摘要: |
Nearly one hundred years ago, two brothers from Ohio traveled by train, steamship, and small boat to the windswept dunes of North Carolina and unlocked the secret to powered flight. The Wright Brothers used experimentation, exacting science and perseverance -- the true spirit of research and development -- to achieve their historic breakthrough. As we chart a new century of flight, research and development will remain an integral part of making air travel even safer. Combined with the hard work and dedication of the FAA's researchers, several R&D products described in this report are already paying dividends in the safety, capacity and efficiency of the aerospace system. This year's report includes some exciting developments, such as those made by the Office of Commercial Space Transportation in predicting how reusable launch vehicles will affect national airspace system operations. |