A radio-avionic revolution began in the mid-1990's to transform aircraft fleets from analog to modern digital radio communications systems. NavRadio Corporation, a predecessor to AeroStream Communications, was the first company to develop and field a practical and cost-effective airborne digital data radio.
This first-generation radio family was designed to an emerging international aeronautical modulation standard: D8PSK, capable of 31.5 kb/sec in a single narrow 25 kHz channel bandwidth.
Airborne digital radio technology demonstrations began in 1996. The first public demonstrations were conducted at Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture, where thousands witnessed the first digital transmissions of NEXRAD graphical weather imagery to aircraft. One month later, an over-water test 100 miles off the East Coast, was conducted with continuous communications between the aircraft and the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, NJ.
In 1999, won a landmark contract from FAA to develop a national network of weather transmitter sites to disseminate real-time textual and graphical weather information to the entire US fleet of aircraft.
Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Electronics (award made to NavRadio Corporation and AeroStream founder); Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine (AW&ST)
Aviation Safety, Aviation Weather Information System; NASA Administrator
Innovation in Aeronautical Data-link Technology; Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine (AW&ST)
Toward Revolutionizing Aviation; Associate Administrator, Office of Aerospace Technology, NASA
For Valuable Contributions to Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiment (AGATE); NASA Administrator