3 min read<\/p>\n
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/AFRC2024-0101-43\/AFRC2024-0101-43~large.jpg?w=1919&h=1279&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nThe G-IV aircraft flies overhead in the Mojave Desert near NASA\u2019s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Baseline flights like this one occurred in June 2024, and future flights in service of science research will benefit from the installment of the Soxnav navigational system, developed in collaboration with NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute in California\u2019s Silicon Valley. This navigational system provides precise, economical aircraft guidance for a variety of aircraft types moving at high speeds.<\/div>\nNASA\/Carla Thomas<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNASA and its partners recently tested an aircraft guidance system that could help planes maintain a precise course even while flying at high speeds up to 500 mph. The instrument is Soxnav, the culmination of more than 30 years of development of aircraft navigation systems.<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s G-IV aircraft flew its first mission to test this navigational system from NASA\u2019s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, in December 2024. The team was composed of engineers from NASA Armstrong, NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAERI) in California\u2019s Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe objective was to demonstrate this new system can keep a high-speed aircraft within just a few feet of its target track, and to keep it there better than 90% of the time,\u201d said John Sonntag, BAERI independent consultant co-developer of Soxnav.<\/p>\n
With 3D automated steering guidance, Soxnav provides pilots with a precision approach aid for landing in poor visibility. Previous generations of navigational systems laid the technical baseline for Soxnav\u2019s modern, compact, and automated iteration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe G-IV is currently equipped with a standard autopilot system,\u201d said Joe Piotrowski Jr., operations engineer for the G-IV. \u201cBut Soxnav will be able to create the exact level flight required for Next Generation Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR-NG<\/a>) mission success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/AFRC2024-0189-31\/AFRC2024-0189-31~large.jpg?w=1919&h=1279&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nJose \u201cManny\u201d Rodriguez adjusts the Soxnav instrument onboard the G-IV aircraft in December 2024. As part of the team of experts, Rodriguez ensures that the electronic components of this instrument are installed efficiently. His expertise will help bring the innovative navigational guidance of the Soxnav system to the G-IV and the wider airborne science fleet at NASA. Precision guidance provided by the Soxnav enables research aircraft like the G-IV to collect more accurate, more reliable Earth science data to scientists on the ground.<\/div>\nNASA\/Steve Freeman<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nGuided by Soxnav, the G-IV may be able to deliver better, more abundant, and less expensive scientific information. For instance, the navigation tool optimizes observations by AirSAR-NG, an instrument that uses three radars simultaneously to observe subtle changes in the Earth\u2019s surface. Together with the Soxnav system, these three radars provide enhanced and more accurate data about Earth science.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the data that can be collected from science flights equipped with the Soxnav instrument, NASA can provide the general public with better support for natural disasters, tracking of food and water supplies, as well as general Earth data about how the environment is changing,\u201d Piotrowski said.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, this economical flight guidance system is intended to be used by a variety of aircraft types and support a variety of present and future airborne sensors. \u201cThe Soxnav system is important for all of NASA\u2019s Airborne Science platforms,\u201d said Fran Becker, project manager for the G-IV AirSAR-NG project at NASA Armstrong. \u201cThe intent is for the system to be utilized by any airborne science platform and satisfy each mission\u2019s goals for data collection.\u201d<\/p>\n
In conjunction with the other instruments outfitting the fleet of airborne science aircraft, Soxnav facilitates the generation of more abundant and higher quality scientific data about planet Earth. With extreme weather events becoming increasingly common, quality Earth science data can improve our understanding<\/a> of our home planet to address the challenges we face today, and to prepare for future weather events. <\/p>\n\u201cSoxnav enables better data collection for people who can use that information to safeguard and improve the lives of future generations,\u201d Sonntag said.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/figure>NASA and its partners recently tested an aircraft guidance system that could help planes maintain a precise course even while flying at high speeds up to 500 mph. The instrument is Soxnav, the culmination of more than 30 years of development of aircraft navigation systems.<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s G-IV aircraft flew its first mission to test this navigational system from NASA\u2019s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, in December 2024. The team was composed of engineers from NASA Armstrong, NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAERI) in California\u2019s Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe objective was to demonstrate this new system can keep a high-speed aircraft within just a few feet of its target track, and to keep it there better than 90% of the time,\u201d said John Sonntag, BAERI independent consultant co-developer of Soxnav.<\/p>\n
With 3D automated steering guidance, Soxnav provides pilots with a precision approach aid for landing in poor visibility. Previous generations of navigational systems laid the technical baseline for Soxnav\u2019s modern, compact, and automated iteration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe G-IV is currently equipped with a standard autopilot system,\u201d said Joe Piotrowski Jr., operations engineer for the G-IV. \u201cBut Soxnav will be able to create the exact level flight required for Next Generation Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR-NG<\/a>) mission success.\u201d<\/p>\n Guided by Soxnav, the G-IV may be able to deliver better, more abundant, and less expensive scientific information. For instance, the navigation tool optimizes observations by AirSAR-NG, an instrument that uses three radars simultaneously to observe subtle changes in the Earth\u2019s surface. Together with the Soxnav system, these three radars provide enhanced and more accurate data about Earth science.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the data that can be collected from science flights equipped with the Soxnav instrument, NASA can provide the general public with better support for natural disasters, tracking of food and water supplies, as well as general Earth data about how the environment is changing,\u201d Piotrowski said.<\/p>\n Ultimately, this economical flight guidance system is intended to be used by a variety of aircraft types and support a variety of present and future airborne sensors. \u201cThe Soxnav system is important for all of NASA\u2019s Airborne Science platforms,\u201d said Fran Becker, project manager for the G-IV AirSAR-NG project at NASA Armstrong. \u201cThe intent is for the system to be utilized by any airborne science platform and satisfy each mission\u2019s goals for data collection.\u201d<\/p>\n In conjunction with the other instruments outfitting the fleet of airborne science aircraft, Soxnav facilitates the generation of more abundant and higher quality scientific data about planet Earth. With extreme weather events becoming increasingly common, quality Earth science data can improve our understanding<\/a> of our home planet to address the challenges we face today, and to prepare for future weather events. <\/p>\n \u201cSoxnav enables better data collection for people who can use that information to safeguard and improve the lives of future generations,\u201d Sonntag said.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/figure>Share<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n