C2 For NASA UAVs

NASA is looking for information on whether interested contractors could design and develop a prototype command and control communications system for unmanned aircraft.

According to a request for information posted on Federal Business Opportunities last week, "[t]his command C2 system prototype will be designed to operate in the 5,030 5,091MHz and/or 976 MHz bands, while following draft industry performance requirements currently under consideration in RTCA SC-203 and ASTMF 38. Even though both terrestrial and satellite based solutions are under consideration in the standards bodies, the focus of this effort is on a terrestrial system.

"This prototype radio hardware is being designed and developed in order to validate and verify draft performance requirements by collecting performance data in relevant laboratory and flight environments," the notice continues. "The results of this testing may necessitate the modification of the prototype radio(s) and/or proposing modifications to the draft performance requirements. The prototype design and development process will be one which follows a proven path to certification."

The possible effort between NASA and one or more industry partners would jointly "develop the design(s) to meet the requirements, develop prototype radio hardware, perform laboratory testing, and execute flight testing of the prototype radio system in a relevant environment," according to the notice. "This prototype radio system is targeted for use in all UAS classes, from those weighing less than 55 lbs flying below 3,000 ft. up to and including those weighing greater than 1,320 lbs flying above 18,000 ft. The primary focus is operations within the U.S. National Airspace System, but these systems should be capable of operations outside the U.S."

NASA wants the proposed system "to support control and non-payload communications (CNPC) between the Unmanned Aircraft (UA) and the UA control station. This could include the following types of information/traffic types: telecommands; non-payload telemetry; navaid data; ATC voice relay; ATS data relay; sense and avoid data relay; airborne weather radar data; and non-payload situational awareness video."

Comments or questions are due no later than March 30, according to the notice.

Inside the Pentagon reported last November that federal agencies that use unmanned drones have been instructed to complete detailed studies laying out and prioritizing their operational needs to fly the aircraft in U.S. skies:

A joint plan released by a committee led by the Defense Department and the Federal Aviation Administration called for DOD, the Department of Homeland Security and NASA to each conduct "a detailed shortfall analysis that identifies, defines and prioritizes their operational needs" to fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the national airspace.

These defined needs would help shape the committee's recommendations to develop procedures, standards and policy to integrate drones into the national airspace.

"This evaluation will establish a basis for estimating program costs and benefits during later steps in the process and will be considered during decision-making processes when establishing solutions to meet mission needs," states the October plan, which was obtained by ITP.

The plan was penned by the National Airspace System Access Working Group, which was created by and reports to an executive committee comprised of representatives from DOD, FAA, DHS and NASA. Titled "National Airspace System Access Plan for Federal Public Unmanned Aircraft Systems," the congressionally mandated plan was recently submitted to Capitol Hill as an attachment to DOD's final report on national airspace access.

The plan comes as there is an increased demand to fly drones at home to complete missions ranging from training and testing and evaluation to surveillance and homeland security. The number of requests to fly drones in the national airspace has increased 900 percent since 2004, the plan notes.

The plan instructs the executive committee members to conduct their reviews in a manner that allows the panel to make comparisons across the different agencies and to easily group similar characteristics and needs. The evaluations should examine requirements and resources necessary to fulfill the needs, challenges that could crop up, and "realistic and economic alternative solutions" to address them.

"Identifying common needs will provide for broader consideration across organizations and enable the development of joint solutions and activities that meet the needs of multiple agencies," the plan states.