Sense and Avoid: Flying Small UAS in Civil Airspace
August 7, 2008
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are rapidly passing their initial "cool stuff for the military" phase. In fact, interest in UAS is growing worldwide, and many new civil applications are envisioned, such as homeland security, border protection, and crime scene surveillance, as well as commercial operations. In agriculture they could be used to check blight in crops and measure moisture levels in soil. UAS could add a whole new wrinkle to airborne photography, taking pictures in spaces otherwise inaccessible to manned aircraft.
MITRE Wins Collier Trophy
August 4, 2008
MITRE was recently included among a group of government, industry, and academic organizations honored with the prestigious Collier Trophy for their contribution to a next-generation air-traffic control system known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B).
Cross-Cultural Communicator - Mimi Dobbs
July 29, 2008
Mimi Dobbs has always been one to buck tradition. The principal information systems engineer in MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) grew up in Korea, where, she says, females "are brought up with limitations; it's a very rule-based culture. But my parents always told me 'you can do what you want to do.'"
India Cleared for Take Off
July 22, 2008
As India's economy continues to soar, so do the growing ranks of its young professionals. The subcontinent now has the second fastest growing domestic aviation market in the world (China is first). Between now and 2009, this sector is projected to grow 20 percent, adding further stress to an already overburdened transportation infrastructure.
Travel Forecasting Takes Off
June 10, 2008
Planning to fly from New York to Los Angeles seems like a simple enough proposition. However, there's an array of factors for the traveler to consider. For starters, in the New York metro area, it's possible to depart from one of at least three airports, while in L.A., there are no less than five airports in the region, all of which support varying degrees of air traffic and passenger travel.
Air Traffic Control 101
April 25, 2008
Last August, the Department of Transportation reported that airline delays in the United States were at their highest level since the agency started keeping statistics in 1995. Part of the blame for the delays is that demand for air travel is rising at a rate of four percent a year. It doesn’t help matters that approximately two-thirds of the nation’s 15,000 air traffic controllers are expected to retire within the next decade.
CAASD Unmanned Aircraft Work Recently Featured in The Edge
October 5, 2007
With unmanned aircraft now seeking a place in the nation’s airways, CAASD is playing an important part in determining how they can fit into civil airspace safely and systematically. Unmanned Aircraft in Civil Airspace: Challenges and Opportunities, by Robert Boetig, F063, and Matthew DeGarmo, F082. Originally developed for military applications, most unmanned aircraft were built with high-risk applications and environments in mind. Little, if any consideration was given to making these aircraft suitable for flights in a mature civil aviation system—one controlled and monitored by sophisticated systems and governed by a rigorous regulatory structure.
Agam Sinha Appointed MITRE Senior Vice President and General Manager
January 18, 2007
McLean, Virginia, January 17, 2007 — MITRE's President and Chief Executive Officer Al Grasso is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Agam Sinha to the position of senior vice president of The MITRE Corporation and general manager of the Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD). He will also direct the Federal Aviation Administration's Federally Funded Research and Development Center. In this position, Dr. Sinha will lead MITRE's aviation and transportation security work program in support of the FAA, the Transportation Security Administration, and international civil aviation authorities.
Green and Yellow Mean ‘Caution’
November 2, 2006
Imagine that you’re a pilot taxiing out for takeoff at maximum gross weight. You’re running through your final checklist, following the green taxiway centerline lights toward the runway ... when suddenly you hear the tower barking “hold short, hold short” ... and you catch sight of a 800,000 lb 747 barreling toward you on the runway you’ve just started to cross.
ElSawy Speaks About Next Generation Air Traffic System
August 3, 2006
In a highly substantive speech before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's subcommittee on aviation, CAASD General Manager Amr ElSawy described the steps that should be taken now to modernize the US National Airspace System (NAS), meet current challenges and prepare for inevitable changes.
CAASD Director Wins Worcester Polytechnic Institute Award
May 31, 2006
On May 1st, the prestigious Hobart Newell Award was given to Christopher J. Hegarty, the Director for Spectrum Management of MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD). Each year, this award is presented by the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), a private technological university in Massachusetts, to one outstanding alumnus of their Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department for notable achievement in a related field. In Dr. Hegarty's case, it is for his work on the Global Positioning System (GPS), in which he has made significant advances through publications and work with several international and national organizations.
Secure Travel, From Reservation to Destination
May 3, 2006
The aviation security environment of the future was the focus of the "Reservation to Destination: Future of Screening" workshop held in Ottawa, Canada from January 18th through the 20th. Sponsored by the Canadian Air Transport Security Agency (CATSA), an internationally-recognized leader in aviation security, the two-and-a-half day workshop focused on the creation of an urgently needed concept of operations for an international aviation security screening system.
Improving Aircraft Wiring to Save Lives
February 28, 2006
When things go wrong on older aircraft, many times it's the electrical system that's to blame. This discovery led the Aging Transport Systems Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ATSRAC) to focus its efforts on improving the design, installation and maintenance of aircraft wiring systems. Now, after nearly seven years of work, ATSRAC's recommendations are about to become law.
GPS Expert Chris Hegarty Appointed Director for Spectrum Management
February 24, 2006
Dr. Chris Hegarty, Senior Principal Signal Processing Engineer in MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation Systems Development (CAASD), has been appointed as the Center's Director for Spectrum Management, a position previously held by Jim Chadwick, who retired in January 2006.
The Search is On
January 11, 2006
The MITRE Corporation has been named to Fortune magazine's 2006 "100 Best Companies To Work For in America" list for the fifth year in a row. To view current job openings click here.
AviationSimNet™ A Specification for Distributed ATM Simulations
November 1, 2005
The MITRE Corporation's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) has just released a new specification for interconnecting real-time air traffic management (ATM) simulations over the public Internet.
UAV Impacts on NAS Discussed in Paris
September 22, 2005
As interest in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) grows, so do the issues related to them. The most far reaching and complicated of these is how to fit UAVs into the civil-use portion of the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). Because these aircraft do not have pilots on board ... and because they fly at altitudes of 10,000 to 80,000 feet on unusual flight paths dictated by tasks that range from surveillance to telecom relays ... there are many questions about how UAVs can be safely integrated into our crowded airspace.
Rightsizing Our National Airspace
July 25, 2005
One of the most hotly debated topics in government and industry today is how to "rightsize" - to narrow an organization's focus, find the perfect balance between cost and quality, reduce extraneous expenses and make best use of resources.
ElSawy Elected VP of Standards for AIAA
June 17, 2005
CAASD Sr. Vice President and General Manager Amr ElSawy has been elected Vice President for Standards of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and is also serving as a member of their Board of Directors.
Additions to Cockpit Simulator Offer New Testing Capabilities for Sponsors
June 16, 2005
In an ongoing effort to offer its sponsors the most realistic yet flexible airborne simulations capability for testing procedures and avionics, CAASD has added many new pieces of equipment to its integrated Air Traffic Management (ATM) laboratory cockpit.
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