(Aero-Space Technology) House Rpt.107-740 VA-HUD Appropriations Bill 2003
AERO-SPACE TECHNOLOGY
Within the Aero-Space Technology portion of this account, the
Committee recommends $2,883,850,000 a net increase of $68,050,000 to the
budget request.
The Committee has grown increasingly concerned that today’s airspace
modernization efforts fall short of addressing existing and emerging
needs. Growing numbers of flight delays and cancellations over the past
few years can be attributed to fundamental limitations in aviation
system capacity. Congestion, delays and inefficient routing have serious
economic and environmental consequences. The events of September 11,
2001 not only highlighted the importance of aviation to our entire
economy, but also demonstrated the need to enhance aviation system
security to reduce the risk that future threats result in the shutdown
of our national airspace system.
The Committee strongly urges the NASA Administrator, in consultation
with the FAA Administrator to participate in a national initiative with
the objective of defining and developing an air traffic management
system designed to meet national long-term aviation security, safety,
capacity and efficiency needs. Such an initiative would result in a
multi-agency blueprint for acquisition and implementation of an air
traffic management system that would build upon current air traffic
management and infrastructure initiatives. The initiative should take a
system of systems approach toward integrating the requirements,
resources, and capabilities of all key agencies or department and
utilize stakeholder based system performance requirements to determine
an optimal operational concept and system architecture. New modeling,
simulation, and analysis tools should be used to validate system
performance and benefits. The national initiative should also develop a
transition plan for successful implementation into the National Airspace
System (NAS).
The Committee recognizes that any significant improvement in the
National Airspace System will depend upon a robust technology
development program. Given the thirty-year involvement of Glenn Research
Center in developing innovative communications research and technology
for NASA, the Center should play a significant role in achieving the
development of this technology.
The Committee recommends the following adjustments to the budget
request:
1. An increase of $19,000,000 for Intelligent Propulsion for Next
Generation Aircraft to build on and leverage the Ultra Efficient Engine
Technology and Quiet Aircraft Technology programs.
2. An increase of $2,500,000 for the NASA-Illinois Technology
Commercialization Center at DuPage County Research Park.
3. An increase of $300,000 for the Rural Technology Transfer and
Commercialization Center of Durant, Oklahoma.
4. An increase of $2,000,000 for the Tulane Institute for
Macromolecular Engineering and Science for polymer research.
5. An increase of $1,500,000 for the Glennan Microsystem Initiative.
6. An increase of $500,000 to be used for continued development of an
electric/diesel hybrid engine at Bowling Green State University in
conjunction with the University of Toledo.
7. An increase of $6,000,000 for the HITS multilateration sensor and
surveillance server for Airport Surface Detection and Management System.
8. An increase of $5,000,000 to develop in partnership with the Air
Force Research Laboratory-Information Directorate, the JVIEW modeling
and simulation system for satellite coverage analysis, ground radars and
air traffic over the United States.
9. An increase of $5,000,000 for Project SOCRATES.
10. An increase of $7,000,000 for continuation of the Space Alliance
Technology Outreach Program, including $3,000,000 for business
incubators, in Florida and New York.
11. An increase of $1,000,000 for the Advanced Interactive Discovery
Environment engineering research program at Syracuse University.
12. An increase of $5,000,000 for the National Center of Excellence
in Infotonics in Rochester, New York.
13. An increase of $1,500,000 for the Virtual Collaboration Center at
the North Carolina GigaPop.
14. An increase of $2,000,000 for the Garrett Morgan
Commercialization Initiative in Ohio.
15. An increase of $1,000,000 for on-going activities in support of
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center’s Intelligent Flight Control System
(IFCS) research project.
16. An increase of $1,250,000 for ongoing research at Marshall Space
Flight Center in the area of advanced and breakthrough solutions for
propulsion.
17. An increase of $9,000,000 for hydrogen research being conducted
by the Florida State University System.
18. An increase of $5,000,000 to develop in partnership with the Air
Force Research Laboratory-Information Directorate, the JVIEW modeling
and simulation system for satellite coverage analysis, ground radars and
air traffic over the United States.
19. An increase of $500,000 for aerospace projects being accomplished
by the Montana Aerospace Development Authority.
20. An increase of $800,000 for Middle Tennessee State University for
the SATS Aerospace Flight Education Research Initiative.
21. An increase of $3,000,000 for the Advanced Power Systems project.
22. An increase of $5,000,000 for the DP 2 vectored thrust program.
23. An increase of $2,000,000 for the Energy Momentum Wheel project
at Goddard Space Flight Center.
24. An increase of $1,000,000 for COM simulation architecture program.
25. An increase of $4,000,000 for NASA’s Independent Verification and
Validation Facility
26. An increase of $2,000,000 for equipment for the Computer
Forensics Technology Center at Utica College of Syracuse University.
27. An increases of $7,000,000 for the Small Aircraft Transportation
System. The Committee is concerned that NASA has not requested
sufficient funding to enable the Small Aircraft Transportation System
(SATS) program to demonstrate the practical application of the SATS
Program concept, which offers the promise of extending reliable
point-to-point air service to smaller communities and has provided this
increase. The additional funding is to be invested through the
governance process of the National Consortium for Aviation Mobility
(NCAM), exclusively for acceleration of regional service demonstrations
that apply those SATS and related technologies ready for implementation,
and for automotive technology transfer. The Committee expects NCAM to
use these additional funds to accelerate the planning and conduct of
SATS regional service demonstrations in states with strong state,
community, and transportation service provider participation in the NCAM
partnership. This funding for NCAM is in addition to the $11,750,000
proposed by NASA for fiscal year 2003. Further, the Committee expects
the SATS service demonstrations to provide the participating communities
and their representative organizations with an opportunity to
participate in SATS transportation service demonstrations, an analysis
of economic impacts and related implications of improved air access to
smaller communities, and an explanation of the technologies behind the
concept.
The Committee expects the SATS program to engage NCAM partners in
efforts to enhance the affordability of SATS to end-users through an
inter-modal transportation technology transfer effort in coordination
with relevant industrial automotive technology development efforts.
The Committee expects the SATS service demonstrations to be done in
collaboration with the FAA and, as appropriate, in cooperation with the
FAA’s Safe Flight 21 Program. The SATS project will address issues
raised by the FAA regarding operational procedures and safety criteria
for the SATS technologies and their deployment. A primary objective of
the FAA NASA collaboration in the SATS program is for the output of the
2005 demonstration activities to be sufficient to define the
implementation actions required for deployment of SATS transportation
services.
NASA is directed to provide a report to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House and the Senate on the status of program
progress and results on March 31 of each year. Finally, the Committee
directs that future budget requests for SATS shall identify sufficient
funding to enable NCAM to fully carry out the service demonstrations and
the automotive technology transfer, including adequate funding to
support full collaboration between SATS and the FAA.
28. A decrease of $31,000,000, without prejudice, from the Space
Launch Initiative program. The Committee recommendation includes the
full request for of $62,700,000 for Alternative Access to Station.
Because NASA’s Research Maximization and Prioritization Task Force has
called for additional “upmass” to improve ISS research productivity,
the Committee directs that these funds be used to demonstrate a
near-term commercial ISS re-supply service.
29. An increase of $500,000 for the Advanced Space Propulsion
Materials Research and Technology Center at Alabama A&M University.
30. An increase of $1,000,000 for high temperature nanotechnology
research to be conducted at Glenn Research Center.
31. An increase of $1,000,000 for the computing, information, and
communications technology program only for the development,
demonstration and assessment of a mobile, wireless, broadband internet
capability.
The Committee supports the mission of Wallops Flight Facility and
that facility’s fully capable test range for low-cost, aerospace-based,
science and technology research through small to medium-sized missions.
However, the Committee does not support the alteration of existing roles
and responsibilities of NASA’s flight centers.
