{"id":794688,"date":"2025-03-25T13:22:07","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T18:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=794688"},"modified":"2025-03-25T13:22:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T18:22:07","slug":"nasa-demonstrates-new-wildland-fire-airspace-management-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=794688","title":{"rendered":"NASA Demonstrates New Wildland Fire Airspace Management System"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>NASA researchers conducted initial validation of a new airspace management system designed to enable crews to use aircraft fight and monitor wildland fires 24 hours a day, even during low-visibility conditions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From March 17-28, NASA\u2019s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project stationed researchers at multiple strategic locations across the foothills of the Sierra de Salinas mountains in Monterey County, California. Their mission: to test and validate a new, portable system that can provide reliable airspace management under poor visual conditions, one of the biggest barriers for aerial wildland firefighting support.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The mission was a success.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NASA Demonstrates New Wildfire Airspace Management System\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ziwa-u72EsE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cAt NASA, we have decades of experience leveraging our aviation expertise in ways that improve everyday life for Americans,\u201d said Carol Carroll, deputy associate administrator for NASA\u2019s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at agency headquarters in Washington. \u201cWe need every advantage possible when it comes to saving lives and property when wildfires affect our communities, and ACERO technology will give responders critical new tools to monitor and fight fires.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One of the barriers for continued monitoring, suppression, and logistics support in wildland fire situations is a lack of tools for managing airspace and air traffic that can support operations under all visibility conditions. Current aerial firefighting operations are limited to times with clear visibility when a Tactical Air Group Supervisor or \u201cair boss\u201d in a piloted aircraft can provide direction. Otherwise, pilots may risk collisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The ACERO technology will provide that air boss capability for remotely piloted aircraft operations \u2013 and users will be able to do it from the ground. The project\u2019s Portable Airspace Management System (PAMS) is a suitcase-sized solution that builds on decades of NASA air traffic and airspace management research. The PAMS units will allow pilots to view the locations and operational intents of other aircraft, even in thick smoke or at night.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>During the testing in Salinas, researchers evaluated the PAMS\u2019 core airspace management functions, including strategic coordination and the ability to automatically alert pilots once their aircrafts exit their preapproved paths or the simulated preapproved fire operation zone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Using the PAMS prototype, researchers were able to safely conduct\u00a0 flight operations of a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft operated by Overwatch Aero, LLC, of Solvang, California, and two small NASA drones.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Flying as if responding to a wildfire scenario, the Overwatch aircraft connected with two PAMS units in different locations. Though the systems were separated by mountains and valleys with weak cellular service, the PAMS units were able to successfully share and display a simulated fire zone, aircraft location, flight plans, and flight intent, thanks to a radio communications relay established by the Overwatch aircraft.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Operating in a rural mountain range validated that PAMS could work successfully in an actual wildland fire environment.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTesting in real mountainous environments presents numerous challenges, but it offers significantly more value than lab-based testing,\u201d said Dr. Min Xue, ACERO project manager at NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley. \u201cThe tests were successful, providing valuable insights and highlighting areas for future improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pilots on the ground used PAMS to coordinate the drones, which performed flights simulating aerial ignition \u2013 the practice of setting controlled, intentional fires to manage vegetation, helping to control fires and reduce wildland fire risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As a part of the testing, Joby Aviation of Santa Cruz, California, flew its remotely piloted aircraft, similar in size to a Cessna Grand Caravan, over the testing site. The PAMS system successfully exchanged aircraft location and flight intent with Joby\u2019s mission management system. The test marked the first successful interaction between PAMS and an optionally piloted aircraft.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fire chiefs from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) attended the testing and provided feedback on the system\u2019s functionality, features that could improve wildland fire air traffic coordination, and potential for integration into operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe appreciate the work being done by the NASA ACERO program in relation to portable airspace management capabilities,\u201d said Marcus Hernandez, deputy chief for CAL FIRE\u2019s Office of Wildfire Technology. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see federal, state, and local agencies, as it is important to address safety and regulatory challenges alongside technological advancements.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These latest flights build on successful PAMS testing in Watsonville, California, in November 2024. ACERO will use flight test data and feedback from wildland fire agencies to continue building out PAMS capabilities and will showcase more robust information-sharing capabilities in the coming years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>NASA\u2019s goal for ACERO is to validate this technology, so it can be developed for wildland fire crews to use in the field, saving lives and property. The project is managed by NASA\u2019s Airspace Operations and Safety Program and supports the agency\u2019s\u202f Advanced Air Mobility mission.\u202f<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/general\/nasa-demonstrates-new-wildland-fire-airspace-management-system\/?rand=772140\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA researchers conducted initial validation of a new airspace management system designed to enable crews to use aircraft fight and monitor wildland fires 24 hours a day, even during low-visibility&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":794689,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-794688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aeronautics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=794688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/794689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=794688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=794688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=794688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}