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NASA Hosts Green Aviation Summit; Bolden Highlights Importance of Issue to Future of NASA






MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. - NASA has a "critical responsibility" to the
flying public to develop environmentally responsible solutions to the
nation's most pressing aviation problems, Administrator Charles F.
Bolden Jr. said Wednesday.

Addressing the Green Aviation Summit under way through Thursday at
NASA's Ames Research Center, Bolden said air travel is one of the
safest modes of transportation and vital to the U.S. economy, but
increasing air traffic is taking a toll on the environment and the nation's aviation infrastructure.

"We need to make some changes -- both in the design of aircraft and in
the way they transit through our skies to not only maintain, but
improve safety and efficiency," Bolden said. "That's a huge
challenge, but we at NASA enthusiastically accept it."

The Green Aviation Summit is highlighting the depth and breadth of
NASA's work to develop aviation technologies that are designed to
make air transportation cleaner and quieter for the environment, with
fewer delays for travelers.

"Our critical responsibility is [to] those who feel anxious because of
the long distance they have to travel to reach an airport; the
crowding they experience upon arrival at the terminal; the departure,
enroute, or arrival weather; or concerns that the technology on the
planes may not be up to dealing with problems that may be encountered
in the sky," Bolden told the summit.

The two-day meeting has brought together about 200 experts from NASA,
other federal government organizations, industry and academia.
Keynote presentations by leading policymakers as well as detailed
technical presentations and panel discussions are focusing on
state-of-the-art and emerging technologies that can reduce aircraft
noise, emissions and fuel consumption and ensure the safe and
manageable growth of the aviation system.

Jaiwon Shin, NASA's associate administrator for aeronautics research,
said NASA technology will become increasingly important because of
the lack of available space for new airports. "We really are helping
the country to advance to the next generation of air transportation
and aviation by working together," he said. "This summit signifies
our strong commitment."

Summit participants are sharing the results of their work on airplanes
that will be designed and built with unconventional configurations,
super-efficient engines and lightweight, damage-tolerant materials to
increase lift, reduce drag, and deflect noise; innovations that will
capitalize on the potential of alternative fuels and advanced power
technologies; and efforts to equip aircraft cockpits with computer
software and satellite-based navigation and communication systems to
assist decision-making by pilots.

Ames Research Center Director Simon "Pete" Worden opened the summit by
crediting NASA research for today's understanding of climate change
and the effects of global warming on the environment. "As the world
travels even more," said Worden, "we're going to have a very serious
global warming issue, as well as lots of other environmental impacts of aviation."

Bolden, Shin and Worden all noted that conservation - through improved
performance, efficiency and safety -- is an aim that has guided
NASA's research goals for decades. "Green is not just a buzzword to us," Bolden said.

Examples of green technology NASA has developed in the past include
winglets and chevrons. Winglets are the vertical attachments that can
be seen on the wing tips of many commercial airliners in service
today, and are designed to reduce fuel consumption. Chevrons are the
scalloped edges on the engine nozzles of some models of commercial
and cargo aircraft just now entering the market, and are designed to reduce noise.

NASA has a suite of incremental goals for demonstrating the
feasibility of aircraft technology and air traffic management
techniques that can minimize the environmental effects of air
transportation by:

-- Enabling aircraft to burn 33 percent less fuel than today's most
efficient models by 2015, 50 percent less by 2020, and better than 50
percent less by 2025.
-- Cutting engine emissions of nitric oxide and nitrogen oxide, which
contribute to ozone creation, 20 percent by 2015, 50 percent by 2020,
and better than 50 percent by 2025 -- when compared with today's best
engines. Reducing the amount of fuel burned reduces emissions of
carbon dioxide, which contribute to global warming.
-- Reducing the nuisance noise footprint around airports to one-third
its current size by 2015 and one-sixth by 2020, and containing it
within the airport property boundary by 2025.
NASA aims to facilitate the transition of new capabilities to
manufacturers, then to airlines and ultimately to the Federal
Aviation Administration, for the ultimate benefit of the flying public.

The NASA administrator said it is crucial for the agency and its
stakeholders to collaborate closely to that its aeronautics research
continues to be both relevant to the aviation community and
beneficial to the flying public.

"Just as I like to tell the scientists and engineers who send our
human and robotic missions out into the cosmos, you are contributing
to national goals and helping people in the work you do every day,"
Bolden said. "We are going to make measured progress leading to ever
expanding accomplishments to meet the myriad increasing challenges.
This is our challenge - to shape the future in aeronautics."

Portions of the Green Aviation Summit are being broadcast live on NASA
Television's Education Channel.

For more information about the Green Aviation Summit, visit:

http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/calendar/20100908.htm

For more information about aeronautics research at NASA, visit:

http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov

For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Source: NASA




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