August 27, 2020 - No. 064 In This Issue The Boeing ecoDemonstrator Project: A History. Etihad Testing Green, Quiet Technology With Boeing and NASA. DOE awarding $33M for carbon-neutral hybrid electric aviation Northland Community & Technical College Selected for Federal Aviation Administration Training Program European flight safety agency to start 737 Max test flights With Tesla and SpaceX credentials, start-up flies pilotless Caravan By December, 45 airports to use global navigation satellite system for safe landing in poor visibility New distribution agreement between SAS and Sabre fairly balances agency and airline interests Healthcare's Lessons for the Pandemic-Era Airport ACI and Amadeus Announce Partnership Supporting the 2020 ASQ Awards "The sky has changed": Astronomers say SpaceX satellites are interfering with their observations The Boeing ecoDemonstrator Project: A History The aviation world is abuzz with news of Boeing's brand new ecoDemonstrator. The 787-10 Dreamliner is eventually headed for Etihad Airways and will be fitted out with a plethora of sensors designed to help test out new technology. Right now, Boeing is flight testing the Dreamliner ahead of delivery, getting it all set to be delivered to the Middle East airline. The Etihad 787 was announced as the latest ecoDemonstrator for the US manufacturer at this year's virtual Farnborough International Airshow. It will be used to test out various sustainability technologies, including nose to tail connectivity, as well as methods of improving hygiene and even noise reduction. However, this is not the first ecoDemonstrator to be put into service by Boeing. Indeed, the planemaker has been using its aircraft for real-world testing of new tech for almost a decade. Here's a brief history of the ecoDemonstrator program and the aircraft used by Boeing. The origins of the program The ecoDemonstrator program was first conceived following the conclusion of Boeing's Quiet Technology Demonstrator program. This program operated between 2001 and 2005 and aimed to develop noise reduction technologies for more peaceful flying. Boeing test pilots used a modified 777 belonging to ANA, packed with microphones. They used it to pinpoint where noises were coming from and to develop technology to make flying less intrusive. The scheme ultimately produced the chevrons used on the back of the nacelle and engine exhaust nozzle. These small modifications massively reduced the noise of the jet blast from the engines and have been adopted for aircraft, including the 787 and the 737 MAX. So successful was the project that Boeing took the initiative to revamp it into the ecoDemonstrator program, which was officially launched in 2011 in partnership with American Airlines and the FAA. The first ecoDemonstrator The very first ecoDemonstrator to be used by Boeing was a Next Generation 737-800. Owned by American Airlines, this aircraft took part in 14 projects to test out various sustainability and noise reduction technologies. These included: Aerodynamic performance of the 737 MAX advanced technology winglet. Variable area fan nozzle to optimize engine efficiency. Active engine vibration control. Regenerative hydrogen fuel cell for aircraft electrical power. Flightpath optimization for operational efficiency. Carpet made from recycled materials. Sustainable aviation fuel. Next, an early Dreamliner The second ecoDemonstrator was a company-owned 787-8, flying with tail number N7874. The project was huge, involving various airlines, technology companies and aerospace suppliers. Involved in the project were Japan Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Rolls-Royce, Honeywell, Rockwell Collins, General Electric, and Panasonic, as well as NASA and the FAA. The Dreamliner tested out a huge range of technologies and was involved in 35 projects in all. These included tech for better fuel efficiency and a smaller noise footprint, including, Aerodynamic and flight control improvements. Advanced wing coatings to reduce ice accumulation. Software applications and connectivity technologies that can improve flight planning, fuel-load optimization, in-flight routing, and landing. There were also tests conducted for connectivity enhancements including, Touch-screen displays on the flight deck. Wireless sensors that can reduce wiring, reducing weight and saving fuel. Outer wing access doors made from recycled 787 carbon fiber. In addition to these tests, it also cooperated with NASA to fine-tune its Airborne Spacing for Terminal Arrival Routes (ASTAR) system, which helps achieve precise spacing between aircraft during approaches. Notably, it conducted a historic first flight using renewable diesel. The Boeing 757 ecoDemonstrator Third in the lineup was the Boeing 757, an aircraft owned by the aircraft finance division of Stifel. This aircraft was painted in TUI livery, and the airline was heavily involved in the program. Among the 20 projects tested out on this aircraft were new wing designs for aerodynamic efficiency, including a Krueger shield to protect the leading edge from insects and a bug phobic coating to reduce drag from insect residue. It also harnessed the power of active flow control to improve airflow over the rudder to potentially improve its aerodynamic efficiency by more than 15% and allow for a smaller vertical tail design in the future. Again, alternative fuels were tested out, including a 5% blend of renewable diesel. The aircraft never entered commercial service, however, as part of its role was to be dismantled and recycled to learn about repurposing aircraft at the end of their life. Jeanne Yu, Boeing's director of environmental performance, said of the project at the time, during a visit to NASA, "I think it's unanimous that we've learned a lot from flying these ambitious technologies. And we are excitedly contemplating how to get these technologies onto our next airplane ... We love to see NASA DNA in Boeing airplanes." Next came something smaller 2016 saw the introduction of the smallest ecoDemonstrator to date - an Embraer E170, owned by the Brazilian planemaker. It tested the following technologies: Ice-phobic paint to improve safety and reduce drag. Wireless measurement of airflow over the surface of the wing. Wing slat cove fillers that reduce noise. Air data measurement system using light distancing and ranging (LiDAR). Sustainable aviation fuel sourced from Brazilian sugarcane. A freighter demonstrator In 2018, Boeing began working with a 777F to test new technologies. Owned by FedEx Express, the 777F undertook a total of 37 projects to improve efficiencies and reduce noise. Among the achievements of the 777F were testing out Surface Operations Collision Awareness System (SOCAS), which uses radar and optical sensors on the airplane to detect other objects, such as ground vehicles and buildings. It also tested out FLYHT Aerospace Solutions' Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS), a tracking, distress and data streaming system that uses flight data recorders. With an eye always on sustainable fuels, Boeing conducted many of the flights using 100% renewable aviation fuel. This was the first time a completely sustainable fuel had been used in a commercial aircraft. The sixth ecoDemonstrator was a 777 The most recent ecoDemonstrator was the 777-200, flying with tail number N772ET. Originally owned by Air China, it was withdrawn from use in 2018 but was then bought by Boeing. This aircraft tested out the most projects to date, with 53 tests in all. Working with more than a dozen partners, the 777-200 was involved with: Developing shape memory alloys to enable vortex generators to move based on the temperature. The small fins on the airplane's wings raise up during takeoff and landing to improve airflow, then retract during cruise when they're not needed. Testing electronic flight bag applications using next-generation communications to automatically reroute an airplane around bad weather. Improvements in operational efficiency to enable pilots, air traffic controllers and an airline's operations center to share digital information in order to optimize movements. The self-disinfecting lavatory, which uses ultraviolet light to disinfect all surfaces. It also includes a UV sanitizing system for the faucet and a moisture-absorbing floor made from recycled carbon composite material. Galleys equipped with sensors that help cabin crews locate catering items faster, as well as helping airlines manage the inventory - a project aimed at reducing waste. Once the 777 ecoDemonstrator had completed its intensive testing flights, which wrapped up in January this year, it was flown out to Victorville for storage. The results of the program Over the years, many of the technologies that we see on aircraft today were evaluated and proven through the ecoDemonstrator program. These include the winglets seen on the 737 MAX, groundbreaking iPad apps that pilots use for weather and other information, modifications to approach paths to reduce noise around airports and many more. Boeing's new ecoDemonstrator will be testing out even more tech, much of which will eventually make its way onto commercial aircraft to reduce CO2 and make flying more comfortable and sustainable for everyone. https://simpleflying.com/history-of-boeing-ecodemonstrator/ Back to Top Etihad Testing Green, Quiet Technology With Boeing and NASA An Etihad Airways 787-10 Dreamliner decked out with special equipment that can enhance safety and reduce CO2 emissions and noise has commenced flight testing this week for Boeing's ecoDemonstrator program. A series of flights will gather the most detailed information to date about aircraft acoustics from some 1,200 microphones attached to the outside of the 787 and positioned on the ground. The collaboration between NASA and Boeing will improve the agency's aircraft noise prediction capabilities, advance ways for pilots to reduce noise, and inform future quiet aircraft designs. "At NASA, we've been researching the individual airplane noise sources, their interactions with the airframe and how they combine to the total aircraft noise," NASA technical lead Dr. Russell Thomas said. "This unique, carefully designed flight test provides the environment where all these effects are measured, which will be key to advancing our ability to design lower-noise aircraft." Mohammad Al Bulooki, Etihad Aviation Group Chief Operating Officer, said: "Etihad participating in this year's ecoDemonstrator program builds on our core innovation and sustainability tenets while supporting the research and development of our partners to bring innovation from the laboratory to a real-world testing environment. "By choosing to take part in this program we are proud to work with the likes of Boeing, NASA, and Safran to test cutting-edge technologies and explore "blue sky" opportunities to improve airspace efficiency, reduce fuel use, lower noise for the community and cut CO2 emissions. "Sustainability remains a priority for Etihad in spite of the current Covid19 crisis and this is just one initiative we've taken since the start of the pandemic to continue our drive for sustainable aviation. As far as Etihad is concerned, environmental sustainability shouldn't be an option or fair-weather project to be shelved when it's not convenient against other challenges." Most community complaints about aircraft noise stem from flights approaching airports, according to industry figures. About one-quarter of the noise is created by the landing gear. Another project will test landing gear modified to be quieter by Safran Landing Systems. "Our collaboration with NASA and Safran is key to accelerating innovation and furthering the ecoDemonstrator's mission to improve the sustainability of air travel," ecoDemonstrator Program Chief Engineer Rae Lutters said. "We're eager to see a year's worth of planning come to life when we begin testing." Two flights are being conducted during which pilots, air traffic controllers, and an airline's operations center simultaneously share digital information and use a NASA system called tailored arrival management. These tools enhance safety by reducing workload and radio frequency congestion, optimize routing efficiency to lower fuel use, emissions and noise, and support the FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System. As part of Boeing's Confident Travel Initiative to address COVID-19, a handheld ultraviolet light wand will be tested to determine its effectiveness in disinfecting flight decks and cabins. All scheduled test flights are being flown on a blend of up to 50% sustainable fuel, which includes the largest volumes of 50% blend biofuel commercially produced. Flight testing at Boeing's facility in Glasgow, Mont., is expected to last about 10 days before the aircraft is delivered to Etihad in late September. This is the latest program under Etihad's industry-leading strategic partnership with Boeing, focusing on innovating real-world solutions to the key sustainability challenges facing the aviation industry. This is the first time the ecoDemonstrator program is using a Boeing 787-10 since flight testing began in 2012. https://ca.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/etihad-testing-green-quiet-technology-with-boeing-and-nasa.html Back to Top DOE awarding $33M for carbon-neutral hybrid electric aviation The US Department of Energy announced $33 million in funding for 17 projects as part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy's (ARPA-E) Aviation-class Synergistically Cooled Electric-motors with iNtegrated Drives (ASCEND) and Range Extenders for Electric Aviation with Low Carbon and High Efficiency (REEACH) programs. ASCEND projects work to develop innovative, lightweight, and ultra-efficient all-electric powertrain with advanced thermal management systems that help enable efficient net-zero carbon emissions for single-aisle passenger commercial aircraft. REEACH projects seek to create innovative, cost-effective, and high-performance energy storage and power generation sub-systems for electric aircraft, with a focus on fuel-to-electric power conversion technologies. Both programs work to decrease energy usage and associated carbon emissions for commercial aircraft propulsion systems. Estimates comparing passenger-distance-specific CO2 emissions place commercial air travel on single-aisle aircraft at nearly double that of any other individual widely used transportation source, including by rail, bus, or car. REEACH and ASCEND teams seek to decrease these emissions as well as the economic burden associated with air travel for commercial airlines by developing elements of ultra-high efficient aircraft propulsion systems to use carbon neutral liquid fuels. Of the $33 million being awarded through these programs, eight projects were selected under REEACH to split $18.5 million in funding, while ASCEND teams will receive $14.5 million for nine projects for Phase 1. Project teams in the ASCEND Program that achieve technical success during Phase 1 may be eligible to receive additional funding under Phase 2 to further develop their technologies. Up to $18 million in total is currently allocated for Phase 2 of the Program. REEACH (Range Extenders for Electric Aviation with Low Carbon and High Efficiency) project descriptions Raytheon Technologies Research Center. Compact Propulsion Engine Optimized with Waste Heat Recovery (CO-POWER); $2,815,760 The CO-POWER project will enable a commercial narrow body electric aircraft by developing an ultra-efficient and lightweight fuel to electricity power generation system that includes the use of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as a working fluid. The proposed approach combines decades of knowledge in gas turbine engines with novel advances in additive manufacturing research and sCO2 power generation experience to increase the overall power system efficiency and its power density. The work will result in the development of a first-of-its-kind aircraft gas turbo-electric engine with a sCO2 waste heat recovery cycle. This engine will deliver power more efficiently, with greater than 10% absolute increase in the fuel to electricity conversion efficiency and at comparable weight to current state-of-the-art gas turbines. These improvements will result in up to a 20% fuel burn savings. The system can operate with any carbon neutral liquid fuel to achieve net-zero GHG emissions. Raytheon Technologies Research Center. Zero-carbon Ammonia-Powered Turboelectric (ZAPTurbo) Propulsion System; $2,652,778 The Zero-carbon Ammonia-Powered Turboelectric (ZAPTurbo) Propulsion System is a very high efficiency and light weight turboelectric system that uses green ammonia as both a fuel and a coolant via regenerative cooling. Coke-free heating of this carbon-free ammonia fuel enables a high level of waste-heat recovery that will be used for the endothermic cracking of ammonia prior to its combustion, significantly increasing the cycle efficiency. The proposed propulsion system includes an efficient AC electric powertrain for turboelectric cruise, with battery boost for takeoff and climb flight phases. The ability to optimize the gas turbine at the center of the turboelectric system for cruise power drives maximum efficiency. The proposed system is projected to operate in cruising phase of flight with a 66% energy conversion efficiency. General Electric Company, GE Research. FueL CelL Embedded ENgine (FLyCLEEN); $2,529,340 FLyCLEEN will leverage the robustness and efficiency of metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells that are integrated with the combustion chamber of a gas turbine engine-generator, yielding a hybrid system operating on synfuel with performance that maximizes the power density and energy efficiency of each component. Multiple advancement methods will be pursued to increase the power density of the fuel cell. The system is configured to benefit the balance of plant and to optimize thermodynamic synergies for electrified commercial aviation. University of Maryland. Hybrid SOFC-Turbogenerator for Aircraft; $2,798,489 The University of Maryland is developing a highly efficient and cost-effective hybrid-electric turbogenerator suitable for powering narrow body aircraft such as the B737. A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with integrated autothermal reformer is incorporated directly into the flow path of a gas turbine engine that also drives an electrical generator. The engine moves air through the system while boosting efficiency by recovering waste heat and unused fuel from the fuel cell. The system operates on carbon-neutral, liquefied bio-methane. Unique features include low temperature, redox-stable, high power density SOFC technology with internal reforming, an integrated autothermal reformer/SOFC/combustor that mitigates risks for thermomechanical failure, and a highly efficient turbo-generator. University of Louisiana at Lafayette. High Performance Metal-Supported SOFC System for Range Extension of Commercial Aviation; $2,263,000 The University of Louisiana at Lafayette will design and optimize an energy storage and power generation (ESPG) system for aircraft propulsion. The proposed system will consist of optimally sized fuel-to-electric power conversion devices; metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells (MS-SOFCs) and turbogenerators using carbon-neutral synfuel. The design concept will ensure adequate propulsive thrust and system power for a future airplane configuration by optimizing the ESPG and component performance, especially the synfuel- powered MS-SOFC. The team will use innovative fabrication techniques for high-performance, ultra-low weight, and low-cost MS-SOFC stacks. They will also develop reforming catalysts for synfuel and biojet fuel. University of California, San Diego. High-Efficiency and Low-Carbon Energy Storage and Power Generation System for Electric Aviation; $2,131,246 The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) aims to develop a high-efficiency and low-carbon energy storage and power generation (ESPG) system operating on bio-LNG for electric aviation. The proposed system concept is a fuel cell, battery, and gas turbine hybrid system that incorporates a novel solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack technology. The proposed SOFC is composed of (1) a lightweight and compact stack architecture based on an array of cell modules in electrical and gas flow parallel and series connections; and (2) exceptional high power density direct methane cells made by sputtering thin-film deposition process. The proposed system has been estimated to have the specific power and specific energy properties aligning to the competitive capital costs required for aircraft ESPG applications. Fuceltech Inc. Extremely Lightweight Fuel Cell Based Power Supply System for Commercial Aircrafts; $1,656,438 Fuceltech proposes to develop an innovative low-cost, lightweight Energy Storage and Power Generation (ESPG) system for commercial aircraft. Fuceltech will develop a monopolar wound fuel cell potentially as high as 10kW rating and a novel stacking approach to deliver hundreds of kWs of power from a single small and lightweight stack. Fuceltech will use ethanol as a fuel and a reformer that delivers extremely low CO concentration in the reformate to the fuel cell. Precision Combustion, Inc. SOFCs for FLIGHT; $1,750,590 Precision Combustion (PCI) is proposing an advanced energy storage and power generator design for meeting aggressive specific power and energy targets for all-electric propulsion of narrow-body commercial aircraft. Key enablers are an exceptionally power-dense solid oxide fuel cell operating with energy-dense carbon neutral liquid fuels and a hybridized system architecture that maximizes component efficiencies for ultra-high system efficiency. PCI will validate compliance via component demonstration and develop a verifiable model for scale-up. It will also address performance constraints to conform to takeoff/climb/cruise requirements and examine tradeoffs (weight vs. efficiency vs. complexity). Durability at aircraft operating conditions (e.g., start/stop cycles, peak power, transient operation, altitude) will be demonstrated. ASCEND (Aviation-class Synergistically Cooled Electric- motors with iNtegrated Drives) project descriptions Raytheon Technologies Research Center. Ultra-Light, inTegrated, Reliable, Aviation-class, Co-Optimized Motor & Power converter with Advanced Cooling Technology (ULTRA-COMPACT); $2,330,137 The Raytheon Technologies Research Center proposes ULTRA-COMPACT to improve the electric-to-shaft power electric drive train and demonstrate feasibility of a turbo-electric distributed propulsion-based electrified aircraft propulsion system. The ULTRA-COMPACT electric propulsion system leverages: (1) high-speed Permanent Magnet machines; (2) a series-parallel, multi-level silicon carbide (SiC) based motor drive topology; (3) an integrated and actively controlled thermal management system that provides coolant directly to the motor windings and power converter; and (4) a high-power density gearbox using lightweight composite. Marquette University. High Power Density Motor Equipped with Additively Manufactured Windings Integrated with Advanced Cooling and Modular Integrated Power Electronics; $1,600,000 Marquette University and its partners are developing the next generation of electric drivetrains for aerospace propulsion. The proposed system consists of a high-power density motor enabled by (1) an additively manufactured winding and a novel thermal management scheme; (2) a modular power electronics topology; and (3) tight system integration and shared thermal management between the motor and power electronics to meet or exceed system-level targets. In the project's first phase, the team will develop concepts and tradeoff studies and perform sub-component/component testing and risk retirement. Phase two will focus on component procurement, system integration, and verification testing of the technology. General Electric Global Research. Electric Flightworthy Lightweight Integrated Thermally-Enhanced powertrain System (eFLITES) for Narrow-body Commercial Aircraft; $2,300,000 General Electric Global Research will develop a 2MW fully integrated all-electric aircraft powertrain and demonstrate a 350 kW lab-scale prototype to enable zero carbon emission narrow-body commercial aircraft with all-electric propulsion. The technology is supported by several key innovations such as a high-voltage, direct-drive, synchronous permanent-magnet motor with transformational embedded cooling of the windings using supercritical carbon dioxide and high-temperature, high-voltage electrical insulation; a modular inverter fully integrated into the motor to reduce component count with high-temperature, low-loss SiC inverter modules; and an ultracompact thermal management system that services the motor and inverter. The design and use of novel manufacturing techniques will lead to significant mass reduction and thus increase in specific power density while maintaining a very high electrical-to-mechanical energy conversion efficiency. Honeywell. Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) - $1,800,000 Honeywell Aerospace proposes to develop a novel high-voltage 500 kW advanced electric propulsion system (AEPS) with a high efficiency and a high-power density. The cost-effective AEPS will include a highly effective and innovative thermal management system. This system will use high-speed air flow from the aircraft propulsor wash to cool the power electronics and the motor via an innovative heat sink integrated into the AEPS housing that minimizes the thermal resistance. Other key innovations enable overall machine weight reduction without compromising efficiency, such as the use of high-performance windings, which increases the copper fill factor for increased machine efficiency and thermal and electric conductivities. The AEPS also uses an integrated, direct drive permanent magnet electric motor and a motor drive (power and control electronics) with common chassis and cooling systems for enhanced performance. University of California, Santa Cruz. Flux-Switching Machine Based All-Electric Power Train for Future Aircraft; $854,495 Power density and efficiency are crucial to electric propulsion for future aviation systems. The University of California, Santa Cruz proposes a novel all-electric power train. Each aspect of the proposed power train encompasses unique technology. The machinery relies on a flux-switching motor with superconducting field coils which has been shown to be smaller and lighter than conventional designs. The electronics are based on state-of-the-art multilevel inverter technology leading to improved efficiency and lower electromagnetic noise. The cooling technology is a hybrid system containing ultralight cryogenics as well as traditional air cooling methods. The development of the all-electric power train involves an aggressive design schedule and creation of a manufacturing plan that engages US suppliers. Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station. Multi-Physical Co-Design of Next Generation Axial Motors for Aerospace Applications; $1,300,000 Texas A&M will focus on the design, fabrication, and testing of a lightweight and ultra-efficient electric powertrain for aircraft propulsion to reduce the energy costs and emissions of aviation. The team's technology will reach peak power density and efficiency via (1) an axial flux motor with lightweight carbon fiber reinforced structural material; (2) a GaN multilevel inverter; (3) a thermally conductive nanocomposite electrical insulation; and (4) a two-phase thermal management system with zeolite thermal energy storage to absorb the excess heat generated during takeoff. Each subsystem is designed for tight integration with the other subsystems to minimize weight. Hyper Tech Research Inc. Cryo Thermal Management of High Power Density Motors and Drives; $2,910,479 Hyper Tech Research Inc., aims to design and demonstrate a multi-MW, high-efficiency, and high-power density integrated electric propulsion motor, drive, and thermal management system that meets the performance requirements of future hybrid electric, single-aisle passenger aircraft. The proposed technology incorporates an advanced and high-performance induction electric machine with a novel advanced thermal management techniques for synergistic cooling that safely uses cryogenic bio-LNG as the energy source for power generation and a large thermal-battery cooling system to provide a highly compact, light, and efficient thermal management system capability throughout all the different flight phases of a commercial narrow-body aircraft. If successful, the system will allow for a cost-effective motor capable of operating at a higher current density compared with existing conventional non-cryogenic motors without using superconductors. Wright Electric. 2nd Generation Motor for Large Electric Aircraft Propulsion Systems; $647,039 Wright Electric will design engine systems that use cutting-edge innovations in integrated cooling, power electronics, and rotor design. The design will create a high-efficiency, high-performance motor without sacrificing safety or the use of existing manufacturing techniques. The team plans to use an aggressive cooling strategy coupled with a high frequency inverter. In phase one of the project, the team will create a detailed design and subcomponent testing of this system. In phase two, it will build and demonstrate this system. The unique innovations across the electric engine will continue the development of aircraft flying entirely on electric power. Advanced Magnet Lab, Inc. High Power Density Dual Rotor Permanent Magnet Motor with Integrated Cooling and Drive for Aircraft Propulsion; $655,354 Advanced Magnet Lab (AML) seeks to develop high-power density permanent magnet motors. When coupled to an integrated SiC drive, these motors will enable an overall specific power beyond 12 kW/kg. The proposed concept relies on (1) the tight integration of a high-power density dual-rotor permanent magnet rotor based on "continuous flux directed" magnets (PM-360TM) currently under development at AML; (2) high-power density SiC power converters; and (3) a shared closed-loop cooling system rejecting the heat in the propulsion ducted fan air stream. https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/08/20200827-doeaviation.html Back to Top Northland Community & Technical College Selected for Federal Aviation Administration Training Program The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected Northland's Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) Technician program for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems-Collegiate Training Program (UAS-CTI). Launched in April of this year, the UAS-CTI is a result of the 2018 FAA Reorganization Act which required the establishment of a collegiate training initiative program relating to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The FAA's UAS-CTI program recognizes institutions that prepare students for careers in UAS, commonly referred to as drones. To qualify for the initiative, schools must offer a bachelor or associate degree program in UAS or a degree with a minor, concentration, or certificate in UAS. Schools must provide curriculum covering various UAS training aspects, including hands-on flight practice, maintenance, uses, applications, privacy concerns, safety, and federal policies concerning UAS. "Northland's Aviation Maintenance training programs lead the industry through continued excellence," declared Curtis Zoller, Northland Associate Dean of Aerospace and Agriculture, "We are committed to ensuring our graduates have the most relevant training, preparing them to support emerging technologies in the UAS industry." Participating institutions will engage with the FAA, other participants, general industry, local governments, law enforcement, and regional economic development entities to address labor force needs. In addition, these new UAS-CTI Partners will support the FAA's efforts to expand the aviation workforce of the future while providing additional opportunities for Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) students. "This designation is an example of Northland's ongoing commitment to support the UAS industry and required workforce," Zoller explains, "With technology evolving so rapidly, Northland strives to keep technicians prepared for the challenges that await them." Northland Aerospace has led Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Geospatial Information Technology (GIT) education developments since 2010 with the launch of the nation's first UAS Maintenance Training Program. Northland Aerospace currently has the only two-year Geospatial Intelligence Analysis degree program and launched a small UAS Field Service Technician degree program in 2017. Northland has also been awarded multiple National Science Foundation Advanced Technological program projects. The most recent NSF award is a seven million dollar grant to launch the National Center for Autonomous Technologies (NCAT). As an Advanced Technical Education Center, NCAT leads the nation's autonomous technologies workforce with a focus on expanding educational resources to address current workforce demands, developing career pathways, and engaging stakeholders from education, industry, and government. https://www.suasnews.com/2020/08/northland-community-technical-college-selected-for-federal-aviation-administration-training-program/ Back to Top European flight safety agency to start 737 Max test flights BERLIN (AP) - Europe's flight safety authority said Thursday it had scheduled the first flight tests for the Boeing 737 Max, which has been grounded worldwide after two deadly crashes revealed design issues with the jet. The European Aviation Safety Agency said in a statement that it has been working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which began its own recertification test flights in June, on scheduling its own tests. "While Boeing still has some final actions to close off, EASA judges the overall maturity of the re-design process is now sufficient to proceed to flight tests," the agency said. "These are a prerequisite for the European agency to approve the aircraft's new design." EASA said the hope is to return the plane to service as soon as possible, but only once the agency is convinced it is safe. Airlines began using the Max in 2017. There were nearly 400 in service when the planes were grounded after a 2018 crash in Indonesia and a 2019 crash in Ethiopia. Investigators have pointed to the role played by flight-control software called MCAS that pushed the noses of the planes down based on faulty sensor readings. Earlier this month, the FAA outlined a list of design changes required before it would lift its order grounding the aircraft. The EASA flight tests will take place in Vancouver, Canada, in the week starting Sept. 7, EASA said. The week before, simulator tests will be run at London's Gatwick airport. https://federalnewsnetwork.com/world-news/2020/08/european-flight-safety-agency-to-start-737-max-test-flights/ Back to Top With Tesla and SpaceX credentials, start-up flies pilotless Caravan A US start-up headed by former Tesla and SpaceX software engineers has completed more than 50 flights of remotely-piloted Cessna aircraft and aims to offer a certified pilotless Caravan 208B within as little as two years. Silicon Valley-based Reliable Robotics has been in business since 2017 but is just now making public details about its pilotless technology. It first flew the Cessna Caravan with the remote-pilot system on 12 June. "We would like to see commercial operations inside of two years," chief executive Robert Rose tells FlightGlobal. "This is a real product." The company joins a host of players seeking to bring pilotless or autonomous aircraft to market. Those include major airframers and other new entrants, among then Xwing, which is also developing autonomous Caravans for the air cargo market. Rose says what differentiates his firm is certification expertise. Reliable Robotics began flight tests in 2018 using a manned Cessna 172 and completed its first unmanned flight of the type in September last year. It has since moved to the Caravan, which it has flown a "handful" of times with the remote system and completed an automated landing. Though Rose declines to say whether Reliable Robotics is working with airlines, the flight-test 208B (registration N927FE) is owned by FedEx and is operated for the express package delivery company by Mountain Air Cargo, according to Cirium fleets data. The company has already completed more than 50 flight tests of the system, flying primarily from a California airport. Reliable Robotics' system consists of avionics, software, mechanisms, communications technology and remote-control interfaces. A human controller on the ground oversees flights. TESLA, SPACEX EXPERIENCE Rose, who is also a pilot, co-founded Mountain View, California-based Reliable Robotics with vice-president of engineering Juerg Frefel. Rose previously helped develop self-driving technology as senior director of autopilot and user interface at Tesla. Before that, he headed the software team at SpaceX, working on the Falcon 9 rocket and on Dragon, the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station. During that time, Rose says he worked extensively with NASA and on certification with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Frefel also previously worked at SpaceX, leading teams that developed technology for Falcon 9 and Dragon. The founders launched Reliable Robotics with $8.5 million in funding from Silicon Valley venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners. In March 2019, the company secured another $25 million from Palo Alto investment company Eclipse. One Eclipse partner, Greg Reichow, was previously Tesla vice-president of manufacturing. Other financial partners include Pathbreaker Ventures and Teamworthy Ventures. Reliable Robotics has about 35 full-time staff and works with roughly 15 contractors. The team decided against the perhaps easier path of achieving certification in another country, a route other developers have taken. "Other companies were sidestepping or ignoring the issue," Rose says. "That strategy - of doing it in another country and bringing it to the US - is not going to work. You have to do it in the US and under FAA regulation." Initially, Reliable Robotics aims for certification of a pilotless cargo-carrying Caravan under FAA Part 23 airworthiness standards, which apply to aircraft with maximum take-off weights not exceeding 8,620kg (19,000lb). It would be flown by airlines certificated under Part 135 rules. Eventually, the company may seek to certify such a system for large transport aircraft certificated under more-stringent Part 25 airworthiness standards. But those regulations and associated Part 121 rules, which apply to major airlines flying big jets, will be more challenging because they do not currently allow for unmanned flights, Rose notes. He declines to say which other aircraft types the company might be targeting. "The goal here is to build a core kernel of a system that can be adapted for use on other aircraft," Rose says. JOINING THE AUTONOMY RACE Reliable Robotics is one of many companies developing pilotless and autonomous aircraft. Airbus this year said it had completed a two-year autonomous project that included more than 500 flights. Boeing had been working on autonomous cargo and passenger aircraft. Embraer and major helicopter manufacturers have also been in the race. But some industry experts believe needed technological innovation will come from nimbler start-ups. "The disruption in design concepts is not going to come from Airbus or Boeing. I think it is going to come from smaller, innovative players," Air Lease executive chair Steven Udvar-Hazy said in July during a FlightGlobal-moderated webcast. He cites Tesla as an example, saying that company's electric-automobile technology led an electric revolution and forced major automakers to respond. "We need disruptors, that may not necessarily be financially successful, but [that] could actually instigate innovation that otherwise would not come from the large, established OEMs." Just last week, San Francisco-based start-up Xwing, also backed be venture capital, said it had conducted numerous autonomous flights using a Caravan. Xwing sees its aircraft as ideal for carrying "cargo over unpopulated areas", chief executive and founder Marc Piette says. In its quest for certification, the Reliable Robotics team has been poring over complex regulations and "mapping" those regulations to in-house developed software. "Our job is to make the FAA's job as easy as possible," Rose says. Reliable Robotics intends to bring advanced flight simulation technology to bear on the certification process, with Rose noting his company can run many hours of simulations in just seconds. "We need to show equivalency between our simulation ability and the actual environment," he says. "We have put a tremendous amount of focus on simulation capability." 'UPGRADE KIT' The company aims to offer the pilotless system on Caravans as a "upgrade kit that is capable of total automation of the entire aircraft". "We are developing a certified, redundant autonomy system that seamlessly integrates onto the Caravan," Rose says. "This includes modifications necessary to make the Caravan work very much like a fly-by-wire aircraft." The technology is not "autonomous in the pure" sense and does not heavily employ use of artificial intelligence. Rather, the software is more traditional, being designed around aircraft "procedural rules" such as those found in pilot operating handbooks, according to Rose. The software automates all aspects of aircraft operation - taxi, take-off, cruise and landing. It can execute rejected take-offs and aborted landings. Rose describes the system as "supervised autonomy". That is because controllers on the ground will monitor and assist with the operation. They will hear everything in the cockpit and handle air traffic control communications just as if they were in the aircraft, he says. In the case of a lost communications link, the system would land the aircraft autonomously. That arrangement leaves humans to handle "high-level decision making", such as deciding how to avoid potential in-flight collisions, he says. "When they speak, then can speak really through the aircraft," Rose says of ground controllers. "Everything is just going to integrate in the airspace the way it is today." Rose sees remotely-piloted Caravans as ideal for carry cargo and express mail shipments on air cargo routes between small western US cities and larger hub airports. A host of regional US airlines already serve such routes using small aircraft for shipping companies like FedEx and UPS. Five regional airlines currently operate a combined 68 Caravans for FedEx, Cirium fleets data shows. "Our position is that these aircraft can be flown without an onboard pilot... There is a very clear path... without changing any laws," he says. https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/with-tesla-and-spacex-credentials-start-up-flies-pilotless-caravan/139905.article Back to Top By December, 45 airports to use global navigation satellite system for safe landing in poor visibility The Airports Authority of India (AAI) plans to equip 24 more airports by the end of this year with the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), whose approach procedures enable flights to land at airports despite poor visibility due to heavy rain or fog. As many as 45 Indian airports will now have approach procedures that use the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) which enable flights to land at airports despite poor visibility. Over the last eight months, 21 Indian airports have been equipped with GNSS, aviation officials said. Installing GNSS is part of a global plan by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to make landings more efficient during adverse weather. India started implementing the plan two years ago, aviation officials said. The approach procedure, known as Required Navigation Performance (RNP), will help Indian airports without an Instrument Landing System (ILS, a system that allows pilots to land at an airport when there is low visibility) and those where ILS is dysfunctional because of weather conditions like floods. In Maharashtra, Mumbai, Shirdi, Aurangabad and Kolhapur airports are equipped with this technology. Other Indian airports include Kozhikode, Jabalpur, Indore, Begumpet (Hyderabad), Kolkata, Hubli, Jaipur, Khajuraho, Kannur, Belgaum and Varanasi. A former Directorate General of Civil Aviation official said, "It is good to see India taking steps to harness GNSS technology for designing these RNP approaches that make runways accessible in a safe and efficient manner. This is the future of aviation, as most of the expensive ground-based technology will be replaced by cost-effective space-based technology." RNP procedures are expected to not only reduce delay in arrivals due to poor weather conditions but also increase the accessibility of airports as fewer flights are expected to be diverted. For instance, when Mumbai came to a standstill during the floods in July 2005, no ground-based navigation equipment was available for operations, due to which pilots had to land aircraft using a visual approach at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). A senior AAI official said, "For safe landings, aircraft traditionally use ground-based technology like ILS or other navigational aids like VOR (Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range). However, to install and maintain such equipment at every airport is a costly affair and may not be feasible." A Delhi-based AAI official said, "With the recent advancement in technology like aircraft electronics systems (avionics) as well as GNSS, aircraft can navigate using satellites. It is now possible to design an aircraft approach (towards landing) procedure based on this GNSS, which allows the aircraft to operate even in moderately low visibility conditions (as low as 1,500-2,000m) which is not possible with both VOR and during visible approach." AAI officials said that this harnessing of technology is most useful for airports that do not have ILS. Now when ILS is not available, the runway can be accessed in low visibility conditions using the GNSS. A Mumbai airport official said, "During the traditional approach (landing) of an aircraft, the minimum visibility required is as high as around 2,400m. Currently, the technology has been made available for Runway 9. It will be made available for Runway 14 on September 10 and for the primary Runway 27, it will be made available in October this year wherein flights will be able to land in visibility as low as 1,500m." A Shirdi Airport official said that Shirdi Airport is one of the best examples of being benefited with this system. "Flights from Shirdi airport frequently used to get diverted during poor weather, as the minimum visibility required for an aircraft to land was 5km. However, with implementing this technology, the airport will see lesser flight diversions leading to doubling accessibility of the airport." https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/by-december-45-airports-to-have-global-navigation-satellite-system-for-safe-landing-in-poor-visibility/story-DsKlGsUpK7Hti3dRKvQckM.html Back to Top New distribution agreement between SAS and Sabre fairly balances agency and airline interests LONDON and STOCKHOLM, Aug. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SAS, Scandinavia's leading airline, and Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR), the leading software and technology company that powers the global travel industry, today announced a new multi-year distribution agreement. Under the new agreement, Sabre-connected agencies can access competitive SAS content through Sabre's marketplace, while SAS will benefit from extensive global reach. SAS is the main aviation service provider to, from and within Scandinavia, and is a vital part of Scandinavia's infrastructure. The distribution agreement with Sabre allows SAS more control of distribution costs while effectively selling products and services, including ancillaries, to hundreds of thousands of travel agents worldwide. Sabre's global distribution system (GDS) presents a highly efficient way for airlines to market their fares and offers through a network of agencies and corporations across the world. As consumers are increasingly expecting more personalized, flexible experiences, Sabre's marketplace is continuously evolving to provide airlines with more sophisticated ways to present diverse offers - including branded fares, a la carte ancillaries, bundles, and NDC offers - in an easily comparable way at indirect points of sale. "In an increasingly fragmented industry, travelers are faced with billions of fare combinations per ticket searched, through a huge variety of sources," said Darren Rickey, senior vice president of regional sales and account management for Sabre Travel Solutions. "For the foreseeable future, the various health regulations related to COVID-19 - which may differ between destinations and airlines - adds another layer of complexity. We are very pleased that SAS recognizes the value delivered by our global community of travel agents and buyers. We are looking forward to further improving travelers' experiences while unlocking incremental value for the travel ecosystem." Sabre recently announced a strategic realignment of its airline and agency-focused businesses, which will further enable the company to deliver on its promise to retail, distribute and fulfil travel by serving its customers through a collective lens. The technology provider also reaffirmed its commitment to building a marketplace for personalized travel that delivers a better experience to consumers, enables travel intermediaries to provide just the right offers to their customers, and increases value for travel suppliers. About Sabre Corporation Sabre Corporation is a leading software and technology company that powers the global travel industry, serving a wide range of travel companies including airlines, hoteliers, travel agencies and other suppliers. The company provides retailing, distribution and fulfilment solutions that help its customers operate more efficiently, drive revenue and offer personalized traveler experiences. Through its leading travel marketplace, Sabre connects travel suppliers with buyers from around the globe. Sabre's technology platform manages more than $260B worth of global travel spend annually. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.sabre.com. About SAS SAS, Scandinavia's leading airline, flies 30 million passengers to, from and within Scandinavia each year. The airline has three main hubs - Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm - with more than 125 destinations in Europe, USA and Asia. Spurred by a Scandinavian heritage and sustainable values, SAS aims to be the global leader in sustainable aviation. We will reduce total carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2025, for example by using more sustainable aviation fuel and our modern aircraft. In addition to flight operations, SAS offers ground handling services, technical maintenance and air cargo services. SAS is a founder member of the Star Alliance™, and together with its partner airlines offers around 19,000 daily flights to over 1,300 destinations worldwide. Learn more at https://www.sasgroup.net https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-distribution-agreement-between-sas-and-sabre-fairly-balances-agency-and-airline-interests-301119736.html Back to Top Healthcare's Lessons for the Pandemic-Era Airport With the world still well in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, airport operators are looking at what the future of their world will be like. For many, the airport of the future will be borrowing heavily from the lessons hospitals employ today. That was the topic of conversation during a recent AAAE hosted, HDR sponsored, panel discussion titled Health Resiliency in Aviation. The panel, consisting of Bruce Goetz, vice president of operations and COO of Tucson International Airport; Douglas Carney, senior vice president of real estate, facilities and operations at Brigham and Women's Hospital; Bill Peduzzi, senior vice president and aviation director at HDR; Chris Bormann, HDR's east region health director; Rebecca Hupp, airport director for Boise Airport; with moderator Carter Morris from AAAE, discussed applying principles from the health care industry to the future of airport operations. "From a health care facility perspective, you have these hubs where the sick people go and you're mixing all that biocontainment issues in one spot. Aviation has the parallel where we have the ability to move those around the world faster than any industry," said Peduzzi. "So, there is this idea of containment that is common to both." Peduzzi added that while health concerns and mitigating the spread of disease was always considered by airport designers and operators, it was not until recently that is was at the forefront of their minds. "We need to be really clear about what we are trying to achieve," said Bormann. "The very essence of creating a safer airport environment is this criteria to prevent the airport environment from becoming an accelerator for disease transfer and in fact a declarator." Bormann broke down the risks airports face and the steps they can take to address them through three lenses: Design solutions, operational responses and behavioral modification. Further, he classified actions that can be taken into the Now, Near and Next. Now is what an airport can do immediately, Near will require some work from an airport and its designer to achieve, while Next are aspirational goals that Bormann said will take research and time to successfully enact. For the three lens, the Next includes plans like air quality and directing airflow at key locations such as bottle necks and entrance portals, managing and regulating bottles neck, and enacting confidence building campaigns to bring the public back into airports. For the Near, Bormann listed antibacterial finishes on high traffic surfaces, the establishment of third party standards, like airlines enacting touchless check in, and preventing passenger concentrations. Then for the Next, the goal is airports that can respond automatically and dynamically to reduce, weaken or even eliminate contagions, UV light decontamination and communicating the current risk status to passengers in ways such as crowd density, current air quality, etc. When combining the Near category for the three lenses, what Bormann describes for the future is a smart airport. "What if airports, as a building, could continuously self-monitor its own physical environment? Monitor it for infectious disease and contagion presence, then assign a risk factor. What if, based on that risk factor, the building could automatically alter itself to mitigate some of the disease transfer and improve safety in general? What if the building had an automatic response to initiate air and surface sanitation actions, passenger flow separation? Operational and behavioral protocols could be enacted immediately," Bormann said. And while a thinking airport is possible for the future, airports are currently enacting segments of it today to combat the current crisis. In Boise, one of the key things Hupp said the airport has done is increase the air flow to help keep the airport as healthy as possible. "We increased the air flow, because we, from a sustainability perspective, had increased our indoor/outdoor exchange and are using air exchangers to bring new air into the building to cool it in the evening. So, we've increased the amount of fresh air throughout the day." Hupp said the airport has also increased its use of technology to allow tenants to pay online and allow for making airport badging appointments online. Long term, she said they are looking at ways to stagger employee shifts and enact a long-term remote work policy. "We've done a bi-weekly check in with all of our employees, asking them how comfortable they are returning to the work place, asking them if they have clear direction, if they can accomplish their work with the tools that they have," Hupp said, adding the response from airport employees has been positive. In Tucson, Goetz said that one of the things they did right away was develop a campaign to help ease travelers' fears. "Put yourself in the passenger's shoes. Think about their journey and what sort of questions would you be asking and what would you want to see during your walk through the airport?" Goetz said. Thusly, the airport has erected social distancing signs and added hand sanitizer stations for passengers to throughout the airport use from the moment they arrive. They've also put an emphasis on creating a contactless experience. Where Tucson can't do touch free, they put in other measures - toe kick buttons on elevators and are soon installing UV light sanitizers on escalator handrails. Goetz said they have also increased their air filtration and plan to further augment it. "You can increase your filtering and we were able to go up to the highest grade we could without overwhelming the system, but then we are also looking at UVC systems inside the ducts and a plasma ionization system," described Goetz. Hospital Help COVID-19 has a largely droplet-based transmission mechanism, with people to people transmission being its main vector. Carney said this is important to remember when talking about touchless processes and one they keep in mind at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. "We need to differentiate between sick people who come to the hospitals and pandemics, because the pandemic is everywhere, it's not just at the hospital. This is one of the fundamental differences, this idea that it doesn't exist in certain places - it exists everywhere," Carney said. With the knowledge in mind that infection is more likely from who you encounter in a walkway than it is an elevator button, Carney said that from the pandemics outset, the hospital has enacted an assessment system for its employees, which has now been extended to patients too. Everyone morning, employees have to use an app the hospital has to verify they do not have any symptoms of COVID-19 and have not recently traveled from any highly infected states, then sign it before entering the hospital. It's a system that Carney thinks could be easily adopted by airports. "Is it perfect? Of course not. But I think for an airport, that might not be a heavy lift. I already have to show my license, I have to show my boarding pass and there are simple apps out there that I can say I don't have symptoms right now. And I think that is appropriate," he said. Carney acknowledged that some places have enacted temperature checks but stressed they are not that effective at slowly COVID-19's spread. "If you look into that, a relatively low percentage of people present with a fever, so that is more of a feel-good thing than a real security measure," he said. Key to both an airport and hospital are the volumes of people and guests that each bring in. Controlling the flow of those people is a measure taken by hospitals to keep clean and soiled people separate and has been shown to reduce infection. For example, hospitals will keep sick patients and the employees exposed to them away from operating areas. "It really keeps the two movements through the hospital separate and that has profound impacts on infection control, operations and efficiency," Carney. Bormann said that airports could adopt similar practices and try to keep incoming and outgoing people more separated. "The airport is also a large lobby. You have not only huge airflow challenges but huge masses of people problems. So, if there was a way to separate the passing of people in separate flows that could help mitigate disease transfer in the airport," Bormann said. For airflow, one of the challenges airports face that hospitals don't is the size of the area. Hospitals are able to continuously take stale air out and put fresh air in thanks to their smaller sized rooms. Because of the size of airports, Carney said that that same method of air exchange offers diminishing returns. However, what airports can do to is direct airflow. "You can direct air flow away from risks and groups of people," said Carney. "There are a lot of principals from hospitals that can be applied if you scale them up." For example, Carney said that one of the steps that is built in automatically to hospital HVAC systems are HEPA filters, which he said may not be that hard for airports to install. These are all steps airports should be thinking about for the future as COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic, the panel warned. "This is not the last pandemic we are going to face, not even in gray-haired lifetimes. Unfortunately, I think this is a reality of our time," Carney said. This Pandemic and the Next Discussing whether or not there were other areas airports may be overlooking by just focusing on how to combat CVOID-19's transmission mechanisms that might leave them exposed to other pathogens, Carney said it isn't likely an airport would face the same concerns a hospital does. Ebola, he said for example, spreads through bodily fluids and while hospitals have to worry about things like blood borne pathogens, airports can be probably sleep easy on both. Instead it's important not start becoming lax with the current threat. COVID-19 is still a new virus and research is continuing with it; undiscovered dangers could still lurk. "I think the hardest thing for us to all deal with, and this is hotly debated about COVID-19 right now, is as a droplet-based transmission mechanism, that is one set of strategies," Carney said. "If it's determined that it is actual aerosolized and creates aerosols, that is a fundamental change in the vector between people and makes it far more difficult to control, especially with large volumes of people. That would be, if I were an airport operator and wanted to have bad dreams and lose sleep at night, that is what I would worry about." Bormann echoed the increased stress and challenges an aerosolized virus possess. "The aerosol effect, it's invisible, its everywhere, it can be blown around," he said. "It would take a whole other set of design considerations. We like the fact that the droplet is heavy and it lands on things. It lands on things that can be cleaned, sanitized and wiped down. When it doesn't land and it is everywhere and can be inhaled, that is a whole other set of challenges." The thought isn't meant to be pessimistic, with Bormann adding that these are factors that airports need to consider not just with COVID-19 but are all possibilities of the next pandemic. And the tool to help tackle these risks could be the smart airport. "We have to be able to look at all of these scenarios and that is why having the idea of an environment that can self-regulate down to a molecular level to be able to ascertain the risk scenario that you might have at any one time is probably our first line of defense," Bormann said. An airport's weapon of the future may be something already employed in hospitals called laminar flow. "In infection control, the direction of air flow matters just as much as how much air flow. What laminar flow means, generally, the air is supplied at the ceiling level in a direct line to the floor where it is then taken out of the room," Carney described. "The premise behind that is that it would take whatever infectious agents are in the room straight away from the patient." Peduzzi and Carney proposed the possibility of implementing such an air flow system in areas like TSA checkpoints, gate and boarding areas, which could then be controlled autonomously by sensors able to tell when an area is becoming too crowded and viral transmission is likely. "My hypothesis is that could meaningfully reduce something like a droplet-based transmission system and even, potentially, an aerosol-based transmission system," said Carney. Ultimately, many of the proposed solutions will be affecting the way airports are designed and put together in the future. "All this is going to be affecting the way the buildings are put together. The ability to compartmentalize some of this is, by its very nature, is going to be required in a way that gets away from the trend that we've been focusing on," Bill said. "Which is more open, more ability to not just sit but be a consumer while you sit, virtually or otherwise. All of that needs to be reconsidered in this new environment." https://www.aviationpros.com/airports/airport-technology/article/21151171/healthcares-lessons-for-the-pandemicera-airport Back to Top ACI and Amadeus Announce Partnership Supporting the 2020 ASQ Awards Airports Council International (ACI) World and Amadeus on Aug. 26, announce a strategic partnership to deliver this year's world-renowned Airport Service Quality (ASQ) awards. The annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards recognize and reward the best airports in the world according to ACI's ASQ Departure Survey and the ASQ Arrivals Survey. These awards are an opportunity to celebrate the commitment of airports worldwide to continuously improving the passenger experience. As a global travel technology company, Amadeus supports airports with their operations to improve the travel experience for passengers all over the world and this partnership comes at a time when it has never been more important for airports to listen to the voice of their customers. "The partnership with Amadeus will improve the recognition of the ACI ASQ awards as the world's leading programme assisting airports to deliver the best customer experience for our passengers," ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said. "The ASQ awards represent the highest possible accolade for airport operators around the world at a time when the voice of the passenger needs to be heard as our industry begins the long recovery process from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is just the beginning of an enduring and fruitful partnership between ACI and Amadeus in support of airports and the wider aviation ecosystem and illustrates the ACI intention to work together with the industry to deliver the sustainable social and economic development to the communities we serve. Partnerships like this are important to move the industry forward during the recovery process and beyond." Bruno Spada, Executive Vice President Airport IT at Amadeus, commented: "We're proud to join ACI in recognizing airport's efforts in improving passenger services. At Amadeus we are focused on supporting airports to adapt quickly and dynamically to market changes and to deliver the best possible experience for passengers. By thinking differently about their unique challenges and deploying advanced technologies we are helping airports around the globe to address the shifting needs of passengers. Delivering safe, stress-free and touchless travel is vital to getting the world traveling again and these awards will help to showcase some of the best examples in the industry. We are delighted to be part of the industry's collective effort to renew and recover." https://www.aviationpros.com/airports/press-release/21151837/airports-council-international-aciworld-aci-and-amadeus-announce-partnership-supporting-the-2020-asq-awards Back to Top "The sky has changed": Astronomers say SpaceX satellites are interfering with their observations When the Federal Communications Commission approved Amazon's plans for the Kuiper constellation, a plan to put 3,236 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites in orbit, the astronomy world raised a collective eyebrow. Low-Earth satellites move quickly across the night sky like small stars - which can interfere with the kinds of long exposures that astronomical observatories need to do in order to image distant astronomical objects. And the more satellites there are orbiting Earth, the more likely that one or more will interfere with an observation. Anecdotally, astronomers have shared their fears over the last couple years, sometimes speaking out publicly, and a few reports have tried to quantify the impact. Now, an in-depth new report from a working group of astronomers released by the American Astronomical Society shows how these satellites could drastically change the scope of astronomy work conducted on Earth. Specifically, astronomers state that existing satellites, including the 538 satellites from SpaceX as well as future ones, will "fundamentally change the way astronomers can plan and execute observations." In other words, the field of astronomy is facing an existential threat. "With tens of thousands of LEO [satellites], no combination of mitigations can avoid the impacts of the satellite trails on the science programs of the coming generation of optical astronomy facilities," the report states. The authors warn that, even in this last year, "the sky has changed," as a "growing numbers of satellite trails contaminating astronomical images." The risk of contaminated data, they write, can be hard to predict and mitigate: "A bright satellite crossing near a long spectrograph slit . . . could ruin the entire exposure, as it is not known a priori which observations are contaminated, forcing a repeat exposure or possible loss of science opportunity." And this is just the beginning. SpaceX is planning to send a total of 25,000 communications satellites for its planned Starlink constellation; it is currently approved to launch 12,000. As of February 2020, there were about 5,500 satellites total in space, 2,300 of which are still functioning. The number of satellites is predicted to grow into the tens of thousands over the next several years, thanks to companies like Amazon, SpaceX and OneWeb. Their satellite constellations are part of plans to provide broadband internet access to everyone on Earth. But at what price for science? As the report explains, the success of astronomical investigations depends on the ability to observe any part of the sky with the same quality of view. Specifically, investigations such as observing stellar populations in the Milky Way and neighboring galaxies, and looking for potentially hazardous near-Earth objects, could be undermined with more LEO satellites, especially given how time-sensitive these observations can be. "For example, if a near-Earth object is not recovered, its orbital parameters are lost," the authors of the report state. "If the transit of a promising super-Earth exoplanet candidate is missed, the orbital timing may not be recovered." Authors of the report called out OneWeb as a particularly problematic constellation due to its high altitude at 1200 kilometers above Earth. "Constellations at high altitudes, such as the OneWeb constellation at 1200 km, present particularly serious challenges; they will be visible all night during summer and significant fractions of the night during winter, fall, and spring, and will have negative impacts on nearly all observational programs," the report said, referring to "twilight observations," which are often important when it comes to searching for Earth-threatening asteroids and comets. The report includes ten recommendations to mitigate the influence of satellites on astronomical investigations, including launching "fewer" or no LEO satellites. "However impractical or unlikely, this is the only option identified that can achieve zero astronomical impact," a press release about the report stated. Other ways include deploying satellites to orbital altitudes, darkening the satellites, and finding a way to minimize satellite trails. The authors of the report also note that these commercial satellites could spoil starry nights for amateur astronomers. The report comes at a time when Earth's capitalists are gearing up to commercialize space, and rapid technology developments are advancing our knowledge of the universe. "Recent technology developments for astronomical research - especially cameras with wide fields of view on large optical-infrared telescopes - are happening at the same time as the rapid deployment of many thousands of LEOsats by companies rolling out new space-based communication technologies," Connie Walker, a collaborator on the report and an astronomer at NOIRLab in Tucson, Arizona, said. Despite the tension, the hope is that this report will inspire both scientists and commercial satellite operators to work together. "Even though we're still at an early stage of understanding and addressing the threats posed to astronomy by large satellite constellations, we have made good progress and have plenty of reasons to hope for a positive outcome," AAS President Paula Szkody said in a statement. https://www.salon.com/2020/08/27/the-sky-has-changed-astronomers-say-spacex-satellites-are-interfering-with-their-observations/ Curt Lewis