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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Concept of Operations (ConOps) of an In-time Aviation Safety Management System (IASMS) for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)

The growth of new emerging operations involving Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) necessitates developing a perspective for an In-time Aviation Safety Management System (IASMS). This perspective advances from the National Academies report on IASMS and its recommendation for developing a Concept of Operations (ConOps) for IASMS. A ConOps has been developed for In-time System-Wide Safety Assurance (ISSA) from which the IASMS ConOps pivots to provide a robust scope commensurate with the broad vision defined by the National Academies. The IASMS ConOps focuses on emerging operations and spans innovations in Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and an increasingly complex ecosystem comprised of a widening mix of vehicles and technologies, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) with industry-federated services, traditional operations, as well as new supersonic aircraft and space launch systems.The challenge for the IASMS ConOps is to be broad to encompass innovations in the coming years and decades while agile to ensure levels of safety compatible with operational and certification requirements of the National Airspace System (NAS). The IASMS ConOps interweaves increasing complexity of operational safety capabilities and unlocking UAS Maturity Levels (UMLs). The relationships between increased complexity of automation and automated systems, fewer operators who are not as traditionally higher skilled, more complex operational environments, and aviation operations management with mixed aircraft and equipage pose a multi-dimensional space for IASMS capabilities essential for safety assurance and risk management. Instantiating IASMS capabilities and how they would be integral to AAM operations and increasing maturity of UAM could be accomplished through a series of Safety Demonstrators. These Safety Demonstrators could provide increased understanding and insight into use of controls for risk mitigation, means of compliance for certification, and operational experience with safety services such as in relation to contingency management. The IASMS capabilities can be viewed as initially residing with the vehicle, airspace, and Supplemental Data Service Provider (SDSP). For example, vehicle capabilities include communications including the command and control link, Remote Identification (ID), conflict advisory/alerting, and UAS system monitoring. These capabilities monitor and assess data such as battery health, aircraft state, and human performance. Complexity of ISAMS capabilities depends on a number of factors. These factors are intendedonly as a notional categorization with the purpose being to reflect the complexity of the AAM ecosystem that would drive up the complexity of ISSA capabilities including systems, sensors, models, standards, and controls. Factors could include the Vehicle Flight Management, Environment, Airspace, and Contingency Management. Each of these factors can be comprised of multiple sub-factors that contribute to increasing complexity. For example, Airspace at a lower level of complexity could be dedicated to UTM operations that are unmonitored, and at a higher level of complexity could involve mixed UTM and ATM operations. The IASMS concept includes safety services that provide data and information to different participants in AAM. The roles and responsibilities of participants can be defined using the Responsible-Accountable-Consulted-Informed (RACI) analysis. For example, for the safety service involving the Remote ID, the Operator would be accountable for providing the data, the Vehicle would be responsible for transmitting it, and the USS, SDSP, Vertiports, FIMS (FAA), and Public Entities such as safety services would be informed by receiving the data. The IASMS ConOps identifies the capabilities needed for risk mitigation and safety assurance in the increasingly complex national airspace. The ConOps serves as a pathway for engaging with industry to gain operational experience including through the Safety Demonstrator series, the RACI analysis, and operational complexity factors. The ConOps serves to integrate these different perspectives to build a cohesive and cogent approach to an AAM safety management system.

In-Time Aviation Safety Management System↗
NASA NTRS2020

UAM Vision Concept of Operations (ConOps) UAM Maturity Level (UML) 4

This Vision ConOps is intended as a foundation to engage members of the UAM community and provide a consensus on the future vision of UAM operations. It provides a concept for more detailed discussion and a basis for the exploration of ideas using a common framework to inform the continued development and integration of UAM as part of the broader transportation system. Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) encompasses a range of innovative aviation technologies (small drones, electric aircraft, automated air traffic management, etc.) that are transforming aviation’s role in everyday life, including the movement of goods and people. Urban Air Mobility (UAM) represents one of the most exciting and complex AAM concepts with highly automated aircraft, providing commercial services to the public over densely populated cities. This concept has generated tremendous interest and industry investment. UAM envisages a future in which advanced technologies and new operational procedures enable practical, cost-effective air travel as an integral mode of transportation in metropolitan areas. It represents one of the most exciting and complex AAM concepts with highly automated aircraft providing commercial services to the public over densely populated cities. For this reason, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected UAM as the initial goal of its AAM efforts and the focus of this Vision Concept of Operations (ConOps) document. UAM Community Vision ConOps: This Vision ConOps effort was led by experts from NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Deloitte’s Ecosystem Advisory Group (a cohort of advisers with aviation, aerospace, and regulatory expertise). To develop this Vision ConOps, NASA, FAA, and Deloitte built upon the current body of aeronautical research and consulted with more than 100 stakeholder organizations. This UAM community includes entities ranging from legacy aviation leaders to innovators and new market entrants. Stakeholders consulted included the federal government, state and local government, aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), local transportation organizations, prospective UAM operators, academia, industry standards-setting bodies, airports, service suppliers, and others (as described in Appendix G). This input was captured through the following methods: • A series of more than two dozen interviews with industry experts, federal regulators, state and local governments, and industry trade groups provided insight into the challenges of UAM integration into the National Airspace System (NAS), as well as technology developments and a variety of perspectives as to how UAM systems will integrate. • A series of two-day community workshops enabling active, detailed engagement of nearly 100 industry, academic, federal, and state stakeholder individuals. These workshops, hosted by NASA and Deloitte, explored UAM concepts in detail, and stakeholders were invited to collaboratively analyze and propose solutions to some of the greatest conceptual challenges behind UAM at an intermediate state. • A review of more than 160 sources of UAM literature from across government, industry, and academia, which are listed in Appendix H. • The public sharing of workshop input and document drafts for review and input across the UAM community. Feedback in the form of more than 1,000 comments and inputs on the document was received from industry groups, individual companies, academia, and government (federal, state, and local), among others. Although effort was made to incorporate inputs from across the UAM stakeholder group, not all comments could ultimately be incorporated in this version. The team resolved conflicting comments or ideas while maintaining consistency with the known direction of regulators and ensuring the document was coherent and consistent. It is recognized that this is a rapidly evolving area and that concepts will likely change over time; as such, this Vision ConOps is a living document and is expected to evolve as concepts mature. The ConOps does, however, provide a vision of UAM concepts and solutions based on the broad insights from across the UAM stakeholder community at the time of its publication and is intended to serve as a UAM North Star for continued research and development of UAM. As a broad Vision ConOps, is not a detailed engineering document; rather, it focuses primarily on outlining a broad, high-level vision across all aspects of a UAM transportation system.

Urban Air Mobility↗
NASA NTRS2013

Flight Deck Surface Trajectory-based Operations (STBO): Results of Piloted Simulations and Implications for Concepts of Operation (ConOps)

The results offour piloted medium-fidelity simulations investigating flight deck surface trajectory-based operations (STBO) will be reviewed. In these flight deck STBO simulations, commercial transport pilots were given taxi clearances with time and/or speed components and required to taxi to the departing runway or an intermediate traffic intersection. Under a variety of concept of operations (ConOps) and flight deck information conditions, pilots' ability to taxi in compliance with the required time of arrival (RTA) at the designated airport location was measured. ConOps and flight deck information conditions explored included: Availability of taxi clearance speed and elapsed time information; Intermediate RTAs at intermediate time constraint points (e.g., intersection traffic flow points); STBO taxi clearances via ATC voice speed commands or datal ink; and, Availability of flight deck display algorithms to reduce STBO RTA error. Flight Deck Implications. Pilot RTA conformance for STBO clearances, in the form of ATC taxi clearances with associated speed requirements, was found to be relatively poor, unless the pilot is required to follow a precise speed and acceleration/deceleration profile. However, following such a precise speed profile results in inordinate head-down tracking of current ground speed, leading to potentially unsafe operations. Mitigating these results, and providing good taxi RTA performance without the associated safety issues, is a flight deck avionics or electronic flight bag (EFB) solution. Such a solution enables pilots to meet the taxi route RTA without moment-by-moment tracking of ground speed. An avionics or EFB "error-nulling" algorithm allows the pilot to view the STBO information when the pilot determines it is necessary and when workload alloys, thus enabling the pilot to spread his/her attention appropriately and strategically on aircraft separation airport navigation, and the many other flight deck tasks concurrently required. Surface Traffic Management (STM) System Implications. The data indicate a number of implications regarding specific parameters for ATC/STM algorithm development. Pilots have a tendency to arrive at RTA points early with slow required speeds, on time for moderate speeds, and late with faster required speeds. This implies that ATC/STM algorithms should operate with middle-range speeds, similar to that of non-STBO taxi performance. Route length has a related effect: Long taxi routes increase the earliness with slow speeds and the lateness with faster speeds. This is likely due to the" open-loop" nature of the task in which the speed error compounds over a longer time with longer routes. Results showed that this may be mitigated by imposing a small number oftime constraint points each with their own RTAs effectively tuming a long route into a series of shorter routes - and thus improving RTA performance. STBO ConOps Implications. Most important is the impact that these data have for NextGen STM system ConOps development. The results of these experiments imply that it is not reasonable to expect pilots to taxi under a "Full STBO" ConOps in which pilots are expected to be at a predictable (x,y) airport location for every time (t). An STBO ConOps with a small number of intermediate time constraint points and the departing runway, however, is feasible, but only with flight deck equipage enabling the use of a display similar to the "error-nulling algorithm/display" tested.

Foyle, David C.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Tailoring a ConOps for NASA LSP Integrated Operations

An integral part of the Systems Engineering process is the creation of a Concept of Operations (ConOps) for a given system, with the ConOps initially established early in the system design process and evolved as the system definition and design matures. As Integration Engineers in NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), our job is to manage the interface requirements for all the robotic space missions that come to our Program for a Launch Service. LSP procures and manages a launch service from one of our many commercial Launch Vehicle Contractors (LVCs) and these commercial companies are then responsible for developing the Interface Control Document (ICD), the verification of the requirements in that document, and all the services pertaining to integrating the spacecraft and launching it into orbit. However, one of the systems engineering tools that have not been employed within LSP to date is a Concept of Operations. The goal of this paper is to research the format and content that goes into these various aerospace industry ConOps and tailor the format and content into template form, so the template may be used as an engineering tool for spacecraft integration with future LSP procured launch services. This tailoring effort was performed as the authors final Masters Project in the Spring of 2016 for the Stevens Institute of Technology and modified for publication with INCOSE (Owens, 2016).

Knowledge↗
NASA NTRS2024

Earth-Independent Medical Operations (EIMO) Concept of Operations (ConOps)

Compared to the current paradigm for crew health in low-Earth orbit and Lunar missions that rely on constant communication with Mission Control, there is an anticipated shift in medical operations for deep-space exploration missions. This shift stems from mission constraints imposed by the considerable distance from Earth, which include resource limitations due to a lack of resupply, mass, power, volume, and data limitations, challenges imposed by communication latency and the inability to evacuate in case of emergencies. To transition towards a more self-reliant medical approach, a comprehensive strategy is essential to progressively enable crew autonomy and mitigate mission success risks in the challenging environment of space. This transformative shift is collectively referred to as "Earth-Independent Medical Operations" (EIMO), signifying the gradual transfer of medical care and decision-making from terrestrial resources to space-based assets. This transition is aimed at bolstering astronaut health and performance while simultaneously reducing the overall risks associated with space missions. The constraints related to EIMO necessitate an integrated development of medical systems, featuring interoperability with mission planning, vehicle design, spacesuit design, and data architecture. This integration is vital in establishing a robust medical infrastructure that not only supports the well-being of astronauts but also ensures the success of the mission as a whole. The Human Research Program (HRP) Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Element has developed a model-based Concept of Operations (ConOps) outlining an initial vision for EIMO. Within this ConOps, a comprehensive view is presented, encompassing stakeholder needs, system objectives, and system goals associated with EIMO. Additionally, it provides illustrative examples of the various activities (scenarios) for which the system will be employed during missions. The selection of these activities has been meticulous, aiming to encompass a wide spectrum of medical conditions, including those falling under different risk categories, such as low-likelihood-low-consequence, low-likelihood-high-consequence, and high-likelihood-low-consequence. The selection of these activities (scenarios) effectively encompasses the wide range of medical events situated within an assumed probability-consequence bell curve. In each scenario, at least one of the five main EIMO components identified is captured. Those EIMO components are: Pre-mission Planning, Acute and Emergent Management Decision Making, Prolonged Medical Management Decision Making, Supplies and Resource Management, and Task Load Management. The ConOps was developed by a multidisciplinary team consisting of systems engineers, scientists, and clinicians across NASA and aims to serve as an initial recommendation to gradually and safely enabling crew autonomy for Mars missions and beyond.

Earth Independent Medical Operations↗
NASA NTRS2012

Air Traffic Management Technology Demonstration-1 Concept of Operations (ATD-1 ConOps)

The operational goal of the ATD-1 ConOps is to enable aircraft, using their onboard FMS capabilities, to fly Optimized Profile Descents (OPDs) from cruise to the runway threshold at a high-density airport, at a high throughput rate, using primarily speed control to maintain in-trail separation and the arrival schedule. The three technologies in the ATD-1 ConOps achieve this by calculating a precise arrival schedule, using controller decision support tools to provide terminal controllers with speeds for aircraft to fly to meet times at a particular meter points, and onboard software providing flight crews with speeds for the aircraft to fly to achieve a particular spacing behind preceding aircraft.

Baxley, Brian T.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Flight Surgeon Survey Results Review: Long-Duration Artemis Medical System ConOps

Background: The Artemis Mission Functional Medical Concept of Operation (ConOp) is an operational document that describes the functional medical capabilities and concept of operations for early Artemis missions of around 30 days duration. It is currently under revision for longer missions (180+ days), aiming to build a foundational diagnostic and treatment capabilities list considering mission parameters, crew selection and training, and mass/volume constraints. An interview of NASA operational flight surgeons was completed to start the revision of the medical ConOp. Methods: In the survey, 20 experienced NASA flight surgeons responded to 57 standardized questions covering 17 categories, 22 questions of which were covered in this analysis including 4 categories: Cardiovascular, Catastrophic Situations, Pulmonary, and Respiratory/O2 Support. These results were categorized into recommendations and observations. The recommendations were used to objectively quantify the responses to look for consensus, differences and uncertainty among responses. The observations remain important but were not included in this review. Analysis: Regarding questions related to changes in medical conditions treated for long-duration missions, percentage of “No Change” responses varied from 20% to 75%. In the “Change” treatment plan responses, a variety of recommendations were made, which were further made into graphics for better illustration. Additionally, recommendations on capability questions in multiple systems were visualized altogether in one product. Discussion: This work demonstrates the importance of collaboration and thorough analysis amongst experienced NASA flight surgeons for helping establish medical systems and contributing to the likelihood of mission success during Artemis long-duration missions. Through this review, we were able to identify some positive attributes as well as areas for improvement, which will facilitate further discussions.

Andrew Bushong↗
NASA NTRS2023

Flight Surgeon Survey Results Review: Long-Duration Artemis Medical System ConOps

The Artemis Mission Functional Medical Concept of Operation (ConOp) is an operational document that describes the functional medical capabilities and concept of operations for early Artemis missions of around 30 days duration. It is currently under revision for longer missions (180+ days), aiming to build a foundational diagnostic and treatment capabilities list considering mission parameters, crew selection and training, and mass/volume constraints. An interview of NASA operational flight surgeons was completed to start the revision of the medical ConOp.

Andrew Bushong↗
NASA NTRS2024

Wildland Fire Management Interim ConOps v1.0

This document outlines a concept of operations (ConOps) for a future state of wildland fire prevention, mitigation, and suppression offered as a recommendation and initial guidance for updating current methodologies, technologies, or standards to fit the growing scope of wildland fire. This document serves to collect and summarize the research and work of NASA and other U.S. federal agencies, partner groups, and private industry in envisioning ways, backed by expertise, that could bolster and increase support for firefighting personnel such that overall effectiveness, safety, and efficiency is drastically increased. This document will start with the background of the joint efforts and methods of research and collaboration, followed by a detailed discussion of the current state of wildland fire efforts. In contrast to the current state, the vision for the future state reveals specific areas of improvement with suggestions for potential emerging technologies. With such changes in mind, there is a brief discussion on the impacts of these changes from the systems, organizational, and procedural perspectives, as well as measures by which the effectiveness of this ConOps could be evaluated upon adoption. This is commenced with a general discussion on the various trade-offs considered and areas of improvements. Note, this is the first iteration of this document intended for initial peer review.

transportation↗
NASA NTRS2022

Science CONOPS for Application of Sport Mission Data to Study Large (~1000KM) Ionospheric Plasma Depletions

The Scintillation Prediction Observations Research Task (SPORT) mission is a single 6U CubeSat space weather satellite planned for an October 2022 launch into an ISS-like orbit. The primary purpose of the SPORT mission is to determine the longitudinal effects on equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) growth resulting from the offset dipole magnetic field of the Earth. By combining field and plasma measurements from SPORT with other low-altitude (i.e., alt < 1000 km) spacecraft, it is possible to investigate large-scale (> 1000 km) EPB structures. The types of investigation made possible by measurements from SPORT and other contemporaneous missions include 1) dynamics of depleted magnetic flux tubes; 2) dynamics of field-aligned EPB expansion versus propagation speed; 3) EPB vertical extent; and 4) EPB temporal evolution. To support these investigation types, the respective modes of conjunctions are: 1) simultaneous intersection of a magnetic flux tube; 2) intersection of magnetic flux tube separated in time; 3) Simultaneous Latitude/Longitude position conjunction; and 4) Non-simultaneous latitude/longitude position conjunction. This paper will summarize the SPORT satellite and data used for Science CONOPS to accomplish these objectives.

Ionospheres↗
NASA NTRS2010

NASA KSC/AFRL Reusable Booster System (RBS) Concept of Operations (ConOps)

This slide presentation reviews the study and findings of the study on the Concept of Operations (ConOps) for Reusable Booster System (RBS) centering on rapid turnaround and launch of a two-stage partially reusable payload delivery system (i.e., 8 hours between launches). The study was to develop rapid ground processing (aircraft like concepts) and identify areas for follow-on study, technology needs, and proof-of-concept demonstrations.

Zeno, Dnany↗
NASA NTRS2013

Air Traffic Management Technology Demonstration-1 Concept of Operations (ATD-1 ConOps), Version 2.0

This document is an update to the operations and procedures envisioned for NASA s Air Traffic Management (ATM) Technology Demonstration #1 (ATD-1). The ATD-1 Concept of Operations (ConOps) integrates three NASA technologies to achieve high throughput, fuel-efficient arrival operations into busy terminal airspace. They are Traffic Management Advisor with Terminal Metering (TMA-TM) for precise time-based schedules to the runway and points within the terminal area, Controller-Managed Spacing (CMS) decision support tools for terminal controllers to better manage aircraft delay using speed control, and Flight deck Interval Management (FIM) avionics and flight crew procedures to conduct airborne spacing operations. The ATD-1 concept provides de-conflicted and efficient operations of multiple arrival streams of aircraft, passing through multiple merge points, from top-of-descent (TOD) to the Final Approach Fix. These arrival streams are Optimized Profile Descents (OPDs) from en route altitude to the runway, using primarily speed control to maintain separation and schedule. The ATD-1 project is currently addressing the challenges of integrating the three technologies, and their implantation into an operational environment. The ATD-1 goals include increasing the throughput of high-density airports, reducing controller workload, increasing efficiency of arrival operations and the frequency of trajectory-based operations, and promoting aircraft ADS-B equipage.

Baxley, Brian T.↗
NASA NTRS2017

U.S. Exploration EVA: ConOps, Interfaces and Test Objectives for Airlocks

NASA is moving forward on defining the xEVA System Architecture and its implications to the spacecraft that host exploration EVA systems. This presentation provides an overview of the latest information for NASA's Concept of Operations (ConOps), Interfaces and corresponding Test Objectives for Airlocks hosting the xEVA System.

Buffington, J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Vision Concept of Operations (ConOps) UAM Maturity Level (UML)-4 Overview

The Vision ConOps is intended as a foundation to engage members of the UAM community and provide a consensus on the future vision of UAM operations. It provides a concept for more detailed discussion and a basis for the exploration of ideas using a common framework to inform the continued development and integration of UAM as part of the broader transportation system. Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) encompasses a range of innovative aviation technologies (small drones, electric aircraft, automated air traffic management, etc.) that are transforming aviation’s role in everyday life, including the movement of goods and people. Urban Air Mobility (UAM) represents one of the most exciting and complex AAM concepts with highly automated aircraft, providing commercial services to the public over densely populated cities.

Brian Hill↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Science Conops for Application of Sport Mission Data to Study Large (~1000KN) Ionospheric Plasma Depletions

The Scintillation Prediction Observations Research Task (SPORT) mission is a single 6U CubeSat space weather satellite planned for an October 2022 launch into an ISS-like orbit. The primary purpose of the SPORT mission is to determine the longitudinal effects on equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) growth resulting from the offset dipole magnetic field of the Earth. By combining field and plasma measurements from SPORT with other low-altitude (i.e., alt < 1000 km) spacecraft, it is possible to investigate large-scale (> 1000 km) EPB structures. The types of investigation made possible by measurements from SPORT and other contemporaneous missions include 1) dynamics of depleted magnetic flux tubes; 2) dynamics of field-aligned EPB expansion versus propagation speed; 3) EPB vertical extent; and 4) EPB temporal evolution. To support these investigation types, the respective modes of conjunctions are: 1) simultaneous intersection of a magnetic flux tube; 2) intersection of magnetic flux tube separated in time; 3) Simultaneous Latitude/Longitude position conjunction; and 4) Non-simultaneous latitude/longitude position conjunction. This paper will summarize the SPORT satellite and data used for Science CONOPS to accomplish these objectives.

Scintillation↗
NASA NTRS2024

Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program (EHP): Integrated Concept of Operations (ConOps), Revision B

The EHP Integrated ConOps detailed in this document are intended to provide the operational context to inform the development of the xEVA System, LTV, and PR projects. This document describes a bounding set of Design Reference Missions (DRM) to provide scope for interpretation and implementation guidance of the controlled requirements in EHP-10012, Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program (EHP) System Requirements Document.

Extravehicular Activity↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

SDSP Lessons Learned from UTM CONOPS

Presentation on Supplemental Data Service Providers from the UAS Traffic Management Concept of Operations

Unmanned Aviation System Traffic Management↗