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Provider of Services for Urban Air Mobility (PSU) Prototype Simulation (X5) Final ReportUrban Air Mobility (UAM) is a new air transportation service concept to carry passengers or cargo in metropolitan areas, leveraged by innovative aircraft and air traffic automation technologies. NASA has conducted a series of simulations, called the X-series simulation, to evaluate the UAM concept of operations and support the development of airspace procedures and services for UAM operations. The simulation called “X5” was conducted in 2023 to test a Provider of Services for UAM (PSU) prototype developed by NASA for UAM flight planning, strategic conflict management support, and data exchange between UAM operators. In this simulation, two strategic conflict management capabilities, Demand-Capacity Balancing and Sequencing and Scheduling, were further investigated. This document describes the UAM system architecture modeled, the X5 simulation environment to be executed (e.g., traffic scenario and UAM airspace construct), and the strategic conflict management processes developed and evaluated in this study. Then, the simulation results are provided using several system performance metrics, such as the number of operations planned and activated, demand-capacity imbalances detected and resolved, and pre-departure delays. Based on these metrics, the test findings and lessons learned from this simulation are discussed.
NASA developed a PSU prototype as part of a reference implementation of UAM system architecture and evolved strategic conflict management capabilities for UAM operations from the previous collaborative simulations with industry partners. Below is the summary of the achievements:
- Aligned NASA’s UAM reference architecture with the FAA’s UAM ConOps notional architecture
- Extended UAM airspace management capabilities to include 1) Demand-Capacity Balancing (DCB) to ensure operators coordinate planned usage of shared vertiports, and 2) Sequencing and Scheduling (S&S) at UAM corridor entry and exit points to help facilitate an orderly flow of traffic
- Defined the PSU information exchange APIs and requirements towards informing industry standards
- Developed and tested a NASA PSU prototype as reference implementation to validate the requirements and APIs
- Developed a prototype service connecting NASA’s PSU and the FAA system for testing future PSU-ATM interface requirements
- Tested NASA-developed assumptions for UAM operations such as airspace design, procedures, vehicle performance, and strategic conflict management methods to inform future Cooperative Operating Practices (COPs) development with industry
- Evaluated system performance metrics such as number of simultaneous operations and ground delays that can help define system-level requirements. The simulation results showed that the UAM traffic demand could be managed to minimize the needs of tactical separation provision with ground delays assigned by DCB and S&S.
These accomplishments and the lessons learned from the PSU Prototype X5 simulation activities will be valuable inputs for the Air Mobility Pathfinders (AMP) project, which is NASA’s new project to create and evaluate a reference architecture for safe, secure, and scalable UAM operations.
Document ID
20250001367
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Technical Memorandum (TM)
Authors
Hanbong Lee
(Ames Research Center Mountain View, United States)
Alan G Lee
(Ames Research Center Mountain View, United States)
Chin H Seah
(Metis Technology Solutions, Inc. Albuquerque, NM)
Chu Han Lee
(Moffett Technologies, Inc. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Kushal Moolchandani
(Universities Space Research Association Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
February 4, 2025
Publication Date
February 1, 2025
Publication Information
Publisher: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Subject Category
Air Transportation and Safety
Report/Patent Number
NASA/TM-20250001367
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: 395872
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80ARC025D0002
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNA16BD14C
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Portions of document may include copyright protected material.
Technical Review
NASA Technical Management
Keywords
Simulation
Strategic Conflict Management
Urban Air Mobility
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