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Results have been broadly positive, although signal disruption caused by the aircraft’s rotor blades remain a challenge
In a recent blog post, NASA has revealed it is testing the suitability of 5G networks to support electric air taxis and future urban air mobility systems. This investigation took shape in April and May 2025 at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, where researchers developed and tested specialised radio systems designed to evaluate 5G’s ability to meet air taxi communication demands. By leveraging existing cellular networks, NASA hopes to avoid the costly and protracted effort of designing entirely new communication standards for this emerging aviation sector.
“The goal of this research is to understand how wireless cellphone networks could be leveraged by the aviation industry to enable new frontiers of aviation operations,” said Casey Bakula, lead researcher for the project. “The findings of this work could serve as a blueprint for future aviation communication network providers, like satellite navigation providers and telecommunications companies, and help guide the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s plan for future advanced air mobility network requirements in cities.”
The research saw NASA install a 5G-compatible radio system in its Pilatus PC-12 aircraft and a complementary system atop a building at Glenn Research Center, which were then activated using a frequency band allocated by the Federal Communications Commission for safe drone testing. The aircraft executed various flight patterns to simulate operational conditions and to study signal integrity, interference from urban structures, and the impact of the aircraft’s position relative to ground stations. These initial tests confirmed the system’s basic functionality and set a baseline for continuing research into integrating 5G standards within current aviation communication bands for both air-to-ground and aircraft-to-aircraft data transmission.
One notable challenge identified was propeller modulation, where the aircraft’s rotating propeller blades intermittently block radio signals, causing signal degradation. This effect is particularly relevant for air taxis, which are expected to operate at lower altitudes where this interference is more pronounced. Given the diverse configurations of future air taxi airframes and the variation in propeller designs, NASA has highlighted this as a critical area for further investigation. Understanding and mitigating propeller modulation remains essential for ensuring reliable communication critical to command and control, passenger safety, and aircraft collision avoidance in congested urban airspaces.
This initiative is part of NASA’s broader Advanced Air Mobility mission under the Air Mobility Pathfinders project, which concentrates on developing scalable and secure aviation communication networks suitable for the anticipated expansion of urban air transport services. The agency plans to share its baseline performance data with the FAA and the industry, providing a foundation for future enhancements such as improved data speeds, signal-to-noise ratios, and synchronisation mechanisms that will be essential for robust aviation communication systems.
NASA is actively studying autonomous flight safety through projects assessing how human pilots interact with new flight navigation and automation systems. This research, in partnership with agencies like DARPA and manufacturers such as Sikorsky, is vital to ensuring that fully autonomous air taxi operations can be safely integrated into national airspace, addressing both human factors and technical reliability.
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(Image credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna)