Metron Aviation Wins NASA Contract for NextGen Airspace Management

Metron Aviationwill support NASA's NextGen Concepts and Technology Development Project (CTD), as it continues to conceptualize and create Dynamic Airspace Configuration (DAC) concepts for allocating airspace capacity during convective weather events. Metron Aviation will develop DAC concepts and algorithms that incorporate uncertainties in weather forecasts, methods for conversion of convective weather activities into airspace capacity and uncertain pilot, airline and Traffic Flow Management (TFM) responses to weather.

"We are extremely pleased to have been awarded this prestigious NASA contract. Working consistently with NASA to dynamically change Airspace Configuration will not only show immediate results towards harmonization and NextGen, but will also impact the National Airspace for years to come," said Robert Hoffman, PhD., Principal Analyst and Director of the Advanced Research Group at Metron Aviation. "For years, we have been working with NASA on various airspace optimization projects, and are excited to continue our heritage of innovation to create a more efficient, optimized and safer airspace."

Metron Aviation has a long history of supporting NASA in development of various airspace concepts to provide flexible airspace, by dynamically allocating resources in response to weather events and changes in demand profile. Metron Aviation focuses on the methods of altering the arrangement of sectors and other airspace structures, adding new dynamic structures and using other methods of airspace modification. These projects are continuously supporting actions to provide the National Airspace System (NAS) continuity, by fulfilling NextGen goals and beyond. Metron Aviation's airspace configuration not only enables users to fly closer to their preferred trajectories, but also reduces operational costs and increases airspace capacity for global aviation stakeholders.