NASA’s UTM BVLOS project sees potential for more complex drone operations

As 2024 draws to a close, NASA has shared a roundup of its Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Traffic Management Beyond Visual Line of Sight (UTM BVLOS) subproject, which aims to support the growing demand for drone flights across the globe. The subproject directly supports NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility Mission.

As the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) works to authorise uncrewed BVLOS flights, NASA is working with industry and the FAA to operationalise an uncrewed traffic management system for these operations.  

NASA’s UTM was first developed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley in 2013, and is based on the digital sharing of each user’s planned flight details. NASA performed a series of drone flight demonstrations under the agency’s previous UTM project between 2015 and 2021. 

Now, NASA’s research is making routine drone deliveries a reality. The agency is supporting a series of commercial drone package BVLOS deliveries, such as those in August 2024 in Dallas, Texas. “Commercial operators are using NASA’s UTM-based capabilities during these flights to share data and planned flight routes with other operators in the airspace, detect and avoid hazards, and maintain situational awareness,” NASA says. “All of these capabilities allow operators to safely execute their operations in a shared airspace below 400 feet and away from crewed aircraft”. 

The drone operations in Dallas are a collaboration between NASA, the FAA, industry drone operators, public safety operators, and others. The flights are helping to validate UTM capabilities through successful flight operation evaluations and inform the FAA’s rulemaking for safely expanding BVLOS drone operations. 

NASA says it will continue to work with industry and government partners on more complex drone operations in communities across the country. The agency is also working with partners to leverage UTM for other emerging operations, including remotely piloted air cargo delivery and air taxi flights. “UTM infrastructure could also support high-altitude operations for expanded scientific research, improved disaster response, and more,” NASA says.

NASA’s UTM BVLOS subproject leads these efforts under the Air Traffic Management eXploration portfolio within the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.