NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration does so much more than conduct space missions and research.  They take responsibility for all aeronautic fields of research and development.  Since 2012, NASA has been assisting the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) in their quest to find ways of making drones safer.  Drones have come along way over the years.  Each year their technology and applications advance.  To be able to keep up with the demands of drones in society today, safety measures also need to advance.  The FAA has put forth plenty of drone regulations, and they are in the process of amending them.  But to do so NASA has been running a series of drone flight tests to allow the integration of drones in US airspace.

This September will mark the beginning of NASA’s final stage of this testing called Flight Test Series 6.  FT6 will take place at The Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and should take approximately 3 months to complete.  The goal of FT6 is to develop and test small, light weight, low powered sensors that will enable both drones and aircraft to detect and avoid each other, as well as testing air to air radar and performance standards.

The Drone that NASA will being using to conduct FT6 is the TigerShark Block 3 XP built by NAVMAR Applied Sciences Corporation.  NAVMAR is an American engineering firm that since 2007 has been awarded 194 contracts totaling $1.23 billion for the US government.  They specialize in aerodynamic engineering.  The TigerShark weighs 515lbs with a wingspan of 22′.  It has a flight time of 10 hours and can carry a payload of 100lbs.  It can be flown with complete autonomy or remotely.  On the nose of the drone is a Honeywell built Dapa-Lite radar that can track “intruder” aircraft. 

According to Michael Vincent, FT6 DAA Principal Investigator, “The radar system is cutting-edge technology with panels small enough to be carried on a smaller drone, but still have enough range to see and avoid other aircraft.  Our goal for FT6 is to challenge the effectiveness of our DAA (Detect and Avoid) system and Honeywell’s radar system as we develop performance standards of unmanned aircraft being integrated in our national airspace system.”

The tests will consist of a number of different intruder aircraft being flown into the drone’s airspace to see within what ranges the Dapa-Lite radar responds, calculating the elevation, bearing, and relative distance of the intruder aircraft.  The system will then provide the pilots of the aircraft avoidance information on the position of the drone and vice versa, allowing the drone’s onboard computer to alter it’s flight plan for safety.

Vincent says, “Every decision we have made for FT6 was a result of what we have learned in previous flight tests.  Our journey through each flight test series has been instrumental in the hopes of allowing unmanned aircraft to enter unsegregated airspace in the near future. FT6 will be a big factor on how we can safely integrate unmanned aircraft.”  The ultimate results of FT6 will hopefully provide safe airspace for drones and conventional aircraft to coexist.