Bolden Highlights Importance Of Issue To NASA's Future
NASA has a "critical responsibility" to the flying public to
develop environmentally responsible solutions to the nation's most
pressing aviation problems, Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr.
said Wednesday. Addressing the Green Aviation Summit, which ran
through Thursday at NASA's Ames Research Center, Bolden said air
travel is one of the safest modes of transportation and vital to
the U.S. economy, but increasing air traffic is taking a toll on
the environment and the nation's aviation infrastructure.
"We need to make some changes -- both in the design of aircraft
and in the way they transit through our skies to not only maintain,
but improve safety and efficiency," Bolden said. "That's a huge
challenge, but we at NASA enthusiastically accept it."
The Green Aviation Summit is highlighting the depth and breadth
of NASA's work to develop aviation technologies that are designed
to make air transportation cleaner and quieter for the environment,
with fewer delays for travelers. "Our critical responsibility is
[to] those who feel anxious because of the long distance they have
to travel to reach an airport; the crowding they experience upon
arrival at the terminal; the departure, en route, or arrival
weather; or concerns that the technology on the planes may not be
up to dealing with problems that may be encountered in the sky,"
Bolden told the summit.
The two-day meeting has brought together about 200 experts from
NASA, other federal government organizations, industry and
academia. Keynote presentations by leading policymakers as well as
detailed technical presentations and panel discussions are focusing
on state-of-the-art and emerging technologies that can reduce
aircraft noise, emissions and fuel consumption and ensure the safe
and manageable growth of the aviation system.
Jaiwon Shin, NASA's associate administrator for aeronautics
research, said NASA technology will become increasingly important
because of the lack of available space for new airports. "We really
are helping the country to advance to the next generation of air
transportation and aviation by working together," he said. "This
summit signifies our strong commitment."
Summit participants are sharing the results of their work on
airplanes that will be designed and built with unconventional
configurations, super-efficient engines and lightweight,
damage-tolerant materials to increase lift, reduce drag, and
deflect noise; innovations that will capitalize on the potential of
alternative fuels and advanced power technologies; and efforts to
equip aircraft cockpits with computer software and satellite-based
navigation and communication systems to assist decision-making by
pilots.
Ames Research Center Director Simon "Pete" Worden opened the
summit by crediting NASA research for today's understanding of
climate change and the effects of global warming on the
environment. "As the world travels even more," said Worden, "we're
going to have a very serious global warming issue, as well as lots
of other environmental impacts of aviation." Bolden, Shin and
Worden all noted that conservation - through improved performance,
efficiency and safety -- is an aim that has guided NASA's
research goals for decades. "Green is not just a buzzword to us,"
Bolden said.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
Examples of green technology NASA has developed in the past
include winglets and chevrons. Winglets are the vertical
attachments that can be seen on the wing tips of many commercial
airliners in service today, and are designed to reduce fuel
consumption. Chevrons are the scalloped edges on the engine nozzles
of some models of commercial and cargo aircraft just now entering
the market, and are designed to reduce noise.
NASA has a suite of incremental goals for demonstrating the
feasibility of aircraft technology and air traffic management
techniques that can minimize the environmental effects of air
transportation by:
- Enabling aircraft to burn 33 percent less fuel than today's
most efficient models by 2015, 50 percent less by 2020, and better
than 50 percent less by 2025.
- Cutting engine emissions of nitric oxide and nitrogen oxide,
which contribute to ozone creation, 20 percent by 2015, 50 percent
by 2020, and better than 50 percent by 2025 -- when compared with
today's best engines. Reducing the amount of fuel burned reduces
emissions of carbon dioxide, which contribute to global
warming.
- Reducing the nuisance noise footprint around airports to
one-third its current size by 2015 and one-sixth by 2020, and
containing it within the airport property boundary by 2025.
NASA aims to facilitate the transition of new capabilities to
manufacturers, then to airlines and ultimately to the Federal
Aviation Administration, for the ultimate benefit of the flying
public. The NASA administrator said it is crucial for the agency
and its stakeholders to collaborate closely to that its aeronautics
research continues to be both relevant to the aviation community
and beneficial to the flying public. "Just as I like to tell the
scientists and engineers who send our human and robotic missions
out into the cosmos, you are contributing to national goals and
helping people in the work you do every day," Bolden said. "We are
going to make measured progress leading to ever expanding
accomplishments to meet the myriad increasing challenges. This is
our challenge - to shape the future in aeronautics."