NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The first National Plan for Aeronautics Research and Development and Related Infrastructure was approved by President Bush on Dec. 21, 2007. The plan is aligned with and serves as a follow-on to the National Aeronautics Research and Development Policy approved by the president last year.

The aeronautics research and development priorities in the plan are aligned with the Policy Principles of Mobility, National Security and Homeland Defense, Safety, and Energy and Environment. The plan establishes high-priority national aeronautics research and development challenges, goals, and supporting objectives, and provides guidance on the path forward for developing an aeronautics research, development, test and evaluation infrastructure plan.

Both the policy and the plan are the result of a collaborative effort of government agencies and departments that served on the National Science and Technology Council Aeronautics Science and Technology subcommittee. Senior leaders from NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate made significant contributions to all of the chapters of the plan. NASA’s associate administrator for aeronautics served as the subcommittee co-chair along with the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s assistant director for space and aeronautics. The subcommittee also solicited inputs from non-federal stakeholders by requesting white papers, sponsoring outreach sessions across the country and posting a draft version of the plan for public review and comment.

The plan will be followed by a supplemental report with additional technical detail describing the research and development goals and objectives and a detailed plan for aeronautics research, development, test and evaluation infrastructure. The subcommittee will update the plan every two years. NASA will continue to play a key role in these follow-on efforts.