Expanding Flight Research

Description

"NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) is working to expand flight research in order to advance the maturation and demonstrate the application of new aeronautics concepts and technologies over the next ten years. It asked RAND to assess available flight research capabilities and future needs, identify any gaps or excess infrastructure, and develop management options that would facilitate increased and improved flight research. We found that NASA has strong flight research capabilities in most areas relevant for flight research. The few gaps that we identified could be filled through partnering or acquisition of vehicles from the marketplace when needed. Other gaps exist in sub- and full-scale experimental aircraft, but these cannot be acquired before the specific research projects are planned and funded. ARMD is already pursuing multiple efforts to increase flight research. We recommend that ARMD continue its efforts to enhance long-range planning and project funding certainty so that researchers can better include flight research in their plans and specific infrastructure needs can be identified further in advance. Cost-sharing through partnerships remains a valuable option, although industry positioning for increased intellectual property rights may be a limiting factor. Stewardship of flight research capabilities can be improved by instituting a unified, matrixed management structure across centers that can help align incentives while centralizing and improving utilization, partnering, and external outreach efforts. Finally, access and sharing barriers for researchers can be lowered through a voucher system for simple flight research efforts, streamlined processes for planning and access, and instituting state-of-the-art knowledge management approaches to store flight research data and share it with the aeronautics community"--Back cover.

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