NASA to Conduct First Beyond Visual Line of Sight Flights Using UAS
Next week in Nevada, NASA will conduct their first test of multiple beyond visual line-of-sight flights using UAS. According to a NASA press release, five UAS will fly beyond the visual line of sight of their operators in an effort to gather information to improve upon NASA’s UAS traffic management (UTM) research platform.
During the test, the planning, tracking and alerting capabilities of the UTM’s Technical Capability Level 2 (TCL2) will be put on display in an effort to collect several types of data.
By connecting the platform to drone tracking systems, alerts about other UAS and manned aircraft in the area will be provided, as well as information on the weather, and potential threats or hazards in the airspace. NASA, in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration, will take all obtained information and use it to improve the UTM’s technology and effectiveness.
The landmark demonstration will break several barriers for NASA, including the first demonstration of system detect-and-alert capabilities, the first demonstration of automated alert when aircraft are not following their scheduled flight plans, and the first demonstration of dynamic re-routing capability that allows an airborne UAS to request changes for their flight plan.
