July 22, 2015

"Safety Should Be Everywhere" at NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Dr. Jaiwon Shin, NASA associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, closed the first public day of the 61st Air Safety Forum with a look at where NASA Aeronautics has been, but more importantly where we want to go in the next hundred years. Shin spoke of the three pillars for NASA research—safety, efficiency, and performance—pointing out the importance NASA puts on safety. “Safety should be everywhere,” he insisted.

Shin started his presentation with a look at the impact of aviation on the U.S. economy and a look at the growing global aviation market, particularly in the Asia-Pacific market. He touched on the growing urbanization of the world’s population toward large cities, pointing out the future needs to connect these cities and rhetorically asking how that might be done.

He presented NASA research’s “vision for the 21st century,” keying on impacts that are “global, sustainable, and transformative.” Three of their six strategic thrust areas, he pointed out, involve safety issues: safe, efficient growth in global operations; ultra-efficiency commercial vehicles; and real-time, system-wide safety assurance.

Shin finished his presentation with a look at NASA technologies that have and will hopefully in the future provide a positive impact on the aviation industry. He mentioned transferred precision departure release capability, which tests show reduce departure delays, and advancements in flight deck technology to provide “unprecedented increased levels of safety and performance.” And in the future, he said, research is focused on items such as environmentally responsible aviation; low carbon emission propulsion; and enabling safe integration of remotely piloted aircraft into the national airspace system by providing a traffic management system for low-altitude use.

With all this research, Shin said, “Our goal is safety.” With safety-focused research and its potential applications to the aviation industry, NASA Aeronautics’ next hundred years looks to have an even greater impact than its first hundred.

Dr. Jaiwon Shin, NASA associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

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