Joanna Crews
NASA has selected Sagetech to provide a transponder technology in support of the agency’s initiative to explore detect-and-avoid methods to ensure safety of unmanned aircraft system operations in national airspace.
Sagetech said Monday it will provide the company’s MXS transponder for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System Project of NASA with other government agencies and industry partners.
The space agency has conducted flight tests of its Ikhana UAS over the past four years in efforts to determine minimum standards for the operational performance of group 5 large UAVs that work to detect and avoid other aircraft platforms.
NASA plans to integrate MXS with its Sensor Integrated Environmental Remote Research Aircraft BÂ to support DAA flight tests for group 3 medium-class UAVs under the next phase of the national airspace project.
MXS will employ automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast technology designed to periodically transmit global positioning system data and other aircraft information to operators.
The transponder is designed for UAVs with a minimum weight of 20 pounds.
NASA’s SIERRA-B demonstration effort seeks to help the Federal Aviation Administration create UAS flight regulations.
