NASA’s advanced air mobility (AAM) research seeks to transform communities by bringing the movement of people and goods off the ground, on demand, and into the sky. This air transportation system of the future will enable safe, efficient, convenient, affordable and accessible low-altitude passenger transport, cargo delivery and public service capabilities, and revolutionize mobility around metropolitan areas, called urban air mobility (UAM).
NAMS-2 UAM research supports AAM by maturing UAM operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). The work focuses on manned operations, developing a concept of operations, and supporting flight tests and airspace infrastructure that demonstrate the potential benefits of AAM.
This research is investigating and delivering:
- Pathways for enabling medium complexity unmanned operations in urban environments flying at low altitudes (under 5,000 feet).
- Airspace management software tools in support of flight tests.
- A roadmap describing the R&D required to deliver UAM airspace management for UAM Maturity Level 4 (UML-4) operations.
- Airspace and flight operations around vertiports required for the safe landing and takeoff of UAM vehicles.
- UML-2 airspace architecture requirements and guidance for standards development to stakeholders.