NASA Daily News Summary For Release: Nov. 8, 1999 Media Advisory m99-232 SUMMARY: NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL INCREASE ON-TIME LANDINGS Video File for Nov. 8, 1999 ITEM 1 - AIRBORNE INFORMATION FOR LATERAL SPACING (ALS) ITEM 2 - NASA TESTS CONCEPT FOR A ULTRA LONG DURATION BALLOON ITEM 3 - MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES OF SOLAR ECLIPSE ON MARS (replay) ***************************** NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL INCREASE ON-TIME LANDINGS Help may soon be on the way to air travelers frustrated with ever-increasing delays at the nationšs airports. NASA, Honeywell Technology Center and Honeywell Airport Systems have developed new technology that could solve a significant part of the problem. Called Airborne Information for Lateral Spacing (AILS) and Closely Spaced Parallel Approaches (CASPER), the systems expand on existing communication and navigation technology to allow planes to land safely in bad weather on parallel runways spaced as closely as 2,500 feet apart. Currently, the minimum runway separation during low visibility is 4,300 feet, which means that some of the nationšs busiest airports have to shut down one of their closely spaced runways when weather conditions deteriorate. Some of the airports where this new technology could improve on- time arrivals are Detroit, Seattle, Minneapolis and Memphis. Contact at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA: Judi Tull (Phone 757/864-3189). Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Michael Braukus (Phone 202/358-1979). Contact at Honeywell Technology Center, Phoenix, AZ: Dale Willis (Phone: 602/436-5302). For full text, see: ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-133.txt ----------------------------- If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e- mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list. Index of 1999 NASA News Releases: http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html ***************************** VIDEO FILE FOR NOV. 8, 1999 ITEM 1 - AIRBORNE INFORMATION FOR LATERAL SPACING (AILS) TRT :55 NASA is developing a technology that would decrease air traffic delays by enabling airports with closely spaced parallel runways to keep both runways open in bad weather. Animation shows a normal runway approach in good visibility and how an Airborne Information for Lateral Spacing alert would warn of an incorrect approach. Contact at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA: Judi Tull (Phone 757/864-3189). Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Michael Braukus (Phone 202/358-1979). Item 1a - PILOT TESTING AILS IN SIMULATOR TRT 3:48 Pilots tested the AILS system in a NASA simulator. AILS would give pilots a cockpit display to detect, warn, and avoid possible encroaching traffic. They confirmed those results on board NASA 757 and a Honeywell Gulfstream. Video Courtesy Discovery Channel Item 1b - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS TRT :57 Brad Perry, AILS Project Manger, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA Item 1c - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS TRT :19 Bob Puley, 757 Pilot, Northwest Airlines Item 1d - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS TRT :35 Bill Cowin, Senior Research Program Manager, Honeywell, Inc. ITEM 2 - NASA TESTS CONCEPT FOR A ULTRA LONG DURATION BALLOON A test flight was successfully conducted recently from Ft. Sumner, NM, of a pumpkin-shaped balloon half the size of a football field and approximately one-tenth the volume of NASA's Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB). The ULDB will stay aloft at altitudes of up to 115,000 feet (35 kilometers) for as long as 100 days with more than a ton of scientific instruments. Scientists are excited about the new balloons because they can carry huge payloads to the very edges of the Earth's atmosphere at a fraction of the cost of launching them on rockets. Contact at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA: Betty Flowers (Phone 757/824-1584). Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Donald Savage (Phone 202/358-1547). More ULDB program information can be found at: http://www.wff.nasa.gov/~uldb/index.html Item 2a - NASA'S ULTRA LONG DURATION BALLOON TRT 5:07 A test flight was successfully conducted recently from Ft. Sumner, N.M. of a pumpkin-shaped balloon half the size of a football field and approximately one-tenth the volume of what NASA calls its Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB). The ULDB will stay aloft at altitudes of up to 115,000 feet (35 kilometers) for as long as 100 days with more than a ton of scientific instruments. FILE FOOTAGE: TRT 8:12 Item 2b - LAUNCH ANIMATION SEQUENCE Ultra Long Duration Balloons (ULDB) are being designed to stay afloat for several months with over a ton of astronomy or remote sensing equipment. This new balloon technology will enable a science payload to stay aloft for up to 100 days, at a constant altitude of approximately 120,000 feet. That is about 15 miles higher than typical passenger planes fly and above 99.9 percent of the Earth's atmosphere. This represents an enormous advance over current long-duration balloons that stay aloft for about 10 days and cannot maintain a constant altitude. A ULDB platform can be used to perform many types of research effectively, inexpensively and the payload can be recovered for reuse. Item 2c - ALTITUDE COMPARISON ANIMATION Day and night temperature differences, along with barometric pressure differences affect the altitude of current long duration balloons because they are open systems. The Ultra Long Duration Balloon is a closed system enabling it to maintain a more constant altitude. Item 2d - SIZE COMPARISON Height comparison of ULDB at launch and at altitude with the Washington Monument. The ULDB balloon consists of 20 acres of a special polyethylene composite material (.08 mil thick) and 20 miles of seams. Item 2e - ANIMATION OF POTENTIAL ULDB SCIENCE PAYLOADS Scientists will be able to command the instrument and receive science data on a home computer via the Internet. Cut 1: Atmospheric payloads such as cosmic ray detection, and anti-matter detectors. Cut 2: Earth Observation payloads Item 2f - ULDB MATERIAL TESTING B-ROLL New composite materials were developed to accomplish ULDB's mission. This new material must withstand the environmental stresses the balloon will encounter at 120,000 feet for 100 days. These stresses include temperature variations, pressure, and ultraviolet radiation. Item 2g - MANUFACTURING METHODS TESTING B-ROLL Inflating a 30 foot diameter ULDB "model" to its bursting point gives engineers insight into the durability and strength of balloon manufacturing methods. Item 2h - SOUNDBITE Steve Raque, Aerospace Engineer, NASA Balloon Program Office ITEM 3 - MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES OF SOLAR ECLIPSE TRT :42 ON MARS (replay) The shadow of the martian moon, Phobos, has been captured in many recent wide angle camera views of the red planet obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC). Designed to monitor changes in weather and surface conditions, the wide angle cameras are also proving to be a good way to spot the frequent solar eclipses caused by the passage of Phobos between Mars and the Sun. Image shows Phobos, the inner and larger of the two moons of Mars. Imaged on Aug. 19, 1998, by the Mars global Surveyor/Mars Orbiter Camera. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Doug Isbell (Phone 202/358-1753). Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA: Mary Hardin (Phone 818/354-5011). ---------- Unless otherwise noted, ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN. 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