Aeronautics Committee Report to the NASA Advisory Council

1. Aeronautics Committee Report to the NASA Advisory Council Gen. Lester Lyles (Chairman) Dr. John Sullivan Dr. Gene Covert Dr. Ilan Kroo Dr. Ray Colladay (ex-officio) February 7, 2008

2. Areas of Interest Explored at Current Meeting • Dr. Jay Dryer, NASA ARMD Senior Technical Advisor • ARMD Programs, FY09 Budget, and Education Activities • Dr. Robie Samanta-Roy, OSTP & Co-chair of NSTC AS&T Subcommittee • Plan for National Aeronautics R&D and Related Infrastructure • Dr. J.D. Kundu, OMB • ARMD’s Programs and the FY09 Budget • Dr. Ray Colladay, Chair, ASEB of the National Academies • Current activities of the ASEB • Dr. Kevin Wheeler, NASA Research Engineer on the Aircraft Aging and Durability Project • Wire Health Management for Aeronautics

3. ARMD Outreach • Aeronautics Test Program Outreach Meeting • Crystal City, March 2007 • 100 in attendance; 20/80 split NASA/others • Aviation Safety Program Annual Meeting • St. Louis, October 10-12, 2007 • 307 in attendance; 50/50 split • Fundamental Aeronautics Program Annual Meeting • New Orleans, October 30-November 1, 2007 • 450 in attendance and 50/50 split • Airspace Systems Program Annual Meeting • Scheduled for March 18-20, 2008 in St. Louis

4. Wiring Health in Aeronautics • Dr. Kevin Wheeler, NASA Research Engineer on the Aircraft Aging and Durability Project • Wire Health Management for Aeronautics

5. EWIS Gap Assessment Gaps in national portfolio NASA’s contribution: • Develop and compare algorithms for detecting and characterizing faults both electrically as well as via effluent detection. • Simulate and experiment in lab chafing events. • Provide and host wire fault data library on web. • Examine trade-space using developed models. • Development of ultrasonic enabled crimping tool. • Lots of hardware development but little funded development of algorithms for assessing reflections or alternatives to reflectometry. • Lack of understanding in how electrical signatures change over time with respect to chafing events. • Lack of publicly available wire fault data libraries. (SBIR IP) • Lack of rigorous requirements definition. • Minimal advancement of maintenance tools.

6. CONCLUSION NASA’s Wire Health Management Contributions: • Datasets - Development of publicly accessible electrical signature fault datasets • Algorithms - Development of algorithms for understanding and characterizing electrical signatures of faults. • Bayesian Inversion Methods - Development of Bayesian modeling techniques for assessment of fault progression. • Advanced Maintenance Tools - Development of advanced maintenance tools (ultrasonic wire crimper). • New NDI - Development of new NDI techniques such as detection of effluent. Aging Aircraft & Durability Project under Aviation Safety Program - 5 year research project - Expect to provide first public datasets in 2008. kevin.r.wheeler@nasa.gov

7. Current ASEB Activities • Aeronautics studies • Workshop to assess the R&D Plan for NextGen • Assessment of NASA’s Aeronautics R&D Program • Independent assessment of the Nation’s Wake Turbulence R&D Program • Independent assessment of NASA’s National Aviation Operational Monitoring Service (NAOMS) Project • Space technology and engineering studies • Critical issues in U.S. Space Policy – joint ASEB and SSB • Assessment of exploration technology development program • Evaluation of radiation shielding for space exploration

8. National Aeronautics R&D Policy and Implementation Plan Executive Order Policy Principles National Aero R&D Policy December 20, 2006 Fundamental Challenges Goals National Plan for Aero R&D and Related Infrastructure December 21, 2007 Objectives 8

9. Policy Principles Mobility through the air is vital to economic stability, growth, and security as a nation Aviation is vital to national security and homeland defense Aviation safety is paramount Security of and within the aeronautics enterprise must be maintained The US should continue to possess, rely on, and develop its world-class aeronautics workforce Assuring energy availability and efficiency is central to the growth of the aeronautics enterprise The environment must be protected while sustaining growth in air transportation 9

10. Observation The National Aeronautics R&D Policy and the follow-on Implementation Plan lay out the roles and responsibilities of participating federal agencies, including NASA, in a collaborative effort to advance U.S. technological leadership in aeronautics. In the Council’s view, the NASA Aeronautics program, while currently conducting high quality research, is not funded at a level sufficient to achieve the leadership objectives implicit in the National Aeronautics R&D Policy. In the Council’s judgment, the NASA Aeronautics Program should at least be doubled over a five-year period in order to meet these objectives.

11. Recommendation Systems-level research projects with discrete start and end dates should be considered in addition to and as an augmentation of the existing funded effort. Background: Systems-level research projects would not raise the budget runout level in perpetuity and should be focused on areas where NASA has unique demonstrated expertise in line with the National Aeronautics R&D Policy. Systems-level research is in contrast to validation and demonstration of point designs.

12. Concluding Remarks and Committee Next Steps Requested from NASA ARMD • Specific candidates for systems-level research projects • Technical details of the meeting of the Thermal Protection Systems Working Group Next Meeting Plans • Receive an update on activities at NASA and DoD in Thermal Protection Systems