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NASA TO HOLD GREEN AVIATION SUMMIT SEPT. 8-9; BOLDEN TO HIGHLIGHT IMPORTANCE OF ISSUE TO FUTURE OF NASA

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. — NASA will host a Green Aviation Summit Sept.
8-9 to highlight the agency’s work to develop environmentally
responsible aviation technologies.

The two-day meeting at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field,
Calif., will bring together experts from NASA, other federal
government organizations, industry and academia. They will discuss
groundbreaking solutions that NASA and its research partners are
developing to reduce aircraft noise, emissions and fuel consumption,
and to ensure the safe and manageable growth of the aviation system.

The Green Aviation Summit will feature keynote presentations by
leading policymakers as well as detailed technical presentations and
panel discussions on the current state-of-the-art and emerging
technologies. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will address the
participants on Sept. 8.

Seating is limited. Journalists interested in attending the summit
must register online by Aug. 31. Portions of the event will be
broadcast live on NASA Television’s Education Channel.

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  • AVS Work Plan for NextGen 2010 Is Released

    May 18 — AVS plays an integral role in NextGen by setting, overseeing and applying safety standards for the aviation industry. The AVS Work Plan for NextGen 2010 explains how AVS is organizing to support NextGen. It also charts the course for AVS involvement, and lays out major deliverables AVS will contribute toward the successful implementation of NextGen.

    AVS activity in support of NextGen focuses on its three core businesses: developing standards, managing approval processes and procedures, and overseeing continuous operational safety.

    “NextGen is our opportunity to greatly improve the air transportation system to meet future needs,” said AVS-1 Peggy Gilligan. “We will continue to promote aviation safety for the flying public and those who rely on the aviation industry, but there will be change. We’re going to see giant leaps in technology, and AVS will continue its role to identify and mitigate risks as we introduce new systems and operations as quickly as possible. That’s our challenge.”

    When fully implemented, NextGen will safely allow more aircraft to fly closer together on more direct routes while reducing delays, pollution, and noise. NextGen will greatly improve the air transportation system we have known for decades.

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    FAA Announces Recovery Act Funded Improvements

    Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the completion of the expansion and renovation of the passenger terminal at the Pitt-Greenville Airport in Greenville, N.C. The project was paid for with $7.9 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

    “Investing in projects like this is critically important to helping us compete in the global economy,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “These improvements at Pitt-Greenville Airport will result in business and employment opportunities in North Carolina that will strengthen America’s future economic competitiveness.”
    The Pitt-Greenville Airport terminal was expanded to a two-story structure that meets current floodplain standards. The airport was severely flooded during Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Improvements include a departure waiting area for passengers, two additional gates and a security checkpoint.

    “Recovery Act dollars have given FAA an additional tool to maintain and improve airport infrastructure across the country,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt.

    Under the Recovery Act, more than $1.3 billion have been made available nationwide for both airport improvement projects and air traffic control facility and system upgrades. Because of low construction bids for projects, more Recovery Act dollars were available for additional facilities, equipment and airport projects. These grants have been distributed to airports that serve commercial passengers, cargo and general aviation flights.

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    INVESTIGATION OF BOEING 787 BATTERY FIRE IN BOSTON

    NTSB CHAIRMAN SAYS ‘WE HAVE NOT RULED ANYTHING OUT’ IN INVESTIGATION OF BOEING 787 BATTERY FIRE IN BOSTON
    WASHINGTON – In a press conference today, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman released preliminary findings from the NTSB’s ongoing investigation into the Jan. 7, 2013, Boeing 787 battery fire in Boston. “We have not ruled anything out as a potential factor in the battery fire; there are still many questions to be answered,” Hersman said.

    Noting that there was a B-787 battery incident in Japan on Jan. 16, 2013, which is being investigated by the Japan Transport Safety Board, Hersman said, “One of these events alone is serious; two of them in close proximity, especially in an airplane model with only about 100,000 flight hours, underscores the importance of getting to the root cause of these incidents.”

    The investigation revealed that the battery in the B-787 fire in Boston showed signs of short circuiting, and had indications of thermal runaway, a situation in which a significant temperature increase can initiate a destructive chain reaction.

    Chairman Hersman also expressed concerns about the adequacy of the systems to prevent such a fire from occurring. “The investigation will include an evaluation of how a fault that resulted in a battery fire could have defeated the safeguards in place to guard against that,” said Hersman. “As we learn more in this investigation, we will make recommendations for needed improvements to prevent a recurrence.”

    Investigators developed the following timeline of the events on Jan. 7, which was released at today’s briefing:

    10:06 am EST – Aircraft arrived at gate in Boston from Narita, Japan
    10:32 am – Cleaning and maintenance crew noticed smoke in cabin
    10:35 am – Mechanic noted flames coming from APU battery in aft electronics bay
    10:37 am – Airport Rescue & Fire Fighting notified
    10:40 am – Fire and rescue personnel arrive on scene
    12:19 pm – Fire and rescue personnel report event was “controlled”

    The batteries were manufactured by GS Yuasa for the Thales electrical installation and are unique to the Boeing 787. The same battery model is used for the main airplane battery and for the battery that is used to start the auxiliary power unit, which is the one that caught fire in Boston.

    Radiographic examinations of the incident battery and an exemplar battery were conducted at an independent test facility. The digital radiographs, or computed tomography (CT) scans, generated from these examinations allowed NTSB investigators to document the internal condition of the battery prior to disassembling it.

    Ongoing lab work includes an examination of the battery elements with a scanning-electron microscope and energy-dispersive spectroscopy to analyze the elemental constituents of the electrodes to identify contaminants or defects.
    NTSB INVESTIGATIVE TEAMS

    In addition to the activities at the NTSB lab in Washington, members of the investigative team have been conducting work in Arizona, Seattle and Japan. Their activities are detailed below.

    ARIZONA
    – The acceptance test procedure of the APU battery charging unit was conducted at Securaplane in Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 21.
    – The battery charging unit passed all significant tests and no anomalies were detected.
    – Members of the airworthiness group examined the APU start power unit at Securaplane in Tucson. The same team traveled to Phoenix to conduct an examination of the APU controller at UTC Aerospace Systems.

    SEATTLE
    – NTSB investigators are working with Boeing teams as part of root cause analysis activities related to the design and manufacturing of the electrical battery system.
    – The two JAL B-787 general purpose module units, which record airplane maintenance data are being downloaded at Boeing to obtain information that was recorded after the airplane’s electrical power was interrupted.

    JAPAN
    – The NTSB-led team conducted component examination of the JAL B-787 APU battery monitoring unit at Kanto Aircraft Instrument Company, Ltd., in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan.
    – The team cleaned and examined both battery monitoring unit circuit boards, which were housed in the APU battery case. The circuit boards were damaged, which limited the information that could be obtained from tests.

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    DR. EARL F. WEENER SWORN IN AS NTSB MEMBER

    National Transportation Safety Board
    Washington, DC 20594

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 30, 2010
    SB-10-25

    Earl F. Weener, Ph.D., took the oath of office today as a
    Member of the National Transportation Safety Board.

    Dr. Weener is a licensed pilot who has dedicated his entire
    career to the field of aviation safety. He most recently has
    been a consultant and fellow for the Flight Safety
    Foundation, where he worked to reduce accidents through
    coordinated industry programs.

    From 1984 to 1999, Dr. Weener held a series of positions
    with The Boeing Company, including three Chief Engineer
    positions, in Airworthiness, Reliability and
    Maintainability, and Safety; in System Engineering; and in
    Safety Technology Development. He also served four years as
    Boeing’s Manager of Government Affairs.

    He has served as a general aviation flight instructor and
    Part 135 pilot.

    Dr. Weener earned all three of his academic degrees in
    Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan – his
    bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate.

    Among his awards are a 1994 Laurel Award from Aviation Week
    and Space Technology magazine and, in 2005, the Honeywell
    Bendix Trophy for Aviation Safety.

    Dr. Weener’s term as a Member of the NTSB expires December
    31, 2015.

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    NASA Data and New Techniques Yield Detailed Views of Solar Storms

    WASHINGTON — NASA spacecraft observations and new data processing techniques are giving scientists better insight into the evolution and development of solar storms that can damage satellites, disrupt communications and cause power grid failures on Earth.

    The solar storms, called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), are being observed from NASA’s twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, spacecraft launched in 2006. The duo represents a key component within a fleet of NASA spacecraft that enhance the capability to predict solar storms.

    Previous spacecraft imagery did not clearly show the structure of a solar disturbance as it traveled toward Earth. As a result, forecasters had to estimate when storms would arrive without knowing the details of how they evolve and grow. New processing techniques used on STEREO data allow scientists to see how solar eruptions develop into space storms at the Earth.

    “The clarity these new images provide will improve the observational inputs into space weather models for better forecasting,” said Lika Guhathakurta, STEREO program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

    CMEs are billion-ton clouds of solar plasma launched by the same sun explosions that spark solar flares. When they sweep past Earth, they can cause auroras, radiation storms that can disrupt sensitive electronics on satellites, and in extreme cases, power outages. Better tracking of these clouds and the ability to predict their arrival is an important part of space weather forecasting.

    Newly released images from cameras on the STEREO-A spacecraft reveal detailed features in a large Earth-directed CME in late 2008, connecting the original magnetized structure in the sun’s corona to the intricate anatomy of the interplanetary storm as it hit the planet three days later. When the data were collected, the spacecraft was more than 65 million miles away from Earth.

    The spacecraft’s wide-angle cameras captured the images. They detect ordinary sunlight scattered by free-floating electrons in plasma clouds. When these clouds in CMEs leave the sun, they are bright and easy to see. However, visibility is quickly reduced, as the clouds expand into the void. The clouds are about one thousand times fainter than the Milky Way, which makes direct imaging of them difficult. That also has limited our understanding of the connection between solar storms and the coronal structures that cause them.

    “Separating these faint signals from the star field behind them proved especially challenging, but it paid off,” said Craig DeForest, scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo. and lead author of an Astrophysical Journal article released online yesterday. “We have been drawing pictures of structures like these for several decades. Now that we can see them so far from the sun, we find there is still a lot to learn.”

    These observations can pinpoint not only the arrival time of the CME, but also its mass. The brightness of the cloud enabled researchers to calculate the cloud’s gas density throughout the structure, and compare it to direct measurements by other NASA spacecraft. When this technique is applied to future storms, forecasters will be able to say with confidence whether Earth is about to be hit by a small or large cloud, and where on the sun the material originated.

    STEREO’s two observatories orbit the sun, one ahead of Earth and one behind. They will continue to move apart over time. STEREO is the third mission in NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Probes program. The program seeks to understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment from the sun to Earth and other planets.

    The STEREO spacecraft were built and are operated for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the mission, instruments and science center. The STEREO instruments were designed and built by scientific institutions in the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, and Switzerland.

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  • IATA Press Release: Priorities for Indonesian Aviation

    Date: 4 August 2010

    Jakarta – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) outlined the priorities for Indonesia’s aviation industry. “Now is the time to plan and build for the future. With 240 million people living on thousands of islands and great world-class tourist attractions, the potential for aviation to grow and drive economic development is enormous. Coordinated government policies to ensure safety, cost-efficient and effective infrastructure and environmental sustainability are needed,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

    “Indonesia has a remarkable story to tell. The country weathered the global financial crisis better than most with a 4.5% GDP growth in 2009. And the turnaround at Garuda has been dramatic. While the world’s airlines were generating losses, Garuda’s passenger demand grew by 3% and they improved net profits by over 50% in 2009. Everyday brings new challenges and Garuda is well-placed to face them,” said Bisignani.

    “The good news for Indonesia is that Asia Pacific is expected to be the most profitable region this year,” said Bisignani. Asia Pacific is leading the recovery with forecast profits of $2.2 billion and strong traffic growth. June passenger and cargo traffic for the region grew at 15.5% and 29.8% respectively, above the global average.

    While in Jakarta, Bisignani met with Indonesian Vice President Prof. Dr Boediono, airlines and infrastructure operators and ASEAN leaders.

    IATA laid out three priorities for Indonesian aviation: safety; cost-efficient and effective infrastructure and environmental sustainability.

    Safety: “Safety is always the top priority. Safety issues require constant attention and commitment. There have been three non fatal accidents involving Indonesian airlines this year. And there were 5 accidents involving Indonesian operators in 2009, and 24 over the past 5 years. The situation is improving, but the damage done to Indonesia’s safety reputation will not be solved with short-term measures. A long-term strategic commitment is needed from both industry and government. I encourage the Indonesian government to make the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) a national requirement. It will ensure best practice in operational safety with global standards. And it will be a strong signal to the world that Indonesian aviation safety is moving in the right direction,” said Bisignani. Garuda and Mandala Airlines are the only two Indonesian airlines currently on the IOSA registry.

    IATA is also working with the Indonesian government to improve safety by sharing global best practices through safety seminars and by supporting Indonesia’s implementation of the ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan.

    Infrastructure: Bisignani identified infrastructure as being critical to support Indonesia’s traffic growth. “With the completing of Terminal 3, Jakarta’s airport has the capacity to handle 38 million passengers a year. But passenger numbers are already topping 36.5 million with the government predicting 10% annual growth. Jakarta’s airport infrastructure will not be able to cope. There is no time to waste. Planning and implementation of the next stage of development is critical. It is very important that airport operators engage airlines in meaningful consultation to make the most of the current infrastructure and to plan for future developments,” said Bisignani.

    “We do not see the cost-efficiency improvements in Indonesian aviation infrastructure that we see in other parts of the region. We appreciate that the increases announced in 2001 have not been enforced. But to remain competitive, the focus must be on cost-reduction. I encouraged the government to challenge Angkasa Pura 1 and Angkasa Pura 2 to deliver greater cost-efficiency,” said Bisignani.

    Environment: The aviation industry has agreed to three targets: (1) improving fuel efficiency by 1.5% a year to 2020; (2) capping emissions with carbon neutral growth from 2020, (3), cutting emissions in half by 2050 compared to 2005 levels. “All growth must be environmentally sustainable. I encourage the Indonesian government to support aviation’s aggressive and responsible approach to climate change,” said Bisignani.

    “We need a global approach for aviation, not local excuses for governments to gain access to new sources of taxes. We must also take a strong stand against regional schemes like the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. I hope Indonesia will be a strong voice against Europe’s unfair and ineffective plans,” said Bisignani.

    Bisignani praised Garuda for taking the lead in implementing the IATA industry standard carbon offset program – an industry-wide management service that delivers best practice, standard methodologies and quality control. He also suggested that Indonesia explore the possibilities of producing biofuels source crops such as camelina, jatropha, and algae.

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