ebook img

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 19940018299: The FAA satellite communications program PDF

6 Pages·0.44 MB·English
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 19940018299: The FAA satellite communications program

/qqq0J 2' N94- 22772 The FAA Satellite Communications Program Karen L. Burcham Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Avenue NW, Washington DC 20591 Telephone (202} 267-7676 Fax (202) 267-5793 ABSTRACT AMS(R)S standards, ensuring adequate system performance, supporting imple- The Federal Aviation Administration mentation, and providing research and is developing satellite communications development for U.S. domestic satellite capabilities to enhance air traffic ser- communications. The general connectiv- vices, first in oceanic and remote ity of the system is illustrated in regions, and later for United States Figure 1. domestic services. The program includes four projects which develop PROJECT AREA DESCRIPTIONS technical standards, assure adequate system performance, support implemen- There are four defined projects in tation, and provide for research and the FAA Satellite Communications Pro- development for selected areas of U.S. gram. The first three develop satcom domestic satellite communications. capabilities and provide for operations in oceanic and remote regions where The continuing focus is the applica- the FAA has current responsibility: the tion of automated data communications, first developing data, the second which is already permitting enhanced developing voice, and the third sup- and regular position reporting. Voice porting operations; and the fourth area developments, necessary for non- will develop selected U.S. domestic routine communications, are also applications. included among the necessary activities to improve ATC communications. Project 1: Oceanic/Remote Data OBJECTIVES The development of satellite data communications for aircraft entails the The FAA Satellite Communications generation of agreed-upon standards Program Plan objective is to provide that permit aircraft flightworthiness for and facilitate operational use of and operational certification, and bring Aeronautical Mobile Satellite (Route} assured interoperability between air- Service (AMS(R)S) communications, craft and controllers by means of where (R) stands for "Route" denoting various service providers. the safety service, to meet civil avi- ation needs in oceanic and offshore Mops areas, and possibly in U.S. domestic airspace as well. The FAA Plan concen- Minimum Operational Performance trates on implementing the concept Standards (MOPS) are developed jointly developed by the International Civil by the supplier/user industry and the Aviation Organization's "Future Air FAA in an AMSS Special Committee Navigation Systems" (FANS} committee (SC-165) provided for by RTCA, Inc. during recent years, at first for (formerly the Radio Technical Commis- oceanic regions. sion on Aeronautics). This independent body reacts to needs to define In the interest of improved air architectures, standards for signals traffic management, the Program assists and interfaces, and recommended tests in developing national/international that will bring uniformity and 213 SATELLITE PROVIDER |,strl..JL:rSrl_llm n,r,Jmxx (w_'plrv rln,lml,bw I_. _vL.]] llm,uml,_lm A_LI_5'Z UalJ DATA SERVICE i[ J DATA_ PROVIDER ¥OICl J TOIC| OCE_ICCONTROL FACILITY YOZC]I GROUND EARTH STATION DATA Figure 1. FAA Oceanic Air Traffic Control Operational Concept interoperability for avionics used in The MOPS also is a basis for man- aeronautical safety services. ufacturers' acquisition of an FAA Tech- nical Standards Order (TSO}, which While the MOPS focuses on describ- constitutes an FAA technical approval ing only the Aeronautical Earth Station for equipment installation. It can assist (AES) and its air-ground protocols, the as a basis for the installing facility's committee also has developed a System acquisition of Type Certification, which Guidance document which permits authorizes actual air traffic service understanding of end-to-end, pilot-to- applications. controller service performance. The AMSS MOPS recently has been While not mandatory, the MOPS completed and is available through the serves several purposes. It provides a RTCA. The next stage--modifications published guide for manufacturers, from knowledge gained during man- operators, and users to implement the ufacturing, installation, and operation- AMSS system in a coordinated way. -is under way. The next MOPS edition Based on signal-in-space rather than is expected to be available early in on equipment design, the MOPS gives 1994. FAA Program Plan support to this considerable freedom to design and effort is focused within the Satellite innovation, while the standardization of Communications Program on oceanic and signal characteristics provides for com- remote regions. petitiveness and coordinated opera- tions. Needs of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assure efficient and effective use of the radio spectrum 214 and non-interference were also sup- Following a circulation and agree- ported by SC-165 in developing neces- ment period to permit member-nation sary changes to the Code of Federal acceptance and aircraft implement- Regulations, Part 87. ations, the SARPswill facilitate world- wide AMSSoperations. They should enable the realization of concepts held SARPs for many years, wherein air traffic Standards and RecommendedPrac- operations would reap the full benefits tices (SARPs}, developed by member of the integrity and timeliness of satel- states' Civil Aviation Authorities within lite services. the International Civil Aviation Organi- zation (ICAO), ultimately becometreaty- Oceanic performance Analysis level agreements among the member states that assure universal inter- Simulations are being developed and operability for international flight validated using projected AMSS traffic safety services. They define generally to ascertain effects on system perform- the AMS(R)Ssignal-in-space character- ance and responsiveness. The outcome istics and protocols necessary for AES should permit estimates of operational operation with its Ground Earth Station capability, and should uncover areas (GES). where specific approaches could be implemented to enhance AMSS safety Since 1989,the FAA has been a services. When complete in October principal participant and architect in 1993, the simulation model will be coor- the development and validation of the dinated with developments in the AMSSSARPs.Similarly to the MOPS, Oceanic Development Facility {discussed these standards closely follow the sys- below}. tem architecture defined in the Inmar- sat System Definition Manual (SDM), but Develop SARPs-Compliant Capability focus on describing signal character- istics rather than the specifics of This project activity will acquire an design. AES and install and test it in an FAA-owned Boeing 727 aircraft at the Under the International Telecommuni- FAA Technical Center (FAATC) near cations Union (ITU) Radio Regulations, Atlantic City, NJ. the AMS(R)Sdesignation denotes services which are afforded additional The AES interface with aircraft protection against interference. Simi- avionics, and through the satellite larly to the need to adapt FCCRules to through the GES to end users, will properly include aeronautical mobile employ the ISO 8208 standard as satellite communications, the SARPs defined in both MOPS and SARPs. Working Group is supporting the "Data-3, P! an Inmarsat definition, efforts to establish non-interference describes such an AES that can oper- and other performance standards for ate within the full Open Systems Inter- mobile satellite communications within connect (OSI) protocols. Use of this the ITU's International Radio Consulta- standardized protocol enables tive Committee(CCIR). end-to-end interconnectivity advan- tages of the Aeronautical Telecommuni- The AMSSSARPsare in the final cations Network (ATN), now under stages of completion. They are expected design. to be validated through tests and modelling presently under way, and are The principal objective of this proj- scheduled to be presented to the ICAO ect element is to validate the SARPs Air Navigation Council for approval in requirements by demonstrating and mid-1994. testing an in-flight AES using the SARPs-defined, ISO 8208 data protocol as the avionics interface. However, 215 because no Data-3 or SARPs-compliant position information that is relayed AES will be available to meet the ICAO from the aircraft through AMSS satel- approval schedule, the present AES will lites, and through the ground network be augmented by external software to to air traffic controllers. emulate the additional SARPs-defined capabilities. Equip FAA Aircraft for T,ri_...s_ The AES installation on the FAA Development of worldwide standards aircraft will then be able to operate as for safety services expected to be a complete ATN- and SARPs-compliant useful for decades requires thorough user terminal. The tests are scheduled testing in order to be assured that the for late 1993. requirements are correct, thorough, and unambiguous. The FAATC Boeing Optimize for Periodic Reportin_ 727, now equipped for tests using a low-gain antenna and an early AES, In the late '80s, ICAO Future Air will have installed a high-gain antenna Navigation Systems (FANS) study and other capabilities to provide an reports defined the need for an inte- effective AMS(R)S testbed. grated Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance (CNS) capability to A direct interface from the Comsat enhance safety services using satel- earth station at Southbury, CT, to the lites. FAATC will be in operation to permit the real-time interaction necessary for Within this capability is the require- these tests. ment for periodic position reporting to controllers using aircraft-derived Project 2: Oceanic/Remote Voice information, called Automatic Dependent Surveillance CADS). Over oceanic and While ordinary and routine informa- remote areas where conventional com- tion is transmitted by voice in today's munications means are unreliable, satel- aeronautical Communications, the use of lite communications can be used instead data message services is becoming more for this purpose. pervasive. Although this trend will continue for AMS(R)S routine services, The use of existing signal architec- voice communications will still be very tures for regularly-spaced, short data important. There are non-routine and messages is inefficient. Over the past emergency situations when controller few years, several schemes have been and aircraft crew need direct and proposed for more efficient use of the rapid access. The FAA is now develop- communications channel to improve ing a policy that will clarify the user spectrum effectiveness and reporting selection of data or voice transmissions timeliness. under various circumstances. Presently, simulations are being The Program Plan focus in this developed; and now, proceeding in project area is on development of coordination with Inmarsat, the comple- satellite voice capability for oceanic tion of new reporting protocols for and remote regions. Aircraft that are inclusion in the SARPs and fitted for AMS(R)S voice will enjoy the implementations is scheduled for Sep- benefits of greatly improved reliability tember 1993. and connectivity with controllers any- where in the satellite coverage areas. In its ultimate form, the Global Navi- gation Satellite System (GNSS), which Three activities are relevant, as fol- will include both the US Global lows. Positioning System (GPS) and the CIS Global Orbital Navigation Satellite Sys- tem (GLONASS), will supply aircraft 216 Revise MOPS for Voice coordinated and scheduled plan. The target for completion of implementation The current MOPS (RTCA/DO-210) for the oceanic area is late 1996. covers very minimally the voice circuit-mode services, relying on the ])efine Requirementa Inmarsat SDM to support call setup and release definition of protocols and Initial activities in this project area interfaces. The specific standards for include definition of requirements in these are now under accelerated devel- support of an overall Satellite Opera- opment in SC-165, with the goal for tional Implementation Plan, now in draft completion early in 1994. form and scheduled to be completed by late 1993. Controller Voice Architecture Conduc__t En_rlneerin_ Trials Requirements are under development The FAA aircraft will continue to be to provide the necessary interfaces for used to collect data on AMS(R)S trials air traffic controllers to integrate in the North Atlantic arem For a period AMS(R)S voice, to be used for non- routine needs, with routine data ser- from 1993 through 1995, trials will be run in coordination with the United vices. KingdomJs Civil Aviation Authority. Conduct Voice Trials Starting in 1994, the trials will Northwest Airlines has installed an operate with a full end-to-end ATN AES in a Boeing 747-400 equipped for capability using AMS(R)S to handle aircrew and passenger use of satellite Automatic Dependent Surveillance {ADS, voice services. The airline, with Aero- or periodic position reports) and other nautical Radio, Inc. (ARINC), and the messages. This will be the first exer- FAA have drawn a joint test plan for cise of the fully SARPs-compliant capa- using the system for AMS(R)S during bilities of these three systems. Northwest's regular service in the Pacific area. Results will be integrated for analy- sis with data resulting from the con- This trial of end-to-end AMS(R)S tinuing Pacific Engineering Trials. This voice will be conducted first through activity, which began in 1992 prior to connections from the aircraft's flight an ATN capability, provided ADS deck to the ARINC Comm Center, and reports using an interim AES-equipped patched through to the FAATC; and United Airlines aircraft in commercial later, with direct connection from the service. aircraft to the FAATC. The trials are expected to begin in the second quar- Integrate Oceanic Systems End-To-End ter of 1993 and will extend for six months. The next step in this project area will be to integrate AMS(R)S into the Project 3: Oceanic/Remote Operations FAA's Oceanic Development Facility (ODF). This facility is under construc- This part of the Program Plan sup- tion at the FAATC, and will serve as a ports FAA elements that comprise a principal test bed for all FAA oceanic Satellite Operational Implementation communications and surveillance opera- Team. The Team was formed to treat tions. Discussions have begun on several interrelated satellite programs schedule and goals, working with the that are in various stages of develop- oceanic program to ensure end-to-end ment. Its mission is to assure imple- function and performance. The final mentation of AMS(R)S for improved air step will include the passage of traffic services according to a 217 AMS(R)Sdirectly between the Air Route Investigations will include use of the Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs)and AMSC/TMI and next-generation Inmarsat the aircraft. satellite systems, possibilities for using future Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and Project 4: Domestic Service Applications Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO), and store- and-forward terminals such as the The U.S. domestic applications proj- "Aero-C" Inmarsat terminal. ect for AMS(R)S communications will focus first on the use of satellite Future I_D; communications in selected areas where it now is difficult to contact aircraft. This project area will support selec- Also within this area are investigations tion, analyses, and testing of candidate of satellite alternatives that could systems; and provide for engineering bring service advantages to the FAA trials and necessary revisions of the such as reduced cost and improved RTCA MOPS and ICAO SARPs. After availability. surveying potential improvements to AMS(R)S, viable candidate architectures Domestic/Offshore Helicopter Test will be identified for further investiga- tion and inclusion in planning. This project area will provide for the conduct of U.S. domestic area tests CONCLUSION using an FAA helicopter with a loaned, interim AMSC AES and Marisat satellite The FAA Program Plan for satellite capacity currently under lease to the communications provides a basis for American Mobile Satellite Corporation developing operational services to (AMSC). The test's three phases, enhance air traffic control. It is an scheduled from late 1992 through mid- integral part of many ongoing improve- 1995, will move from Loran-C position ments to the air traffic control system. reports to the use of the Global Moving first from today's high- Positioning Satellite (GPS) capabilities frequency radio to use of satellite reported through the AMSCDs spot-beam communications through a Service pro- satellite. Analyses of the results should vider, the final step is envisioned to support further developments in the be direct AMS(R)S between flight deck FAA's domestic and offshore services. and controller. In a second part of this project, the The Plan supports standards devel- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is opment; provides for coordinated under contract to the FAA to develop domestic and international plans, tests and test a low-cost, light-weight AES and trials leading to integration with for helicopter use. The terminal should other automated FAA systems; and sur- also be adaptable for use by fixed- veys and prepares for future improve- wing aircraft. ment possibilities. Develov Applications and Eouivmer_t Availability of benefits should be accelerated by this activity for aircraft This future planning project will users equipped to these standards and investigate low-cost satellite communi- interfacing with the ATN. The FAA R&D cations alternatives for future domestic and operational activities to complete use, and will identify candidate standards and integrate satellite com- systems for research. Coordinated work munications will enable users to enjoy with the FAA's System Engineering a level of communications integrity and service will identify where future availability not available by any other needs are not yet being actively means. planned for. 218

See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.