Posts Tagged ‘FAA’

PSL’s Technical Analysis and Applications Center (TAAC) will be the focus of the May Business on the Border luncheon.  The meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, 705 S. Telshor. The meeting will begin with a hot entree buffet followed by a brief update by MVEDA staff.

The Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Technical Analysis and Applications Center (TAAC) was established in 1999 with the mission to promote safe integration of UAS in the National Airspace System (NAS). In order for a UAS to be flown in the USA outside of military airspace, a certificate of authorization (COA) or an experimental airworthiness certificate must be issued by the FAA; COAs have been obtained by New Mexico State University to operate the Aerostar and Orbiter UAS and the TAAC conducts flight operations within restricted airspace. The TAAC has been involved in the testing of various UAS platforms and has produced a certification roadmap that is serving as a framework for UAS certification.

The TAAC is a one-stop shop for:

• Critical technologies testing
• Planning for routine flight operations
• Certification, regulatory, research and validation
• Planning for worldwide operations

Luncheon cost is $20.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. Due to space limitations, reservations are required. Please confirm your attendance no later than Thursday, April 28 by sending an email to rsvp@mveda.com or by calling the office at (575) 525-2852. The meeting is open to the public.

Release courtesy of NMSU News Center

WRITER: Mark Cramer, 575-646-1957, mwcramer@nmsu.edu

CONTACT: Kathryn Hansen, 575-646-5406, Hansen@nmsu.ed

Photo courtesy of UAS TAAC

The annual UAS TAAC (Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technical Analysis and Applications Center) Conference, arranged and sponsored by New Mexico State University, takes place Dec. 7-9 at the Tamaya Hyatt Regency in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M. Between 400 and 500 guests are expected to attend, mainly from federal agencies, aviation user groups, universities and private industry.

“We have received national recognition as the best small UAS conference in the country,” said Steve Hottman, head of the department of 21st Century Aerospace at New Mexico State University’s Physical Science Laboratory, home of the TAAC.

NMSU’s first UAS TAAC conference, held 12 years ago as one of the first in the U.S, focused primarily on the civil use of unmanned aircraft systems. A lot has changed since then, and the TAAC has adjusted the conference accordingly.

“The application of UAS has grown tremendously since 1998, particularly in the defense sector,” Hottman said. “We have kept up with this growth and made sure that the conference continues to be a valuable forum for the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration and other federal agencies, as well as aerospace entrepreneurs. We are offering an eclectic composition of attendees and topics in both classified and open venues.”

While TAAC 2010 remains an intimate affair, the conference has grown significantly over the years; it attracts attendees from all regions of the U.S. and from numerous government and private organizations. New Mexico UAS stakeholders are well represented at the event, including the national laboratories, military organizations, universities and private industry. This year the conference again will take place at the Tamaya Hyatt Regency resort in Santa Ana Pueblo, north of Albuquerque.

“We try to bring in national leadership for the conference, with the goal of working as a group to move forward to make UAS applications and developments more accessible,” Hottman said. “It’s an idea exchange and a place to discuss research and development.”

The conference begins Dec. 7 with a keynote address from Dyke Weatherington, deputy director of Unmanned Warfare in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, followed by Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert P. “Bob” Otto, director of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities with the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance at USAF headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Dec. 8 session kicks off with remarks from U.S. Air Force Gen. Will Fraser, commander, Air Combat Command. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael C. Kostelnik (ret.), assistant commissioner with the Office of Customs and Border Patrol in U.S. Customs and Border Protection, will join Gen. Fraser. The day will include a small UAS demonstration.

The Dec. 9 session takes place at a classified facility and is open to U.S. citizens with a minimal secret security clearance only. A complete agenda for the three-day event may be found at http://psl.nmsu.edu/uav/conferences/2010/agenda.php.

To register for the conference or for more information, visit http://psl.nmsu.edu/uav/conferences/2010/index.php. General session registration is $700, and registration for the classified session is $250. The registration deadline is Nov. 25.

The NMSU UAS team emphasizes research, development, test and evaluation activities to address a broad range of requirements and capabilities, including UAS development (platforms, communications, command and control) and evaluations of flight hardware technology such as airframes, engines, communications systems, flight control systems and payload. NMSU has unique capabilities in critical operational elements such as planning, airspace coordination and integration, standard processes and procedures, concepts of operations, human factors and training. The university is home to the only FAA-approved UAS testing space in the nation, with 15,000 square miles of airspace in which to operate.

The Arrowhead Center, NMSU’s economic development center, also plays a key role in the UAS TAAC Conference. The center is working to develop opportunities for aerospace businesses in southern New Mexico and beyond, partly in concert with the nearby Spaceport America, located near Truth or Consequences, N.M. The explosive growth and development of UAS, and the FAA-approved testing space, makes the area ideal for aerospace business and research firms, which also will be discussed at the conference.

Release courtesy of Spaceport America

LAS CRUCES, NM – Spaceport America has received its first federal grant from a newly funded spaceport infrastructure program at the Federal Aviation Administration.

The funding, $43,000 from the FAA matched with $4,300 from Virgin Galactic, will allow for the acquisition of an Automated Weather Observation System III (AWOS III).

This important project will be made possible through the Federal Aviation Administration’s FAA/AST Commercial Space Transportation Grant Program.

New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) Executive Director Rick Homans said, “This announcement highlights the increasing attention that the federal government is paying to the commercial spaceflight industry and to Spaceport America. While the grant amount may be small, the symbolism is much greater and we look forward to seeing this grant program increase and expand in the years to come.”

The value of the FAA/AST grant combined with Galactic Venture’s matching money is estimated at about $47,300. The balance of the cost of the AWOS, $86,000, will be paid by the NMSA.

The project is crucial to the safe and efficient operation of the spaceport. The AWOS III will provide timely and accurate meteorological information relevant to aircraft and spacecraft operations at Spaceport America. This will provide full AWOS capability to the spaceport, including visibility information and cloud data.

Spaceport America has been providing commercial launch services since 2006. The state-of-the-art launch facility is under construction near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and is expected to become fully operational in 2011. Officials at Spaceport America have been working closely with leading aerospace firms such as Armadillo Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, Lockheed Martin, Moog-FTS, and UP Aerospace to develop commercial spaceflight at the new facility. The economic impact of launches, tourism and new construction at Spaceport America are already delivering on its promise to the people of New Mexico.

For additional information and images of Spaceport America go to www.spaceportamerica.com or contact David Wilson at david@wilson-binkley.com or at 575-524-8118.

The October meeting of the MVEDA Business on the Border Forum will be held on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, 705 S. Telshor. The meeting will begin with a hot entree buffet followed by a brief update by MVEDA staff.

Dr. Pat Hynes, Director of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium (NMSGC) at New Mexico State University, will be the featured speaker. The New Mexico Space Grant Consortium was recently selected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a 2010 Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation.  The NMSGC annually hosts the International Symposium on Personal and Commercial Spaceflight, the largest symposium of its kind in the U.S.  NMSGC also sponsors the annual Education Launch Program which provides access to space for students in New Mexico to answer science and engineering questions.

Luncheon cost is $20.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. Due to space limitations, reservations are required. Please confirm your attendance no later than Thursday, September 30^thby sending an email to rsvp@mveda.com or by calling the office at (575) 525-2852. The meeting is open to the public.

Article courtesy of Las Cruces Sun-News

By Brook Stockberger

LAS CRUCES – If you’ve been following the news about Spaceport America, you know that construction has been well under way. The mythical-sounding place where humans can pay to take a ride into space – and, less mythical but probably more common, where companies can launch payloads – broke ground in June 2009.

“It’s chugging along,” said Rick Homans, director of New Mexico Spaceport Authority, of the $200-million project. “Pretty much all the construction is on track.”

The nearly two-mile runway is about 95 percent completed; the three-story, 110,000-square-foot terminal hangar facility has started to take shape; and the white dome of the airfield rescue fire facility flanks the larger hanger. Anchor tenant Virgin Galactic continues to test its craft in the Mojave Desert.

“We’re looking to be operations-ready in 2011,” said Spaceport spokesman Dave Wilson. “It’ll be ready for Virgin, but we don’t know when Virgin will be ready.”

So while the work continues, something just as big and important looms.

“We’re going full swing into the parallel track of moving from a construction site to an operating spaceport,” Homans said. “The construction phase has been so all-consuming for the last 18 months, it’s hard to think there’s a whole bunch of additional work to do that has greater complexity to it than the actual construction itself.”

Obviously, if you pay top dollar to go into space, you want to return safely.

“You start thinking of the day on the horizon when we’re a (full functioning) launch facility, we have to have a spaceport staff, contractors, equipment, everything operating seamlessly, flawlessly,” Homans said. “But most importantly, we have to have anticipated and drilled and trained for every potential problem or emergency or unexpected occurrence that could happen, and that takes a lot of planning.”

Recently, New Mexico State University’s Space Grant Consortium was selected as the Federal Aviation Administration’s Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation, which enables NMSU to serve as the hub of a minimum $5 million, five-year research coalition addressing key challenges in the development of the commercial space industry. Homans said the center is expected to provide input for the shaping of regulations and operating procedures and practices for this new industry.

“The FAA COE role is still to be determined,” said Pat Hynes, director of the space grant consortium. “The FAA is the organization that will make the determination on what they want the COE to do.”

Either way, the fact that the spaceport is now a going concern has stirred up excitement.

“No question, from a client standpoint, there are a lot more inquires,” said Jim Hayhoe, who operates Spaceport America Consultants. “There will be a lot of specific supply chain needs for Virgin Galactic.”

Chicago-based David Houle, a writer and strategist who travels the world talking about the future and global trends, visited Spaceport America for the first time Friday.

“This is large and breathtaking,” Houle said.

He said he understands why some people were dubious as to whether such a fantastical sounding facility would ever actually take root. He said it is easier to not get your hopes up about such a groundbreaking venture, but, a visit to the spaceport would put those doubts aside.

“People live in their times,” Houle said. “Some people used to say, ‘Man will never fly.’”

Even with all of the advanced technology to be put in place, Wilson said one of the important projects has been the road, currently dirt, that runs south out of the location. It connects the spaceport with I-25 and cuts travel time from Las Cruces to less than an hour.

“This is critical,” Wilson said. “It’s important for the workers who will come from Dona Ana County to have a shorter commute.”

Brook Stockberger can be reached at (575) 541-5457.