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⟵ Back to the 2016 Year in Review Landing Page
Program Committees

Unmanned integration efforts gain speed

By Richard S. Stansbury|December 2016

The Unmanned Systems Program Committee supports the unmanned systems community focused primarily on unmanned aircraft systems and related technologies, but also supports ground, sea and space-based unmanned systems technical communities.

The unmanned aircraft systems community made tremendous strides toward its goal of UAS integration in 2016, with a huge effort going into connecting the UAS community with policy- and rule-makers.

In April, the FAA held a UAS symposium in Daytona Beach, Florida, to discuss UAS integration into the National Airspace System. In May, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta announced the formation of a Drone Advisory Committee, comprised of members from industry, government and academia, to open a dialog between rule-makers and the community. The panel held its inaugural meeting in September.

On Aug. 2, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy held a workshop on “Drones and the Future of Aviation” where it pledged further support to UAS integration efforts that included funding to the National Science Foundation, support for search-and-rescue operations using UAS by the Department of Interior, $5 million to support UAS development in New York state, and support for public and UAS community outreach.

The FAA made further regulatory progress in 2016. An aviation rule-making committee was convened to develop initial guidance regarding the operation of micro-unmanned systems over populated areas. Its final report was delivered to the FAA on April 1. In June, the FAA announced the final rules for Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 107, Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, which went into effect Aug. 29. Part 107 defines operational restrictions for small UAS operator certification requirements for a new remote pilot certificate with small UAS rating, and a waiver process to request exemptions for some Part 107 restrictions given appropriate risk mitigations.

NASA’s UAS Traffic Management system and associated research program achieved several milestones in 2016. In April, a test was performed in partnership with the FAA’s six UAS test sites in which 24 UAS flights operated under the traffic management system across the multiple sites with up to 22 simultaneous flights. In August, at the Reno-Stead Airport UAS test site in Nevada, NASA performed the first checkout of the traffic management system for Technology Capability Level-2, in which basic principles of air traffic management for low-altitude small UAS operations have been analyzed and some preliminary application of that knowledge has been achieved.

The Defense Department also addressed the path forward for autonomy across their unmanned systems as reported in the Defense Science Board’s “Summer Study on Autonomy.”

A major public concern of UAS technologies is operations outside the current legal framework. In March, the FAA released a report on UAS reported sightings, which included 582 reported encounters by pilots, citizens and law enforcement from Aug. 21, 2015, to Jan. 31, 2016. The FAA expanded its Pathfinder Initiative for UAS detection by issuing Cooperative Research and Development Agreements to Gryphon Sensors of New York, Liteeye Systems of Arizona and Sensofusion to evaluate their technologies for UAS detection. The FAA also field tested an FBI-provided mitigation system at John F. Kennedy International Airport versus a variety of UAS platforms.

UAS have also made the news for a variety of positive applications that included these examples. In July, Facebook announced the first full-scale flight test of the Aquila solar-powered high-altitude UAS platform, which is designed to one day provide internet access to remote areas. In July, over 250 unmanned aircraft flights were performed as part of the National Science Foundation’s Cloud-Map project evaluating UAS for applications in precision agriculture and meteorology by a team of universities including. Universities taking part included the University of Kentucky, the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Nebraska. In August, Stony Brook University in New York and Vayu Inc. in Michigan performed the first flight test to transport blood samples from a remote village in Madagascar to a field medical station, paving the way to faster diagnosis for people in remote villages. ★

2016 Year in Review

Aerospace Design and Structures

The image shows a space robotic arm conducting a simulated refueling operation on a satellite. The satellite has a star-shaped solar panel array. The background is the dark expanse of space.

Harnessing solar power via microwave

A glider is flying low over a runway with a forested, mountainous background.

Orion module undergoes acoustic testing

A spacecraft featuring large solar panels and a cargo bay or docking mechanism orbits above the Earth, with the planet's surface and cloud formations visible below.

Designing the world’s largest wind turbine

Aerospace Outreach

An astronaut in a blue shirt is working inside a spacecraft, handling components on a suited mannequin or robotic astronaut. Various equipment is visible in the background.

Year of records includes Falcon Heavy launch, unmanned aircraft registrations

A space station with solar panels orbits above Earth's atmosphere, with the vast blue planet and clouds visible in the background.

Celebrating 50 years since the launch of Skylab and other anniversaries

A total solar eclipse with a prominent corona visible around the dark silhouette of the moon against a black sky.

Space geeks and others bask in solar eclipse

Aerospace Sciences

3d visualization of fluid simulation showing the flow dynamics around a rectangular obstacle with colorful streamlines indicating velocity or temperature gradients.

Focus on ability to predict separated flow

A cone-shaped black capsule with an orange circular marking rests on a barren, sandy landscape with sparse vegetation and distant mountains.

First flights, launches and reentries mark an eventful year

Side view of a Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie drone in flight against a clear blue sky. The drone is black with orange accents on its tail fins and a distinctive shape designed for stealth and performance.

Paving the way for autonomous weapons, hypersonics, human spaceflight

Aircraft Technology, Integration and Operations

Solar Impulse 2

The changing face of flight testing

A rocket lifting off from a launchpad with flames and smoke billowing out from the base against a clear blue sky backdrop.

Aviation automation in spotlight; new-entrant evolution continues

A twin-fuselage aircraft with a long wingspan takes off from a runway in a desert landscape. Dust trails behind as the plane ascends.

Busy year for advancing emergent flight vehicle technology

Engineering and Technology Management

Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo

Accelerating change on systems engineering tenets

Solar Impulse 2

A year that caught public’s notice

British F-35Bs

Vertical flight continues to grow

Information Systems

Space telescope equipment with intricate gold and silver components in a dark setting, reflecting technical and precise engineering.

Autonomous drone test opens up possibility of low-level urban flights

Satellite orbiting in outer space against a backdrop of a starry sky and the Milky Way galaxy.

Space and aviation sectors take steps to guard against increased cyberattacks

A digital illustration of Earth with the visible African continent, surrounded by a network mesh and numerous small satellites in orbit, depicting global satellite communication.

An intriguing year for communications satellites

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

A rocket engine is ignited, expelling colorful exhaust flames and smoke. The engine is partially enclosed in a structure with platforms and scaffolding visible in the background.

Pieces are coming together for CFD Vision 2030

A helicopter flying in the air.

Unmanned aircraft systems make research and business advances

Program Committees

rotating detonating engine

New and existing systems show progress

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

Mars, Jupiter and the human factor

Atmospheric picture of space

Hypersonics changing the world

Propulsion and Energy

Illustration of a spacecraft with multiple cylindrical modules and thrusters, featuring NASA logos on several sections.

Advances seen in nuclear propulsion for human missions to Mars

A rocket engine test showing an ignited engine with blue exhaust flame, surrounded by various tubes and machinery.

Rotating detonation engines at the forefront of pressure gain combustion

inlet of a turbine-based combined cycle engine

Progress seen in tech underlying high-speed flight

Space and Missiles

Three people in cleanroom suits work on assembling or inspecting a spacecraft component inside a laboratory, with additional personnel observing from a glass-enclosed area in the background.

Extracting oxygen from Martian air and growing proteins, neurons in microgravity

Two astronauts in space suits sit in the interior of a spacecraft, giving thumbs-up gestures. A third person stands to the left, wearing a mask and dark clothing. The spacecraft appears ready for launch.

Progress for human life support in Earth orbit and in Mars atmosphere

Joint Light Combat Vehicle

Military truck program offers lessons

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Unmanned integration efforts gain speed