Since the 1980s, every aircraft that flies in U.S. airspace is required to have a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System, which alerts pilots to traffic, and plots a safe course if planes are set to collide. The system was developed by the Federal Aviation Adminstration, but NASA played a key role in testing that showed the system effectively conveyed collision-avoiding information to pilots in time for them to change course.
NASA's space station rendezvous and docking technology was developed in conjunction with proven research methods in air traffic control. The resulting software now provides advanced manufacturing design and engineering benefits to large, complex safety-critical systems in the aerospace, transportation, automotive, medical, and defense industries.
Learn more about how NASA helped develop technology that impacts collision avoidance systems within your city's air travel environment!