Analysis of operational aspects of on demand air mobility: vertiports, airspace and concepts. The national institute of aerospace (NIA), working with the MIT international center for air…

NASA's Langley Research Center issued a $421,492 delivery order to National Institute of Aerospace Associates on June 12, 2019, for follow-on research refining operational analysis models and tools for urban air mobility systems and vertiports.

This delivery order is issued under the NIA cost-plus-fixed-fee contract NNL13AA08B and builds on two prior task orders (Parts I and II, completed January 2019) that developed case study methodologies and initial modeling techniques for vertiport operations and air traffic control across multiple cities. The follow-on effort aims to mature those models, tools, and analysis methods into documented deliverables to inform NASA's Air Traffic Management-Exploration (ATM-X) testbed for simulation and studies. Work includes supporting development of urban air mobility concept of operations and technology road mapping through research briefs, teleconferences, and meetings, with anticipated coordination across NASA research programs and subject matter experts. Performance is at Hampton, VA, with completion targeted for May 31, 2023.

Government-invoiced labor grew substantially over the order's execution: FY2021 recorded 0.1 FTEs and 243 contractor hours ($45 thousand); FY2022 declined to 0.3 FTEs and 633 contractor hours ($32 thousand); FY2023 peaked at 1.1 FTEs and 1,642 contractor hours ($214 thousand). Blended hourly rates were $184.26/hr (FY2021), $51.24/hr (FY2022), and $130.41/hr (FY2023). In FY2023, 100 percent of contractor hours were subcontracted.

Analysis of operational aspects of on demand air mobility: vertiports, airspace and concepts. The national institute of aerospace (NIA), working with the MIT international center for air transportation (icat), conducted part i of the operational aspects of on-demand air mobility study from february 2016 through july 2017. This first part of the project completed a case study in LOS angeles to identify key system-level constraints for the implementation of on demand mobility (ODM) aviation services in the context of urban air mobility (UAM). Part II of the study, titled further analysis of the operational aspects of on-demand mobility, was conducted from july 2017 to january 2019. Part II expanded the case study methodology developed in part i to two additional cities, prioritized and characterized the severity of the identified operational constraints, and developed initial modeling techniques for vertiport operations and air traffic control. This work was performed under NASA/NIA contract no: NNL13AA08B; task order no: 80LARC17F0074. The intent of this new task is to build upon the findings and outputs of the part i and II efforts through a follow-on study. A primary goal of this follow-on work is to refine and mature the models, tools and analysis methods developed in the previous parts of the project into a documented deliverable that can inform development of the NASA air traffic management-exploration (ATM-x) testbed for use in simulation environments and studies. Furthermore, where requested by NASA, IT is anticipated that the contractor will support the development of UAM concept of operations (conops) and technology road mapping through research briefs, teleconferences, and participation in meetings. The contractor will interface with other research programs, subject matter experts, and consultants as necessary, for research into specific topics that may arise.