NASA is working on a new app that will aim to help Alaskan pilots make better flight decisions when disconnected from the internet, telephone, flight services, or other data sources.
Representatives of NASA recently proposed the software known as Traffic and Atmospheric Information for General Aviation, or TAIGA, to Alaskan state officials.
NASA developed a satellite-based communication method through which regional data pertaining to a specific pilot’s location can be delivered in order to combat the lack of communications and navigational aid in some of Alaska’s remote and mountainous terrain.
And due to the usually high cost of sending data via satellite, NASA also developed a method for tightly bundling that data to be transmitted.
Although NASA does not expect to distribute a prototype app to general aviation pilots until early next year, the app will aim to let Alaskan pilots remain independent but supply a dose of safety.