 2 1 	 3 

1986 6 91 2 2	 2 

1987 8 95 3 2	 2 

1988 12 90 2 4 	 7 

1989 

1990 

17 74 2	 7 1 

27 75 3 5	 5 1 

1991 20 62 2 1	 9 1 

1992 31 55 2 3	 7 2 

1993 24 45 1 1	 7 

1994 26 49 2 5	 6 2 

1995 27 33	 1 2 12 1 

1996 32 25	 1 3 10 1 

1997 37 28	 2 6 12 1 

1998 34 24	 2 6 11 

1999 32 26	 4 10 1 

2000 30 34	 5 12 

2001 23 23 1 1	 8 2 

2002 18 23	 3 4 11 1 1 

2003 26 21 2 6	 4 2 

2004 19 22	 8 3 1 

2005 16 26 2 5	 5 1 

2006 15 16 5 3	 5 

TOTAL 1,333 2,768 10 8 67 91 1 1 167 18 4 

a.This includes commercial expendable launches and launches of the Space Shuttle as well as launches to useless orbit. 

b. Launches from U.S.-Russia joint platform are included in U.S. totals.


c.Since 1979, all launches for ESA member countries have been joint and are listed under ESA.

n 

Appendix B 

suCCessful launChes To orbiT on u.s. launCh vehiCles 

October 19, 2005–April 28, 2006 

Mission Objectives Remarks 

Launch Date 

Spacecraft Name 

COSPAR* Designatio

Launch Vehicle 

Apogee and 

Perigee (km), 

Period (min), 

Inclination to Equator (°) 

Oct. 19, 2005 

USA 186 

2005-042A 

Titan 4B 

Nov. 8, 2005 

INMARSAT 4-F2 

2005-044A 

Zenit-3SL 

Jan. 19, 2006 

New Horizons 

2006-001A 

Atlas 5 

Feb. 15, 2006 

Echostar 10 

2006-003A 

Zenit-3SL 

Military reconnais

sance satellite 

Aeronautics

110 and Space Report of the President 

Mar. 22, 2006 

ST5A, B, and C 

2006-008A, 008B, 008C 

Pegasus XL 

Apr. 12, 2006 

JCSAT 9 

2006-010A 

Zenit-3SL 

Apr. 15, 2006 

Formosat 3A, 3B, 3C, 

3D, 3E, and 3F 

2006-011A-F 

Minotaur 

Apr. 20, 2006 

Astra	1KR

2006-012A 

Atlas 5 

Apr. 28, 2006 

CALIPSO and Cloudsat 

2006-016A-B 

Delta 2 

Technology test 

satellites 

Communications 

satellite 

Scientific satellites 

Communications 

satellite 

Weather satellites 

4,550 km 

303 km 

137 min 

105.6 degrees 

Geosynchronous

540 km 

496 km 

95 min 

7.2 degrees 

Geosynchronous

A 689 km B 690 km 

A 687 km B 689 km 

A 98.5 min B 98.6 min 

A 98.2 degrees B 98.2 degrees 

ST5 mission of New 

Millennium Program 

Also known as 

COSMIC-A...COSMIC-F 

Communications 

satellite 

Interplanetary probe 

Communications 

satellite 

Geosynchronous

Geosynchronous

NRO satellite 

Pluto and other bodies in 

Kuiper	Belt

­
Launch Date 

Spacecraft Name 

COSPAR* Designation 

Launch Vehicle 

Apogee and 

Perigee (km), 

Period (min), 

Mission Objectives Inclination to Equator (°) Remarks 

May 24, 2006 

GOES	13

2006-018A 

Delta 4 

June 18, 2006 

Galaxy	16

2006-023A 

Zenit-3SL 

June 21, 2006 

USA 187, 188, 189 

2006-024A, 024B, 024C 

Delta 2 

June 28, 2006 

USA 184 

2006-027A 

Delta 4 

July 4, 2006 

STS-121/Discovery 

2006-028A 

Space Shuttle 

Aug. 22, 2006 

KoreaSat	5

2006-034A 

Zenit-3SL 

Sep. 9, 2006 

STS-115/Atlantis 

2006-036A 

Space Shuttle 

Sep. 25, 2006 

GPS-2R-15

2006-042A 

Delta 2 

Weather satellite 

Communications 

satellite 

Military micro-satellites 

DARPA/NRL (Naval 

Research Laboratory) 

Military reconnaissance 

satellite 

ISS docking 

Communications 

satellite 

ISS docking 

GPS/Navigational	

satellite 

Geosynchronous

Geosynchronous PamAmSatCorp. satellite 

Geosynchronous MiTEx 

Unknown 

351 km 

332 km 

91.4 min 

51.6 degrees 

Shuttle safety testing and 

delivery of Expedition 13 

to ISS. 

Geosynchronous Also known as 

Mugungwha 5 

350 km 

335 km 

91.4 min 

51.6 degrees 

Installed P3/P4 ISS Truss 

20,414 km


173 km


357 min


40.0 degrees 

s al Year 2006 Activitie

1 11 Fisc

Appendix B 

(Continued) 

suCCessful launChes To orbiT on u.s. launCh vehiCles 

May 24, 2006–September 25, 2006 
112 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

Appendix C 

human spaCe flighTs 

October 1, 2005–September 18, 2006 

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time 

(d:h:min) 

Highlights 

Soyuz TMA 7 

(Expedition 12) 

Oct. 1, 2005 Valery I. Tokarev 

William S. McArthur 

Gregory	Olsen

189:19:53 Carried crew and third 

American tourist to ISS. 

Soyuz TMA 7 returned to 

Earth Apr. 8, 2006 with 

Tokarev, McArthur, and 

Pontes. Olsen returned on 

Soyuz TMA 6. 

Shenzhou 6 Oct. 12, 2005 Fei Junlong 

Nie Haisheng 

4:19:33 Second Chinese human 

spaceflight. First two man 

crew of taikonauts. 

Soyuz TMA 8 

(Expedition 13) 

Mar. 30, 2006 Pavel Vinogradov 

Jeffrey Williams 

Marcos Pontes 

182:23:44 Carried crew and first 

Brazilian astronaut to ISS. 

Pontes returned on Soyuz 

TMA 7. 

Space Shuttle 

Discovery (STS-121) 

July 4, 2006 Steven W. Lindsey 

Mark	E.	Kelly

Michael E. Fossum 

Lisa M. Novak 

Stephanie D. Wilson 

Piers J. Sellers 

Thomas Reiter 

12:18:37 Shuttle safety testing 

and delivery of ESA 

astronaut Thomas Reiter to 

Expedition 13 on ISS. 

Space Shuttle 

Atlantis (STS-115) 

Sep. 9, 2006 Brent W. Jett, Jr. 

Christopher J. Ferguson 

Heidemarie M. 

Stefanyshyn-Piper 

Joseph R. Tanner 

Daniel C. Burbank 

Steven	G.	MacLean

11:19:06 Installed P3/P4 Truss on 

ISS. Unfolded solar arrays. 

Soyuz TMA 9 

(Expedition 14) 

Sep. 18, 2006 Mikhail Tyurin 

Michael Lopez-Alegria 

Anousheh Ansari 

215:08:23 Carried crew to ISS. 

Included Ansari, first 

female space tourist 

and fourth overall. She 

returned on Soyuz TMA 8 

spacecraft. 
Appendix D-1A 113 

s

Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 

paCe aCTiviTies of The u.s. governmenT 

HISTORICAL TABLE OF BUDGET AUTHORITy


(in millions of real-year dollars)


NASA 

Total 

NASA 

Space 

Total 

FY DOD Other DOE DOC DOI USDA NSF DOT Space 

1959 331 261 490 34 34 785 

1960 524 462 561 43 43 1,066 

1961 964 926 814 68 68 1,808 

1962 1,825 1,797 1,298 199 148 51 3,294 

1963 3,673 3,626 1,550 257 214 43 5,433 

1964 5,100 5,016 1,599 213 210 3 6,828 

1965 5,250 5,138 1,574 241 229 12 6,953 

1966 5,175 5,065 1,689 214 187 27 6,968 

1967 4,966 4,830 1,664 213 184 29 6,707 

1968 4,587 4,430 1,922 174 145 28 0.2 1 6,526 

1969 3,991 3,822 2,013 170 118 20 0.2 1 31 6,005 

1970 3,746 3,547 1,678 141 103 8 1 1 28 5,366 

1971 3,311 3,101 1,512 162 95 27 2 1 37 4,775 

1972 3,307 3,071 1,407 133 55 31 6 2 39 4,611 

1973 3,406 3,093 1,623 147 54 40 10 2 41 4,863 

1974 3,037 2,759 1,766 158 42 60 9 3 44 4,683 

1975 3,229 2,915 1,892 158 30 64 8 2 54 4,965 

1976 3,550 3,225 1,983 168 23 72 10 4 59 5,376 

TQ* 932 849 460 43 5 22 3 1 12 1,352 

1977 3,818 3,440 2,412 194 22 91 10 6 65 6,046 

1978 4,060 3,623 2,738 226 34 103 10 8 71 6,587 

1979 4,596 4,030 3,036 248 59 98 10 8 73 7,314 

1980 5,240 4,680 3,848 231 40 93 12 14 72 8,759 

1981 5,518 4,992 4,828 234 41 87 12 16 78 10,054 

1982 6,044 5,528 6,679 313 61 145 12 15 80 12,520 

1983 6,875 6,328 9,019 327 39 178 5 20 85 15,674 

1984 7,458 6,858 10,195 395 34 236 3 19 103 17,448 

1985 7,573 6,925 12,768 584 34 423 2 15 110 20,277 

1986 7,807 7,165 14,126 477 35 309 2 23 108 21,768 

1987 10,923 9,809 16,287 466 48 278 8 19 112 1 26,562 

1988 9,062 8,322 17,679 741 241 352 14 18 115 1 26,742 

1989 10,969 10,097 17,906 560 97 301 17 21 121 3 28,563 

1990 12,324 11,460 15,616 506 79 243 31 25 124 4 27,582 

1991 14,016 13,046 14,181 772 251 251 29 26 211 4 27,999 

1992 14,317 13,199 15,023 798 223 327 34 29 181 4 29,020 

1993 14,310 13,064 14,106 731 165 324 33 25 180 4 27,901 

1994 14,570 13,022 13,166 632 74 312 31 31 179 5 26,820 

1995 13,854 12,543 10,644 759 60 352 31 32 278 6 23,946 

1996 13,884 12,569 11,514 828 46 472 36 37 231 6 24,911 

1997 13,709 12,457 11,727 789 35 448 42 39 219 6 24,973 

1998 13,648 12,321 12,359 839 103 435 43 39 213 6 25,519 

1999 13,653 12,459 13,203 982 105 575 59 37 200 6 26,644 

2000 13,601 12,521 12,941 1,056 164 575 60 44 207 6 26,518 

2001 14,230 13,304 14,326 1,062 145 577 60 36 232 12 28,692 

2002 14,868 13,871 15,740 1,180 166 644 64 28 266 12 30,791 

2003 15,364 14,360 19,388 1,305 191 649 74 42 337 12 35,053 

2004 15,379 14,322 19,115 1,464 209 745 71 61 366 12 34,901 

2005 16,198 15,234 19,690 1,551 229 807 70 73 360 12 36,475 

2006 16,623 15,765 22,114 1,647 245 860 82 84 364 12 39,526 

*TQ:	Transition	Quarter.	This	was	created	because	the	Federal	Government	redefined	the	parameters	of	a	fiscal	year.
114 Aeronautics and Space Report of the President

Appendix D-1B 

spaCe aCTiviTies of The u.s. governmenT 

HISTORICAL TABLE OF BUDGET AUTHORITy 

(in millions of equivalent Fy 2006 dollars) 

Inflation 

Factors 

NASA 

Total 

NASA 

Space 

Total 

FY DOD Other DOE DOC DOI USDA NSF DOT Space 

1959 5.5071 1,823 1,437 2,698 187 187 4,323 

1960 5.4222 2,841 2,505 3,042 233 233 5,780 

1961 5.3576 5,165 4,961 4,361 364 364 9,687 

1962 5.2822 9,640 9,492 6,856 1,051 782 269 17,399 

1963 5.2233 19,185 18,940 8,096 1,342 1,118 225 28,378 

1964 5.1586 26,309 25,876 8,249 1,099 1,083 15 35,223 

1965 5.0979 26,764 26,193 8,024 1,229 1,167 61 35,445 

1966 5.0116 25,935 25,384 8,465 1,072 937 135 34,921 

1967 4.9067 24,367 23,699 8,165 1,045 903 142 32,909 

1968 4.7533 21,803 21,057 9,136 828 689 133 1 5 31,021 

1969 4.5904 18,320 17,544 9,240 782 542 92 0.9 5 143 27,567 

1970 4.3898 16,444 15,571 7,366 619 452 35 4 4 123 23,556 

1971 4.1624 13,782 12,908 6,294 674 395 112 8 4 154 19,875 

1972 3.9644 13,110 12,175 5,578 529 218 123 24 8 156 18,281 

1973 3.7857 12,894 11,709 6,144 558 204 151 38 8 157 18,411 

1974 3.6258 11,012 10,004 6,403 573 152 218 33 11 160 16,980 

1975 3.3817 10,920 9,858 6,398 534 101 216 27 7 182 16,789 

1976 3.0632 10,874 9,879 6,074 516 70 221 31 12 182 16,469 

TQ* 2.8570 2,663 2,426 1,314 123 14 63 9 3 34 3,863 

1977 2.7691 10,573 9,526 6,679 536 61 252 28 17 179 16,741 

1978 2.6579 10,791 9,630 7,277 601 90 274 27 21 189 17,508 

1979 2.4903 11,445 10,036 7,560 618 147 244 25 20 182 18,214 

1980 2.3046 12,076 10,785 8,868 533 92 214 28 32 166 20,186 

1981 2.1188 11,692 10,577 10,230 496 87 184 25 34 166 21,303 

1982 1.9298 11,664 10,668 12,889 604 118 280 23 29 154 24,161 

1983 1.8062 12,418 11,430 16,290 591 70 322 9 36 154 28,311 

1984 1.7299 12,901 11,863 17,636 683 59 408 5 33 178 30,182 

1985 1.6683 12,634 11,553 21,301 974 57 706 3 25 183 33,828 

1986 1.6158 12,615 11,577 22,825 770 57 499 3 37 174 35,173 

1987 1.5791 17,248 15,489 25,719 736 76 439 13 30 177 2 41,943 

1988 1.5389 13,946 12,807 27,206 1,140 371 542 22 28 177 2 41,154 

1989 1.4920 16,365 15,064 26,715 836 145 449 25 31 181 4 42,615 

1990 1.4362 17,699 16,459 22,427 726 113 349 45 36 178 6 39,612 

1991 1.3847 19,408 18,065 19,637 1,069 348 348 40 36 292 6 38,772 

1992 1.3346 19,108 17,616 20,050 1,065 298 436 45 39 241 5 38,731 

1993 1.3019 18,630 17,008 18,365 951 215 422 43 33 234 5 36,324 

1994 1.2730 18,548 16,577 16,761 805 94 397 39 39 228 6 34,143 

1995 1.2462 17,265 15,632 13,265 946 75 439 39 40 346 7 29,842 

1996 1.2205 16,946 15,341 14,053 1,010 56 576 44 45 282 7 30,405 

1997 1.1976 16,417 14,918 14,044 945 42 537 50 47 263 7 29,907 

1998 1.1770 16,064 14,502 14,547 988 121 512 51 46 251 7 30,037 

1999 1.1629 15,877 14,488 15,354 1,142 122 669 69 43 233 7 30,984 

2000 1.1478 15,612 14,372 14,854 1,212 188 660 69 51 237 7 30,438 

2001 1.1251 16,010 14,968 16,118 1,195 163 649 68 41 261 14 32,281 

2002 1.0992 16,342 15,246 17,301 1,297 182 708 70 31 292 13 33,844 

2003 1.0785 16,570 15,487 20,910 1,407 206 700 80 45 363 13 37,805 

2004 1.0571 16,258 15,140 20,207 1,548 221 788 75 64 387 13 36,895 

2005 1.0305 16,692 15,699 20,291 1,598 236 832 72 75 371 12 37,587 

2006 1.0000 16,623 15,765 22,114 1,647 245 860 82 84 364 12 39,526 

*TQ:	Transition	Quarter.	This	was	created	because	the	Federal	Government	redefined	the	parameters	of	a	fiscal	year.
Appendix D-2 

federal spaCe aCTiviTies budgeT 

(in millions of dollars by fiscal year) 

Federal 

Agencies 

Budget Authority Budget Outlays 

2005 actual 2006 actual 2007 est. 2008 est. 2005 actual 2006 actual 

NASA 1 15,234 15,765 15,568 16,755 14,747 14,459 

Defense 19,690 22,114 22,418 25,949 19,662 19,959 

Energy 229 245 228 234 223 243 

Commerce 807 860 913 911 727 780 

Interior 2,3 70 82 86 87 70 82 

Agriculture 2,4 73 84 65 69 68 71 

Transportation 12 12 12 13 12 12 

NSF 5 360 364 392 482 329 298 

115 Fiscal Year 2006 Activities 

1. This indicates the 2006 Budget Authority estimate from initial NASA Operating Plan, February 6, 2006. 

2. This includes aerial remote sensing activity. 

3.	 In	2003,	the	Department	of	Interior	began	to	report	the	U.S.	Geological	Survey’s	digital	orthoimagery	program	within	its	totals.

4. In 2004, the Department of Agriculture began to report the National Agriculture Imagery Program within its totals. 

5. In 2003, NSF began to report the Antarctic aeronomy and astrophysics program budget within its totals. 
Appendix D-3 

federal aeronauTiCs budgeT 

(in millions of dollars by fiscal year) 

Federal 

Agencies 

Budget Authority Budget Outlays 

2005 

actual 

2006 

actual 

2007 

est. 

2008 

est. 

2005 

actual 

2006 

actual 

NASA 1,2 962 893 717 554 866 722 

Defense 9,327 9,295 9,576 8,742 9,586 9,346 

Transportation 2,638 2,636 2,632 2,587 2,643 2,632 

he Presid

116 and Space Report of t ent Aeronautics 

1.	 This	total	does	not	include	the	Inspector	General	budget.	

2. This indicates the 2006 Budget Authority estimate from initial NASA Operating Plan, February 6, 2006. 
117 Fiscal Year 2006 Activitie

cronym

AAD Aircraft Aging and Durability 

ACCRES Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing 

ACD Advanced Capabilities Division 

ADEPT Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope 

AEHF Advanced Extremely High Frequency 

AFS Alaska Fire Service 

AGS Alternating Gradient Synchrotron 

AIAA American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 

AIM Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring 

AIRS Atmospheric Infrared Sounder 

AIRSS Alternative Infrared Satellite System 

AirSTAR Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research 

ALMA Atacama Large Millimeter Array

ALTEA Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts’ Central Nervous System 

AMISR Advanced Modular Incoherent-Scatter Radar 

AMS Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 

APD Application for Permit to Drill 

APHIS Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

APLC Aerospace Products Literature Center 

APMT Aviation Environmental Portfolio Management Tool 

ARC Ames Research Center 

ARM Atmospheric Radiation Measurement

ARMD Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 

ARS Agricultural Research Service 

ASP Airspace Systems Program 

ATM Air Traffic Management 

ATST Advanced Technology Solar Telescope 

AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer 

AWiFS Advanced Wide Field Sensor 

B

BAER Burned Area Emergency Response 

BICEP Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization 

BIS Bureau of Industry and Security 

BLM Bureau of Land Management 

BNL Brookhaven National Laboratory 

BOR Bureau of Reclamation 

BtSS Beyond the Solar System 

BWB Blended Wing Body 
118Aeronautics and Space Report of the President

C

CAD Computer-Aided Design 

CALIPSO Cloud-Aerosol LIDAR and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation 

CAM Computer-Aided Manufacturing 

CAMI Civil Aerospace Medical Institute 

CAST Chinese Academy of Space Technology 

CBERS-2 China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite-2 

CCMC Community Coordinated Modeling Center 

CEAH Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health 

CEDAR Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions 

CEPS Center for Earth and Planetary Studies 

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research 

CEV Crew Exploration Vehicle 

CFFDRS Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System 

CISM Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling 

CLICK Center for LIDAR Information Coordination and Knowledge 

CLU Common Land Unit

CLV Crew Launch Vehicle 

CMB Cosmic Microwave Background

CME Coronal Mass Ejection 

CNES French Space Agency 

COBE Cosmic Background Explorer 

CONUS Continental United States 

CORS Continuously Operating Reference Stations 

COSMIC Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate 

COTS Commercial Orbital Transportation Services 

CPHST Center for Plant Health Science and Technology 

CRISP Central Region Integrated Science Partnership Funds

CS Commercial Service 

D

DAFT Dust and Aerosol Measurement Feasibility Test 

DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

DARWIN Design Assessment of Reliability with Inspection 

DEM Earth Digital Elevation Model 

Destiny Dark Energy Space Telescope 

DFRC Dryden Flight Research Center 

DOC Department of Commerce 

DOE Department of Energy

DOD Department of Defense 

DOI Department of the Interior 

DOS Department of State 

DSCS Defense Satellite Communications System 

DSN Deep Space Network

DSP Defense Support Program 
E

EAB Emerald Ash Borer Beetle

EBIS Electron Beam Ion Source 

EDL Entry, Descent, and Landing 

EELV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle 

EMCS European Modular Cultivation System 

EOS Earth Observing System

ERS Economic Research Service 

ESMD Exploration Systems Mission Directorate 

ESnet Energy Sciences Network 

ETDP Exploration Technology Development Program 

ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper Instrument Plus 

EU European Union

EUMETSAT European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites 

EVE Extreme-ultraviolet Variability Experiment 

EWIS Electrical Wire Interconnect System 

F

FAA Federal Aviation Administration 

FAArfield FAA Rigid and Flexible Iterative Elastic Layer Design 1.0 

FACET Future Air traffic management Concepts Evaluation Tool 

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization 

FAS Foreign Agricultural Service 

FCC Federal Communications Commission 

FDSS Faculty Development in the Space Sciences 

FS U.S. Forest Service 

FSA Farm Service Agency 

FTS Fourier Transform Spectrometer 

FWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

G

GA-ASI General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

GBS Global Broadcast Service 

GEM Geospace Environment Modeling

GEO Geosynchronous Orbit

GEO Group on Earth Observations 

GEONETCast Group on Earth Observations Network 

GEOSS Global Earth Observation System of Systems 

GES Global Exploration Strategy

GFS Global Forecast System 

GIG Global Information Grid 

GINA Geographic Information Network of Alaska 

GIS Geographic Information System

119 Fiscal Year 2006 Activities
GLAST Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope 

GLONASS Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System 

GloVis Global Visualization Viewer 

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System 

GOES-N Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 

GOFC Global Observation of Forest Cover 

GPS Global Positioning System 

GPSW Global Positioning System Wing 

GRC Glenn Research Center 

GRP Guidance Replacement Program

GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center

H

HAB Harmful Algal Bloom

HIAPER High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research 

HiRISE High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment 

HR High-Resolution

HRP Human Research Program 

HST Hubble Space Telescope

HUMS Health and Usage Monitoring Systems 

HyBoLT Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition Flight Experiment 

I

ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

ICESat Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite 

ICG International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems 

IEU Inside Einstein’s Universe 

IFCS Intelligent Flight Control System 

IFSAR Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar 

IGRS Iraqi Geospatial Reference System 

IIFD Integrated Intelligent Flight Deck 

IISTF ISS Independent Safety Task Force 

IITF International Institute of Tropical Forestry 

INL Idaho National Laboratory 

INPE Brazilian National Institute for Space Research 

IOOS Integrated Ocean Observing System 

IP Internet Protocol

IR Infrared Spectrometer 

IRAC Infrared Array Camera 

IRAC Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control 

ISR Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance 

ISRO Indian Space Research Organisation 

ISS International Space Station 

ITA International Trade Administration 

IVHM Integrated Vehicle Health Management 

120Aeronautics and Space Report of the President
J

JDEM Joint Dark Energy Mission 

JPDO Joint Planning and Development Office 

JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

JSC Johnson Space Center 

K

KDP Key Decision Point 

KSC Kennedy Space Center 

L

LANL Los Alamos National Laboratory 

LAT Large Area Telescope 

LAT Lunar Architecture Team 

LBIR Low Background Infrared Facility

LBNL Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 

LCROSS Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite 

LDCM Landsat Data Continuity Mission 

LEO Low-Earth Orbit 

LIDAR LIght Detection and Ranging Remote Sensing

LPRP Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program 

LaRC Langley Research Center 

LRO Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter 

LSST Large Synoptic Survey Telescope 

LWS Living With a Star 

M

MARSIS Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding 

MDA Missile Defense Agency 

MDAO Multidisciplinary Design, Analysis, and Optimization 

MDXR Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer/Transfer Standard Radiometer 

MELFI Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for the ISS 

MEP Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

MER Mars Exploration Rover 

MILSATCOM Military Satellite Communications 

MISSE Materials on ISS Experiments 

MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

MiTEx Micro-Satellite Technology Experiment 

MLS Microwave Limb Sounder 

MLV Medium Launch Vehicle 

MOA Memorandum of Agreement 

MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer 

MOU Memorandum of Understanding 

121 Fiscal Year 2006 Activities
122Aeronautics and Space Report of the President

MRO Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 

MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center 

MT Mobile Transporter 

N

NAIC National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center 

NAIP National Agriculture Imagery Program 

NAS National Airspace System 

NASM National Air and Space Museum 

NASS National Agricultural Statistics Service 

NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research 

NC-GAP North Carolina Gap Analysis Project 

NDE Nondestructive Evaluation 

NDI Nondestructive Inspection 

NDMC National Drought Mitigation Center 

NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index 

NERSC National Energy Research Scientific-computing Center 

NEXRAD Next Generation Weather Radar 

NGATS Next Generation Air Transportation System 

NIC National Ice Center 

NISN NASA Integrated Services Network 

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology 

NLCF National Leadership Computing Facility 

NMAO NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Marine Operations 

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

NOAO National Optical Astronomy Observatory 

NOx Nitrogen Oxide

NPOESS National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System 

NRAO National Radio Astronomy Observatory 

NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service 

NREN NASA’s Research and Education Network 

NRI National Resources Inventory 

NRL Naval Research Laboratory

NRO National Reconnaissance Office 

NSAS National Strategy for Aviation Security 

NSCOR NASA Specialized Center of Research 

NSF National Science Foundation 

NSO National Solar Observatory 

NSOF NOAA Satellite Operations Facility 

NSRL NASA Space Radiation Laboratory 

NSTC National Science and Technology

NSWP National Space Weather Program 

NTIA National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
123 Fiscal Year 2006 Activities

O

OCO Orbiting Carbon Observatory 

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 

OFCM Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology 

OFES Office of Fusion Energy Sciences 

OGS Oxygen Generation System 

OMI Ozone Monitoring Instrument 

OPP Office of Polar Programs 

OPUS Online Positioning User Service 

ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

ORS Operationally Responsive Space

OSC Office of Space Commercialization 

OSTM Ocean Surface Topography Mission 

OSTP Office of Science Technology and Policy P

PARTNER Partnership for Air Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction 

PNT Positioning, Navigation, and Timing 

POD Probability of Detection

POES Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites 

PPPL Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory 

PRP Propulsion Replacement Program Q

QZSS Quasi-Zenith Satellite System R

R&D Research and Development 

RDT&E Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation 

REDAC Research, Engineering, and Development Advisory Committee 

RFI Request for Information 

RHIC Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider 

ROGIDS Remote On-Ground Ice Detection System 

RPIF Regional Planetary Image Facility 

RPT Rocket Propulsion Test 

RSAC Remote Sensing Applications Center 

RSIWG Remote Sensing Interagency Working Group 

RSLP Rocket Systems Launch Program S

S&T Science and Technology 

SAM Scan Angle Monitor 
124Aeronautics and Space Report of the President

SAME Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment 

SAO Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 

SARSAT Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking program 

SBIRS Space-Based Infrared System 

SC Office of Science 

SciDAC Scientific Discovery through Advanced Scientific Computing project 

SCUBA Submillimeter Common-User Bolometer Array 

SDL Space Dynamics Laboratory 

SED Science Education Department 

SERV Safety Enhanced Reentry Vehicle 

SERVIR Sistema de Monitoreo y Visualizacion para Mesoamerica 

SgrA* Sagittarius A-star 

SHARAD Shallow Subsurface Radar 

SHINE Solar, Heliosphere, and INterplanetary Environment 

SHOALS Scanning Hydrographic Operational Airborne LIDAR Survey 

SIA Satellite Imagery Archive 

SLAC Stanford Linear Accelerator Center 

SMA Submillimeter Array 

SMD Science Mission Directorate 

SNAP Supernova Acceleration Probe 

SOHO Solar and Heliospheric Observatory 

SOMD Space Operations Mission Directorate 

SpacePCC Space Policy Coordinating Committee 

SQUID Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices 

SR Space Radar 

SRTM Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 

SSC Stennis Space Center 

SSTI Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative

ST5 Space Technology 5 

STEP-NC Standard for the Exchange of Process Model Data for Numerical Control 

STEREO Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory 

SURF Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility 

SV Satellite Vehicle 

T

TCFP Tropical Cyclone Formation Probability 

TDRSS Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System 

TES Transition Edge Sensors

TGF Temperature Gradient Focusing 

TMOS TSAT Mission Operations System 

TNC The Nature Conservancy 

TOMS Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer 

T-REX Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment 

TRMM Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission 

TSA Transportation Security Administration 
125 Fiscal Year 2006 Activities

TSAT Transformational Satellite Communication System 

TWP Tropical Western Pacific U

UAF Upper Atmospheric Facilities 

UARS Upper Atmospheric Research Section 

UAS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems 

UAV Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle 

UAVs Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles 

UCAR University Corporation for Atmospheric Research 

UEDDAM Uncontained Engine Debris Damage Assessment Model 

UFO Ultra High Frequency Follow-On 

UK United Kingdom

UN United Nations

UNCOPUOS U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space 

U.S. United States

US&FCS U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service 

USAF U.S. Air Force 

USDA United States Department of Agriculture 

USecAF Under Secretary of the Air Force 

USGS U.S. Geological Survey 

USGS/EROS USGS Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science 

USTR U.S. Trade Representative 

UVCS Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer V

VAATE Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engine 

VEE Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis 

VegDRI Vegetation Drought Response Index 

VLSA Very-Large Scale Aerial Photography 

VSE Vision for Space Exploration W

WATR Western Aeronautical Test Range 

WGS Wideband Gapfiller System 

WIMP Weakly Interacting Massive Particles 

WRP Wetland Reserve Program X

XRT X-ray Telescope 
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