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 NASA OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS 

 WASHINGTON, D.C. 

 Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Rollout 

 "Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 

 Budget Briefing" 

 Speaker: 

 JAIWON SHIN, Associate Administrator, 

 Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 

 Moderated by BETH DICKEY, 

 Office of Public Affairs, NASA 

 9:00 a.m., EDT 

 Friday May 8, 2009 

 NASA Headquarters 
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 P R O C E E D I N G S 

 MODERATOR: Good morning, everybody. This is 

Beth Dickey with NASA Headquarters Public Affairs. Thank 

you for joining us for our Aeronautics Research Mission 

Directorate telecon. With us is the Associate 

Administrator for Aeronautics Research, Jaiwon Shin, who 

will make some short opening remarks, and then we will take 

questions from the news media. 

 Jaiwon? 

 DR. SHIN: Yes. Good morning. Thanks for 

joining this telecon this morning. We appreciate your 

time. 

 The fiscal year 2010 budget for Aeronautics 

represents some exciting times to come for NASA 

Aeronautics. We appreciate the Acting Administrator Chris 

Scolese's strong support for Aeronautics and also the 

administration's support for continued research in NASA 

Aeronautics. 

 We will be able to initiate, again, a very 

exciting program called Environmentally Responsible 

Aviation project, and this will address directly the 

promising technologies in air vehicles to mitigate the 
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environmental impact by air vehicles. So we believe this 

is very critical for the future viability of aviation for 

the nation, and this is the right time to start this 

initiative. So, again, we are very much appreciative of 

the strong support by the administration, and we are 

excited about that. 

 With that, I would like to open up for any 

questions you may have. 

 MODERATOR: All right. Thank you, Jaiwon. 

 We will open for questions and answers now from 

members of the news media only. To queue up for a 

question, please press Star/1 on your touchtone phone. 

Anyone with a question, Star/1 on your phone, members of 

the news media. 

 Our first question will be from Robert Coppinger, 

Flight International Magazine. 

 MEDIA QUESTIONER: Oh, hello. Reading through 

the budget, there appears to be some movement around the 

various programs, but, overall, the budget seems flat and 

in some areas appears to decline. What guarantee can you 

give that manning or staffing levels will still be what 

they are today in two or three years time? 
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 DR. SHIN: Yes. I would characterize our budget 

as stable, rather than flat. The reason for that is we 

have established a very robust and technically rich 

fundamental research that addresses all the air traffic 

management challenges, safety challenges, and also bringing 

new capabilities of the air vehicles. 

 That has been our main research area or subject 

for the past three years, and with the stable budget that 

we have had for the past three years, we have been making a 

lot of technical progress. For the fundamental research 

that we are doing, the stability is much more important 

than ups and downs of the budget every year. 

 So, building upon that strong fundamental 

research that we have established and result in good 

researching results, this FY10 budget allows us, as I 

mentioned in the opening remarks, to start more integrated 

system-level research with the sustained level of funding 

increase starting in FY10 at about 60 to 65 -- actually 60- 

to 64-million-dollar level each year, going through 2013. 

An increase, again, a stable increase, will allow us to 

initiate the more integrated system-level research. 

 The first one will be focused on addressing 
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environmental impacts through air vehicle technologies, and 

this new project or activity will benefit from the results 

coming the stable fundamental research, and in turn, as we 

are learning more and better about how these promising 

technologies can work together, we will be able to inform 

the fundamental research base to bring even better and new 

capabilities. 

 So I think this budget, the important 

characteristic of this budget is stability and also the 

augmentation starting from FY10. 

 MODERATOR: Rob, do you have one follow-up, and 

then we will go to the next questioner? 

 MEDIA QUESTIONER: No. You can go to the next 

questioner. 

 MODERATOR: Okay. We will hear now from Graham 

Warwick, Aviation Week. 

 MEDIA QUESTIONER: Hi, there. Can I just -- 

sorry, I joined late because the queuing system wouldn't 

let me on, but can you just explain this Integrated Systems 

Research? What does it have to be to qualify as Integrated 

Systems Research? 

 Also, the initial programs that are listed were 
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all under the Subsonic Fixed Wing and Fundamental. So is 

there anything new, or have you just shifted it? 

 DR. SHIN: Okay. Thanks for the question. 

 As we have reformulated aeronautic investments 

back in 2006, with the stable budget that I mentioned, we 

have been really seeing tremendous progress in various 

technical areas and producing good results. 

 So our own observation calls for integrating some 

of these promising technologies and conduct system-level 

research in an environment that is relevant to the real 

life, and our own observation was supported by external 

recommendations as well. NASA Advisory Committee also 

recognized that building upon the strong foundation of 

fundamental research, we should do more in integrated 

system-level research. 

 Also, Congress recognized that as well. So, in 

their congressional language, they called for more 

system-level research in safety, next-gen, and 

environmental impact mitigation area. 

 So the first focus that we will have, as you 

mentioned, is in environmental impact mitigation area, and 

the idea here is from Subsonic Fixed Wing in Fundamental 
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Aeronautics Program. That is currently in fundamental 

research base or in development, as we call it. 

 Some of the technologies in combuster or airplane 

are completely renewed configuration, as you have been 

seeing the new configuration called a blended wing body, 

and some of these concepts and technologies are ready to 

graduate from Subsonic Fixed Wing project and to be tested, 

again, in an integrated fashion and see whether the 

intended benefit when they are combined at the system level 

can be realized. 

 So this Environmentally Responsible Aviation 

project under Integrated System Research Program that we 

are creating stress a specific technical objective to 

reduce fuel burn and also noise and emission 

simultaneously. So that is where that integration aspect 

comes in. 

 So, individually, these are all promising 

technologies, as an example, again, new configurations, low 

loss combuster technologies, materials, and the way we can 

manufacture the light composite materials in a new way and 

also land in a flow control to reduce stress. All these 

technologies individually show a lot of progress and 
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promises that, when they are combined, can really actually 

achieve a significant reduction, level of reduction in fuel 

burn, noise and emissions, again, simultaneously. 

 We are shooting 40, 50 percent of our fuel burn 

reductions, not interested in 5 percent or 10 percent. So 

that is the difference between current benefits to 

investment in Fundamental Aeronautics Program. This new 

activity will be maturing technologies and also exploring 

and testing these individual technologies in an integrated 

fashion in a much more relevant environment. 

 MODERATOR: Do you have a follow-up? 

 MEDIA QUESTIONER: Right, right. What I am 

trying to work out is, are there new demonstrations; 

therefore, that plan? Because the one that is mentioned in 

the budget document was already planned under Subsonic 

Fixed Wing. The wind tunnel tests for the HWB for noise, 

et cetera, were already planned under Subsonic Fixed Wing. 

 When you move that over to ISR or whatever it is 

called, are there additional demonstrations that are 

planned that were not planned under Subsonic Fixed Wing? 

 DR. SHIN: So, as we have been planning ISRP, in 

conjunction or coordination with SFW, we will streamline 
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SFW projects, and there will be some out-year planned 

activities that could be moving towards moving into the 

Environmentally Responsible Aviation project. We are 

working that. To the extent and actual individual 

activities, research activities in the out years, are not 

known as yet, our team is working, and for the next several 

months, we will go through a much refined planning process. 

 But, as you have pointed out, Graham, there will 

be some activities in the out year that we planned will go 

into ISRP. 

 MODERATOR: All right. Rob Coppinger has a 

follow-up now. 

 MEDIA QUESTIONER: Yes. Thanks. 

 I had actually a little bit more time to look at 

the figures. I was just looking at the fiscal year 2009 

column with the American Recovery Act. $150 million, you 

saved. 

 With the movement of the absorption of various 

programs into Fundamental Aeronautics, it is not obvious to 

me how you are spending that $150 million. Can you talk 

about where you are focusing that spend and how much you 

think you will go to spend this year, this fiscal year? 
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 DR. SHIN: Okay. If I understand the question 

correctly, you are interested in how we plan to spend 

$203.5-million augmentation in FY09, coming from two 

sources, one, $53.5 million from congressional appropriated 

augmentation and then $150 million from American Recovery 

Act. And I think you also wanted to know what the 

relationship between this spending plan and the activity 

that we have been talking about. 

 MEDIA QUESTIONER: Yes. Just summarized. 

 DR. SHIN: Okay. For FY09 augmentation, in a 

broad sense, I cannot give you all the details, certainly, 

because of lack of time that we can have, and at the same 

time, the spending plan is still being reviewed for 

approval by the Congress. So I would spare going through 

the details, but, in a broad sense, we are trying to 

accelerate progress in some key areas that we support 

next-gen vision working with FAA and JPDO. 

 So there are some areas that we can accelerate 

using this funding based on the current plan, and, also, 

last year, JPDO had gone through a fairly extensive 

analysis to identify major R&D gaps. There are two gaps 

JPDO identified. One is air-ground functional allocation, 
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and another one is validation and verification of complex 

systems. There are a few other R&D gaps, but those are the 

two JPDO suggested that NASA should take a lead on. 

 So we are serious about filling those gaps. So 

some of the funds from FY09 augmentation will be used to 

address, again, accelerating some key areas to support 

next-gen vision and also start addressing R&D gaps 

identified by JPDO. 

 Also, we are investing this augmentation to 

improve our research capabilities in both ground test 

facilities and flight assets, and we believe this is the 

right way to use stimulus money. That will create a lot of 

jobs, and, also, it will improve, again, for the future, 

our research capabilities and test capabilities. 

 Also, we are investing some money to enhance the 

fidelity of our current foundational research activities, 

whether it is fidelity of the technical depth or initiating 

some system studies to understand better the technical 

requirements and many different kinds of activities, but, 

again, broadly speaking, we can say we are also investing 

to expand and enhance fidelity of current foundational 

research activities. 
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 Some of these activities will certainly relate 

back to the Environmentally Responsible Aviation activity 

that we will formally start in FY10. We are trying to 

build, intentionally, a close relationship and coordination 

between fundamental research in this new integrated 

system-level research. Otherwise, those will be two 

stovepipes, two separate silos, and that is not the right 

way to conduct the research. 

 So we are intentionally trying to relate this 

very closely with a separate identity but coordinating and 

collaborating between the fundamental research and the 

integrated system research. 

 Some of the investment we are making using FY09 

augmentation will show some benefit to this new initiative 

that we are studying in 2010. 

 MODERATOR: All right. We have got time for just 

a couple more questions. Graham, if you have any 

follow-ups, please press Star/1 on your phone and get in 

the queue. Rob, do you have another follow-up? 

 [No response.] 

 MODERATOR: All right. Any members of the news 

media, Star/1 to queue for a question. We will give you -- 
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there we go. Graham, do you have a follow-up? 

 MEDIA QUESTIONER: This is a looney system. 

 [Laughter.] 

 MEDIA QUESTIONER: Right. I have several 

follow-ups. You were just talking about -- literally just 

talking about close relationships. Am I correct in reading 

the document, that there is a bit of a Headquarters 

streamlining to bring everything closer together? It 

sounds like you are tightening the focus on next-gen 

related work at the same time. 

 DR. SHIN: Yes. Some of our other theme plans 

for FY10 and out, the research approach here is, again, the 

building of strong and good foundational research that we 

have been conducting, staying on the same course for three 

years. That is really very important and significant in my 

perspective with a stable level of funding. 

 So people just don't have to worry about whether 

their research activity will go away a year later and they 

can concentrate on producing good technical results, and we 

are seeing a lot of those. 

 So now the question is where will all these good 

research results go, to users or to higher level maturity. 
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 They need to flow to someplace. 

 So what we are doing is capitalizing on these 

strong research results coming off and addressing the 

community need. In the next-gen area, they need a lot of 

technology infusion, as you all know. So we are trying to 

make sure that our NASA-developed concepts, capabilities, 

and technologies actually get transferred to the users or 

FAA for implementation, and they will implement them, but 

we need to make sure that the tech transfer is, indeed, 

happening. So that is one theme that we are employing. So 

that is what you see. 

 Also, in the vehicle area, we have Fundamental 

Aeronautics Program, I should say -- not vehicle area -- 

that we are trying to do some streamlining as well with 

that kind of philosophy, so trying to bring efficiency 

after learning and conducting this research for the past 

three years or so. 

 I will give you just one example. One example is 

we had entry, descent, and landing research both in 

supersonic projects and hypersonic projects within 

Fundamental Aeronautics Program, and we had a good reason 

to do that when we started three years ago. EDL goes 
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through from hypersonic to supersonic and then subsonic and 

eventually to landing. 

 So both areas need to work. Supersonic and 

hypersonic people both need to work in the EDL, and after 

three years or so of research, we learned that there could 

be some efficiency to be gained if we treat our EDL as one 

research discipline, if you will, and put it all under 

hypersonic projects, rather than splitting into two 

projects. 

 So, based on technical reasons in the management 

and technical efficiency, we are making some adjustment 

like that. 

 So the main thing is trying to make all these 

good research results coming all from fundamental research 

to flow and go someplace, as they are intended to, to bring 

actual benefits and impact to the community. That is the 

main thing, and for doing that, if we can get some lessons 

learned out of three years of doing fundamental research, 

we are taking necessary steps to make that adjustment. 

 MODERATOR: All right. Thank you, Jaiwon. 

 We will call it a briefing now, and I would like 

to provide you with some instant replay information. 
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Replay of this briefing will be available until 11:00 p.m., 

Eastern Time, on May 22. You may dial, toll free, 

888-566-0439 or, toll, 203-369-3045. 

 Thanks again to Jaiwon Shin, the Associate 

Administrator for Aeronautics Research, and to everyone 

else for joining us. Have a good day. 

 DR. SHIN: Thank you. 

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