The NextGen-Airportal Project works in close collaboration with the NextGen- Airspace Project to conduct airspace and Airportal foundational research and discipline-based technology development for the nation.

The Project focuses NASA’s technical expertise and world-class facilities to enable

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the highest possible efficiency in the use of gates, taxiways, runways, metroplex airspace, and other Airportal resources.

In pursuit of that goal, the project is researching, developing, demonstrating, and validating operational concepts, proof-of-concept systems, algorithms, technologies, tools, and operational procedures designed to maximize capacity and throughput in the Airportal environment while enabling associated elements of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) as defined by the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO).

Project performance objectives seek to use 4-D trajectories (aircraft path from “block-to-block,” including the path along the ground) to plan and execute system-wide operations; integrate 4-D trajectory operations with safe, optimized surface and terminal area traffic operations (particularly those associated with C-14 wake hazard prediction and avoidance); balance environmental issues in, and around, airports; match surface and airside capacities with arrival and departure air traffic flow; and assess local benefits of Airportal transformation by modeling changes to the current airport configuration.

In support of these objectives, research activities will focus on:
• Optimization of surface traffic • Dynamic airport configuration management • Advanced technologies to detect and avoid wake vortex hazards • New procedures for performing safe, closely spaced and converging approaches at closer distances than are currently allowed • Modeling, simulation, and experimental validation focused on efficient operations of single and multiple regional airports (metroplex) NextGen-Airportal Project research focus areas (RFAs) are the following:
Safe and Efficient Surface Operations (SESO), Coordinated Arrival and Departure Operations Management (CADOM), and Airportal and Metroplex Integration (AMI).

SESO conducts research to manage traffic on the airport surface (gates, taxiways, and runways) safely and efficiently to enable maximum throughput and capacity in the airport environment.

CADOM focuses on concepts and technologies needed to mitigate operational constraints to maximizing single and multiple airport capacity.

AMI focuses on management of metroplex operations, integration of work across the Project’s technical areas, and crosscutting research (e.g., human/system integration and concept analyses for portfolio management).

The NextGen-Airportal Project team has developed a plan that will enable capacity and efficiency improvements in the airportal domain through joint research efforts and partnerships with other government agencies.

In addition to conducting core research and development, NASA will establish Space Act Agreements with U. S. industry to address research partnerships at the systemwide level, including systems integration and operational applications.

The Project will utilize this NASA Research Announcement (NRA) to leverage inhouse foundational research with academic institutions, non-profit organizations and industry performing foundational research to address technology gaps.