NASA says software created by its scientists will help air traffic controllers reduce delays in every phase of an airliner's journey,

The software, officially transferred from NASA to the Federal Aviation Administration in a ceremony in Washington Tuesday, will help controllers manage the complex task of directing aircraft from a terminal gate, along the taxiway, onto the runway and then into the sky, allowing the airliner to join smoothly with the busy air traffic lanes overhead, the space agency said.

The software dubbed Precision Departure Release Capability, or PDRC, developed by NASA aeronautical researchers, will soon help controllers better manage that part of the airplane's trip, NASA officials said.

"NASA and the FAA have become extremely effective at combining our unique skills and rolling up our sleeves to find solutions to the extremely complex challenge of improving air traffic management," Jaiwon Shin, NASA's associate administrator for aeronautics, said.

PDRC will allow controllers to improve the overall efficiency of air traffic management by reducing missed or delayed departures and allowing more aircraft to depart within a given timeframe, officials said.

PDRC could help fill as much as 80 percent of the slots in the constant overhead stream of air traffic that usually go empty because of timing issues on the ground, they said, by fully automating the process that determines the time an airplane can begin taxiing toward a runway.

"We call those 'missed opportunities,' and with PDRC working in concert with other tools the FAA has available, we hope to better take advantage of all the opportunities to safely make flying more efficient," John Cavolowsky, director of NASA's Airspace Systems Program, said.