+ Visit NASA.gov + Contact NASA Find it at NASA
	+ Home Search Aviation Systems		Dr. Parimal Kopardekar Selected as AIAA Fellow February 7, 2018 Dr. Parimal Kopardekar, Senior Technologist for Air Transportation Systems at NASA Ames Research Center, was elected to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ (AIAA’s) Class of 2018 Fellows, on February 1, 2018. Dr. Kopardekar will be inducted at a ceremony on May 2, 2018 at the AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala in Washington, D.C. The AIAA confers the Fellow distinction in recognition of notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences or technology of aeronautics and astronautics. (POC: Katharine Lee) ATD-2 Participation in FAA Predictability Workshop February 7, 2018 NASA’s Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) team members participated in a workshop led by the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) NextGen Systems Analysis and Modeling Division on January 30, 2018, in Washington, D.C. The workshop’s purpose was to explore methods for measuring and monetizing predictability improvements resulting from Trajectory Based Operations (TBO), and originated from recent NASA-FAA discussions on predictability goals shared between ATD-2 and broader NextGen TBO concepts. During the workshop, participants brainstormed how to further clarify benefit mechanisms associated with on-the-day trajectory prediction enhancement, and discussed how to reduce uncertainty in flight arrival times and traffic demand forecasts that can lead to better resource allocation decisions by both service providers and flight operators. Improving predictability can benefit decisions regarding the FAA’s setting of traffic management initiatives, and the airline’s use of available fleet equipage, gate, and crew resources. The FAA and their contractors supporting TBO analysis expressed strong interest in the benefit mechanisms that NASA is using for evaluating ATD-2. The group may hold a follow-up meeting in April 2018, in which the FAA would provide an update on its forthcoming efforts to engage with airlines on predictability improvements and better operational decisions. NASA would also provide an update on its ATD-2 benefits assessments and initial field demonstration findings. (POC: Rich Coppenbarger) North Texas Research Station Personnel Tour American Airlines Command Center at DFW and Discuss Collaboration February 7, 2018 American Airlines Command Center On January 30, 2018, the American Airlines Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Control Center Manager hosted a tour of the airline’s new Command Center facility, located in Terminal A of DFW International Airport, for NASA’s North Texas Research Station (NTX) personnel. This 10,000 square foot, windowless facility replaced the 1,500 square foot ramp tower positioned between Terminals A and C, and serves as a model for future airport Control Centers that will be built at other American Airlines (AA) hubs. AA has consolidated its airport ramp control, airport maintenance, passenger operations, and ramp operations coordinators in this single location, complete with its own emergency operations center. A video wall provides high definition and wide-angle views from cameras located around the terminals of DFW Airport and ramp controllers are positioned immediately in front of this wall with large surface traffic displays. AA has offered to make a position behind the ramp controllers available for NASA Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) subproject observers, including a space for a Surface Trajectory-Based Operations (STBO) display that shows inputs from the DFW air traffic control towers. Such an installation would be utilized in phase 3 of the ATD-2 effort. (POC: Paul Borchers) ATD-2 Team Conducts Supplemental Training at CLT Tower and TRACON February 7, 2018 From January 29-February 2, 2018, the Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) team provided supplemental training on the Integrated Arrival/Departure/Surface (IADS) system to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). This training session focused on training new Traffic Management Coordinators (TMCs) and Supervisors on the IADS system, to broaden the use of the electronic Call For Release process between Charlotte Air Traffic Control Tower and Washington En Route Center during all shifts. The training combined a series of short classroom sessions in the terminal area facility back room environment followed by hands-on training in the operational areas. The ATD-2 Team conducts regular training sessions to familiarize new users as well as inform current users of refinements to the IADS capabilities. (POC: Shivanjli Sharma) ATD Technical Interchange Meeting for ATD-2 and ATD-3 Subprojects February 7, 2018 On January 26, 2018, the Airspace Technology Demonstration (ATD) Project Office held a one-day Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) between the ATD-2 and ATD-3 subprojects. The purpose of the TIM was to identify common areas of technical work and share lessons learned between the ATD-2 and ATD-3 Project Management Team, Chief Engineers, Software/System Architects and Systems Engineering Team. The group discussed the overview, status and demos of the ATD-2 and ATD-3 systems as well as how the subprojects are related. The demo focused on system interfaces with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other industry systems, and each subproject also presented their Technology Transfer strategy and progress. The ATD-2 and ATD-3 teams gained greater familiarity with the technical details, stakeholders, and users of each system, and discussions led to insights on potential areas for further research. (POC: Leighton Quon) First ATD-2 Display Deployed to DFW Airport February 7, 2018 DFW Airport ATD2 Display On January 18, 2018, the NASA North Texas Research Station (NTX) personnel deployed the first of several displays to facilities at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport. The equipment provides a repeater of the Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) Surface Trajectory-Based Operations (STBO) display currently in use at the control towers of the airport and other Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control facilities, and was installed in the Environmental Affairs office. This display will provide real-time situational awareness of local air traffic management decisions to DFW Airport Board employees, fostering a collaborative environment for more efficient airport operations. Made possible through a Non-Reimbursable Space Act Agreement between NASA Ames Research Center and DFW Airport, subsequent installations will be made to the DFW Airport Operations Center, as well as the ramp towers controlled by the airport. (POC: Paul Borchers) ATD-2 Familiarization for FAA Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) Team February 7, 2018 ATD2 Familiarization for TFDM Team On December 12, 2017, the Airspace Technology Demonstration-2 (ATD-2) team, including both NASA and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and American Airlines field demonstration partners, hosted personnel from the FAA’s Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) Program Office and development team for familiarization with the ATD-2 Integrated Arrival/Departure/Surface (IADS) system and observations of the ATD-2 Field Demonstration currently underway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). TFDM, the FAA’s NextGen surface management solution, is currently under development and will provide Electronic Flight Data, Traffic Flow Management, Collaborative Decision Making for the Surface, and Systems Consolidation capabilities. TFDM is being developed in two “builds.” Build 1 will establish the foundational elements of the system and Build 2 will deliver more advanced capabilities. One objective of the NASA/FAA collaboration on the ATD-2 Field Demo is to inform and reduce risk for the TFDM Program. The FAA selected CLT as the initial site for TFDM Build 2 which will help facilitate the transfer of lessons learned from ATD-2 to TFDM. The TFDM visitors were provided with an ATD-2 orientation, and observed ATD-2 IADS surface departure metering operations and engaged in Q&A with American Airlines ramp management personnel at the CLT Ramp Tower. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) national representative for ATD-2, who is also a CLT Traffic Management Coordinator, led the group during observation of the ATD-2 IADS system in operational use at the FAA Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and terminal area facilities. The general consensus was that the informal exchanges that occurred during this familiarization visit were beneficial for all involved. (POC: Shawn Engelland) ATD-2 Team Briefs Collaborative Decision Making Stakeholders February 7, 2018 On December 6, 2017, NASA participated in a joint meeting of two government/industry Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) teams at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Warrenton, Virginia. The Surface CDM Team (SCT) and the CDM Automation Team (CAT) consist of representatives from the major U.S passenger and cargo airlines, general aviation, airports, the FAA, and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). Many of these CDM stakeholders were instrumental in developing the departure metering concept that NASA has implemented as part of the ATD-2 Integrated Arrival/Departure/Surface (IADS) system being demonstrated at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). NASA’s briefing to these stakeholders recounted the crawl/walk/run process that the ATD-2 team followed to incrementally introduce IADS capabilities to the Ramp Tower, Air Traffic Control Tower, and terminal area facility at CLT and to the Washington En Route Center in Leesburg, Virginia. The briefing also included an early look at field demonstration quantitative data which was received with great interest by the CDM stakeholders. The NASA briefing concluded with a look at data being provided by air carriers (e.g., Earliest Off Block Time, or EOBT) as part of their CDM partnership with the FAA. These data are essential to the success of departure metering concepts, and data quality requirements are of great interest to all CDM stakeholders. The ATD-2 Field Demo represents one of the first opportunities to use these new data elements in an operational environment, and NASA is fortunate to have the established CDM venue for communicating findings regarding these air carrier-provided data. ATD-2 Field Demo updates will be provided to CDM stakeholders on a regular basis. (POC: Al Capps) + Back to Top
	+ Freedom of Information Act + Budgets, Strategic Plans and Accountability Reports + NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices + Accessibility Curator: NASA Official: Last Updated: November 7, 2018 + Contact Us + About This Site