TheWilliam J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace is anaviationresearch and development, and test and evaluation facility. The Technical Center serves as the national scientific test base for theFederal Aviation Administration (FAA). Technical Center programs include research and development, test and evaluation, and verification and validation in air traffic control, communications, navigation, airports, aircraft safety, and security. They also include long-range development of aviation systems and concepts, development of new air traffic control equipment and software, and modification of existing systems and procedures. Through a series of initiatives known collectively asNextGen, the Technical Center is contributing to theNext Generation Air Transportation System.[1]
It is alongsideAtlantic City International Airport[2] inEgg Harbor Township, New Jersey,[3] 10 miles (16 km) northwest ofAtlantic City, and covers over 5,000 acres (2,023 ha). The Technical Center consists of laboratories, test facilities, support facilities, the Atlantic City International Airport, and a non-commercial aircraft hangar. The Technical Center is also home to theDepartment of Homeland Security, theFederal Air Marshal Service Training Center,[4] Transportation Security Lab, and theCoast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, as well as theNew Jersey Air National Guard 177th Fighter Wing. While the Technical Center works mainly in aviation, it also provides other services for the Department of Homeland Security.[1] Portions of the land of the technical center are inGalloway Township,[5] andHamilton Township.[6]
The Technical Center site's soil and groundwater were contaminated with pollutants includingmercury,perfluorinated compounds,[7]arsenic,benzene,cadmium,chloroform,lead,toluene, and numerous other toxic or environmentally harmful chemicals[8] by US Navy, airport, and FAA operations from the 1940s to the 1970s.[7] The Technical Center is now aSuperfund site, where the FAA[9] andEPA are engaged in cleaning up the pollution and preventing it from spreading outside the site.[7]
TheNational Aviation Facilities Experimental Center (NAFEC) was founded July 1, 1958, by the Airways Modernization Board (AMB) and located inGalloway Township, New Jersey, nearAtlantic City, New Jersey. On November 1, 1959, after passage of theFederal Aviation Act of 1958, it came under the newly createdUS Federal Aviation Agency (FAA).[10] Its purpose was to conduct research and development onair traffic control computers,transponders, and advancedradar equipment. The success (in terms of funding and research activity) eventually forced theCivil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to close its own Technical Evaluation and Development Center inIndianapolis starting in 1959.
The computerized air traffic control developed at NAFEC was based on theIBM 9020, special hardware developed byIBM. Software was developed by NAFEC, IBM, and under contract toComputer Usage Company.[11] The system remained in operation until the 1980s.[12] The former 1942 Naval Air Station became the Atlantic City International Airport.[13] It was renamed the FAA Technical Center in 1980, and in 1996 it was named the William J. Hughes Technical Center, after Ambassador and CongressmanWilliam J. Hughes.[14][15] Since 1958, the center's core activities were accelerating programs to improve aviation safety and updating the air traffic control system, Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) being a part of it. Besides the research and development project work, the FAA field facilities have daily operational support all over the country from the center operating 24 hours a day. In order to keep critical systems operational, center experts analyze problems and make software changes.[16]
Other achievements which have recently enhanced the efficiency and safety of the flying public include:
The FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center is co-located with the Atlantic City Airport[...]
F.A.A. Tech. Center
FAATC
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39°27′05″N74°34′28″W / 39.45143°N 74.57457°W /39.45143; -74.57457
