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Introduction
Welcome to the NASA-FAA Industry Roundtable.
The foundation for U.S. leadership in aviation and space technology is
this Nation's commitment to science and technology. NASA maintains its
tradition of goal-driven, path-breaking technology brought to fruition
by creative and innovative scientists and engineers. The FAA continues
its role as the Nation's steward of aviation through its regulatory and
operational responsibilities. And industry, with its entrepreneurial
spirit and energy, has helped to create and push innovations and
advances into the mainstream. But today, the challenges of
modernization, growth and realizing new transportation opportunities
requires us to work in close cooperation to leverage each other's
strengths.
The benefits of the communication revolution we are living through today
will only be fully realized when it is accompanied by a transportation
revolution. In a "wired" economy, we need to move people and goods
farther, faster, and to more destinations than ever before. We seek
nothing less than to revolutionize the way we travel to neighboring
cities, countries, and planets.
The FAA, NASA, airlines, and industry, are working together to create a
commercial aviation system that is safer, more efficient and friendlier
to our communities and our globe. We will explore intermodal systems and
operations that will better integrate aviation with other ground
transportation modes, making aviation more accessible and our Nation
more mobile. We will ensure issues of capacity, safety, noise and
emissions, do not become impediments to growth.
And beyond revolutionizing aviation, significantly reducing the cost and
increasing the reliability of space transportation, we will finally open
space to all human endeavors. Imagine the commercial opportunities that
will develop in earth orbit for communications, materials science,
pharmaceuticals, space-based power, tourism, and other applications when
the transportation cost is one tenth or even one hundredth of today's
costs. That is what we are working for.
The exhibits shown today represent the work of NASA, FAA, and industry
in the areas of efficiency/capacity, the environment, safety, security,
future aviation markets, space transportation, and technology transfer
and commercialization. Taken together the exhibits begin to reveal an
exciting future for air and space transportation, yet they are only a
few examples of a much larger vision.
It is only through your involvement and help that we can continue to
build towards this future. Over the next several months we will continue
to work with you as we define our priorities. This represents the
beginning of a process where we will build toward understanding,
commitment, and focus for the Federal investment in science and
technology, and the government-industry partnerships required for
success.
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