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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 large teal and blue rotorblade model is suspended in a wind tunnel for testing. Various organization logos, including NASA, are displayed on the model.

Advancing a new generation of tiltrotors

A metallic 3D printed lattice structure resting on an orange base, showcasing intricate geometric patterns and precise detailing against a plain background.

Researchers aid development of AI, additive manufacturing

Pilot operating controls in the cockpit of a small aircraft, with focus on the hand holding a throttle and instrument panel visible.

Surviving fragment impacts and fires

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

Aerial view of nasa langley research center with people forming the number

A nod to tragic and triumphant events

A black and dark green World War II-era bomber aircraft with Canadian flags on it is parked on a tarmac, surrounded by trees and patches of grass under a clear sky.

Recognizing NASA’s 60th anniversary, World War I centennial

Aerospace Sciences

Two people stand near a large white high-altitude balloon being inflated on a concrete surface, with a building labeled

Forecasting space weather to protect travelers

Close-up of a spacecraft module with labeled parts: comars 1, 2, 3, and radiometer.

Validating advanced thermophysics models

Aerial view of a coastal area showing damaged buildings and debris scattered around after a hurricane, with a flooded area nearby.

Drone registration, reusing first stages

Aircraft Technology, Integration and Operations

A person is paragliding with a pink and white parachute against a clear blue sky.

U.S. Army tests gravity airdrop, high-altitude parachutes and powered paragliders

A jet fighter aircraft taking off from a runway with mountains and trees visible in the background.

Hydrogen and electric aircraft make their mark

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

Engineering and Technology Management

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

Profits dip in aerospace, defense sectors

Solar Impulse 2

A year that caught public’s notice

British F-35Bs

Vertical flight continues to grow

Information Systems

A satellite cluster is situated between two payload fairings inside a cleanroom, ready for integration onto a launch vehicle.

Communications satellites proliferate into an expanding multi-orbit domain

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

Progress on avoidance, guidance and displays

Technicians work on a satellite in a large Lockheed Martin facility.

Expansion of sensor networks continues to improve military security and civilian mobility

Integration

A small aircraft is parked on an airfield at sunrise, surrounded by other planes. A control tower and an airport building are visible in the background.

Transformational flight business ramps up with mergers and purchase orders

Technicians work on a large satellite in a cleanroom environment, surrounded by equipment and tools, under bright lights and a high ceiling.

Spitzer telescope endures, while Opportunity’s fate is pending

A person with headphones is sitting inside a small aerial vehicle with large windows, flying over a body of water with boats visible below.

Transformational flight prototyping strong in 2020

Program Committees

Tests at the Lockheed Martin Low Speed Wind Tunnel in Ohio

Going green moves to higher gear

NASA Electric Aircraft Testbed in Sandusky, Ohio

Electric efforts gaining power

rotating detonating engine

New and existing systems show progress

Propulsion and Energy

A series of white tubs contain green liquid, connected by piping and mechanized mixers, set up in a greenhouse environment.

Progress made toward hydrogen-powered aircraft and biofuels

Two side-by-side graphs show color-coded radial distance (mm) distributions. The left graph is red with a triangular shape. The right graph, similarly shaped, is orange. Both are labeled in millimeters.

Insights made about imaging radicals, predicting soot yields and detonations

A small white and red aircraft from magniX and AeroTEC flies over an airfield with a runway and buildings visible below.

Energy systems focus on environmentally friendly aviation

Space and Missiles

Two small satellites connected by a tether orbiting above Earth with partial view of the Earth's surface and atmosphere in the background.

Space tethers focus on deorbit and debris mitigation

Blurred image of a black hole with a dark center and bright orange-yellow ring, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope.

Space systems deliver progress toward space economy

A drone in flight carrying a cylindrical payload labeled

Advancements in heat transfer research and a new platform for microgravity experiments

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Aircraft operations welcomes new Concept of Operations and focus on sustainability