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Aircraft Technology, Integration and Operations

Aircraft operations welcomes new Concept of Operations and focus on sustainability

By Gabriele Enea|December 2023

The Aircraft Operations Technical Committee promotes safe and efficient operations in the airspace system by encouraging best practices and information-sharing among the community and government agencies.

In January, FAA published the “Initial Concept of Operations for the Info-Centric National Airspace System,” outlining how operations will look after 2035. This high-level ConOps describes how future NAS operations will support new paradigms without monolithic large systems through the introduction of “microservices” to perform all the critical NAS functions.

Urban air mobility is one of the new entrants that will need to be accommodated. In April, FAA published its “UAM Concept of Operations Version 2.0,” which was followed by the start of the UAM Airspace Management Demonstration project in June. In collaboration with industry, this project showcased concepts described in the ConOps, including the creation and management of notional UAM corridors and architecture components that support information exchanges in the UAM ecosystem. Through the project, FAA is taking an iterative approach to demonstrate UAM operations and increasingly complex airspace management. Coordination was demonstrated between FAA, UAM operators, UAM service providers and public entities. Alongside this work to demonstrate the establishment and dissemination of UAM corridors, industry is moving forward with route definitions. California air taxi builder Archer Aviation, in partnership with United Airlines, in March announced a new route that will connect downtown Chicago to O’Hare International Airport. In June, United Airlines announced plans with Eve Air Mobility, a Brazil air taxi developer, to begin electric commuter flights throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, which includes working together to identify a route network.

Sustainability was also a theme for aircraft operations. In January, NASA established agreements with Boeing to deliver the X-66A Sustainable Flight Demonstrator, a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing aircraft with extra-long thin wings stabilized by diagonal struts. Boeing unveiled the livery for this aircraft in July at the EAA AirVenture air show in Wisconsin. NASA says X-66A is the first X-plane designed specifically to help the U.S. achieve net-zero carbon emissions for the aviation industry, a goal described in the 2021 U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan. The idea is that flight tests and analysis of the aircraft could inform designs of future single-aisle aircraft, the backbone of passenger-based air travel. Single-aisle aircraft account for about half of aviation greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, according to NASA, so a design that requires less fuel could have a major impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

This year saw increased focus on contrail avoidance as another way of reducing aviation’s climate impacts. In August, American Airlines, Google Research and Breakthrough Energy of Washington published results from a six-month study using contrail forecast maps developed by artificial intelligence. The airline was able to reduce contrail formation by 54% over 70 flights. Studies with other airlines and partners are ongoing to explore different forecasting approaches, along with impacts to fuel burn and flight time to assess the operational viability and importance of contrail avoidance strategies.

Midyear, the entire NAS (and Florida airports in particular) experienced significant delays caused by adverse weather conditions coupled with staffing shortages. This caused new scrutiny on FAA’s staffing challenges and was discussed at multiple congressional hearings. Some of the issues experienced in Florida were also exacerbated by the increased pace of commercial space launches. In August, the number of fiscal 2023 launches had almost reached the total number of launches for the entirety of 2022. FAA projected 94 launches to be licensed in fiscal 2023 versus the 74 that occurred in fiscal 2022, an increase of 27%.

Contributors: Tony Evans, John Koelling and Tom Reynolds

2023 Year in Review

Aerospace Design and Structures

A spacecraft with large, blue solar panels and satellite components orbits above the Earth, with the planet visible along with clouds and a distant sunrise or sunset.

Developing technology for smallsat solar arrays and antennas

Close-up of two halves of a cutting blade with jagged edges and three red markings on a blurred background.

Probabilistic methods gain traction for designing complex systems

A small aircraft with a blue and white color scheme is undergoing maintenance inside a hangar. It is surrounded by various tools, equipment, and safety barriers.

X-57 Maxwell leads structural dynamic work

Aerospace Outreach

A vibrant image of the Carina Nebula, showcasing bright stars and colorful gas clouds in space, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The scene features shades of blue, orange, and pink.

A year of seeing the unseen

Three astronauts inside a spacecraft greet another astronaut entering through a hatch, capturing a moment of camaraderie in space. Equipment and an American flag are visible in the background.

Astronauts again launch from U.S. soil

An airbus a330 aircraft, featuring a blue and white livery, takes off from an airport with a control tower in the background.

Industry sees increased profits, major acquisitions

Aerospace Sciences

Interior of a modern hallway with reflective metal walls and ceiling, featuring a circular light fixture at the far end.

Public and private sector improve wind tunnels

Close-up of a complex laboratory equipment setup with various components, wires, and illuminated lights in a dimly lit environment.

Fundamental advancements in plasmas and lasers propel the future of propulsion and energy

A white and blue aerial drone with the labels

X-61A Gremlin flights, Commercial Crew and Mars missions mark eventful year

Aircraft Technology, Integration and Operations

A single-engine propeller aircraft with registration number G-MXTE is flying over a landscape with rolling hills and sparse vegetation.

737 MAX 10, NASA’s Ingenuity and others make first flights

A high-altitude balloon being launched with attached electronics, while three workers in safety vests observe on a clear day.

Real-world applications, support for Starline test

A small, blue drone with distinct wing-like extensions flies against a cloudy sky.

Steady progress in aircraft design despite covid-19 disruptions

Engineering and Technology Management

Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo

Accelerating change on systems engineering tenets

Atmospheric picture of space

A century ago, aviation became an industry

Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine for ULA’s Vulcan

Profits dip in aerospace, defense sectors

Information Systems

A stealth aircraft is parked inside a large, well-lit hangar with industrial equipment and open space in the background.

New architectures, agile development and next-gen rad-hardening lead work in computing

A large missile is being launched into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke, with a military aircraft flying nearby. The sky is clear with some clouds below.

Artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons drive sensing, fusion research

A white NASA drone is parked on an airstrip with a small propeller airplane visible in the background.

Progress on avoidance, guidance and displays

Integration

A spacecraft soars above Earth's surface, with the planet's curvature and atmospheric layers visible in the background.

Aviation management challenges increase

A large aircraft with an exceptionally wide wingspan is about to land on a runway. A small vehicle is on the runway ahead of the plane. The sky is clear, and distant hills are visible in the background.

Uncrewed and remotely piloted vehicles set records in civil and military worlds

A yellow airplane takes off from a grassy field near trees and a building labeled

Gradual transformation of flight continues

Program Committees

NASA Electric Aircraft Testbed in Sandusky, Ohio

Electric efforts gaining power

130-foot-long fuel tank test article for NASA’s Space Launch System

Mars, Jupiter and the human factor

Tests at the Lockheed Martin Low Speed Wind Tunnel in Ohio

Going green moves to higher gear

Propulsion and Energy

A satellite labeled

Interest grows in nuclear propulsion for deep-space transportation

A sequence of images showing a cylindrical object emitting flames and smoke from the top, with a scale of 5 mm on the bottom left.

Innovations made on NASA initiator, 3D printing of propellants, cool gas generators

A streamlined model of an aircraft nose section under testing in a wind tunnel, illuminated by a green light, with various metal support structures and sensors surrounding it.

Canada, China, Europe and U.S. cite progress in hypersonic propulsion

Space and Missiles

Technicians in white cleanroom suits work on a piece of metallic equipment inside a laboratory, handling wires and components, while other staff observe from a glass-walled room above.

First in-situ resource utilization payload heads to Mars

A nighttime sky with a rocket launch, featuring a bright trail ascending diagonally, with the moon and stars visible through scattered clouds.

Missile defense tests show progress

A yellow robotic rover with treads navigates a dusty indoor environment, connected by cables and featuring a central vertical pole with instruments at the top.

Experiments to use space resources make great strides

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Aircraft operations welcomes new Concept of Operations and focus on sustainability