WASHINGTON — NASA is part of a team that received one of the most prestigious awards in aviation on June 12.
Judges for the Robert J. Collier Trophy, awarded by the National Aeronautic Association, chose the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, team of public and private groups to receive the 2007 honor.
Instead of relying on radar, ADS-B uses Global Positioning System satellite information to give pilots and controllers highly accurate traffic data, as well as displays that update in real time. The system also will give pilots access to weather services, terrain maps and flight information services. Government and industry leaders have worked for more than a decade to develop and implement this technology for the next generation of air traffic management.
According to the selection committee, “ADS-B is a ground-breaking effort for next-generation airborne surveillance and cockpit avionics. Its implementation will have a broad impact on the safety, capacity and efficiency of the national airspace system.”
Researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., and NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., were part of the extensive team that developed and tested ADS-B.
“NASA is proud to have been a part of ADS-B research and development,” said Karlin Roth Toner, Airspace Systems Program director for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA’s Headquarters in Washington. “This is the kind of research NASA specializes in and that will help transform the air traffic control system to satisfy future traffic demands.”
Established in 1911, the Collier Trophy is awarded for “the greatest achievements in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year.”
The trophy has been given to many of America’s greatest aerospace pioneers, including Orville Wright and Neil Armstrong.
This is the 21st time research and development projects that included NASA or its predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, have received a Collier Trophy.
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