Low-Cost Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle (sRLV) Surrogate to test Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B)

Completed TRL 4 (started at 4, targeting 4)

Description

Currently airspace must be sterilized to accommodate commercial suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle (sRLV) operations. This proposal is to fly the High Altitude Shuttle System (HASS) as a surrogate sRLV returning to earth through the National Airspace System (NAS) to exercise FAA air traffic control systems and Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) for integrating these new aerospace vehicles into the NAS so they can do so on a routine basis while minimizing disruptions to other NAS users (i.e., commercial and general aviation) in the future.

Problem Statement
Under this proposal, the shuttle is lofted to 100,000’ on a high altitude balloon where it is dropped and flies a gliding recovery to a horizontal landing on a runway, mimicking the flight profile of a returning sRLV. The shuttle will carry a 978KHz UAT ADS-B transceiver to beacon its identifier, position, altitude, heading, velocity, etc. which will be received and processed by the existing ADS-B architecture. The shuttle will also carry a Mode-S transponder and a radar reflector to simulate primary and secondary radar returns from a representative sRLV. Lastly, the shuttle will carry a communications relay payload to allow validation of required radio traffic between a returning sRLV at the FAA Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) and spaceport terminal airspace operations. The shuttle will fly a programmed representative flight path (heading, airspeed & altitude) to simulate a sRLV returning through the NAS to a horizontal landing.

NASA Feature Story: Drone Flight Tests FAA's Technologies for Spacecraft Re-entry

Benefits

The technology being developed can be used to evaluate the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Concept of Operations (CONOPS) to safely and efficiently transit the National Air Space (NAS) with sRLVs while minimizing the impact to regular commercial and general aviation and maintaining their safety. This effort will benefit commercial flight providers, future NASA missions, and other govenment agencies, most significantly the Department of Transportation.

Details

Technology area	Propulsion Systems > Aero Propulsion > Integrated Systems and Ancillary Technologies
Program	Flight Opportunities (FO)
Lead organization	Near Space Corporation, Tillamook, OR
Start date	2013-08-01
End date	2016-08-31

Project contacts

Listed on TechPort itself — the most direct way to ask about this specific project.

Tim Lachenmeier

How to get involved

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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