NATCA Bookshelf

CFS 2018: Wednesday

A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association

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Leadership and culture play crucial roles in the iden fica on, procurement and implementa on of new technology into a heavily "tooled" airspace. Most airspace has layers upon layers of everything needed to operate. This ensures redundancy and resiliency, mi gates risk, and priori zes safety. However, keeping this layered approach unop mized also presents a costly and inefficient use of these "tools." That's where leadership comes in. Iden fy a great opportunity, ar culate the value, include the workforce in the solu on, manage the change to the organiza on, and create the policy/plan to implement. With the leadership that NATCA provides and the culture created, all in a difficult poli cal environment, leaders are able to deploy new tools and technology in an efficient, cost-effec ve, and safe manner. This is where the risk-based decision making comes in, especially the role it plays with AireonSM and space-based ADS-B. It's always hard to say "yes" to a new technology, rather than "no." It's status quo vs. taking a risk. However, with Aireon and space-based ADS-B, the proven technology of ADS-B is being exploited in a novel way to provide benefits to the world, accelera ng safety adop on within countries that might not have implemented a ground system, thereby lowering the risk and leapfrogging safety cri cal service into their airspace. The innova on lies in the opportunity to take advantage of exis ng infrastructure owned and maintained by a commercial en ty and leveraging the ability to access funds to create a surveillance service accessible to the world. This represents a true private-public partnership that can only succeed if the end user is brought in early, to define the need and refine the solu on. Aireon has taken the necessary steps to work with partners like NAV Canada, EASA, and the FAA to implement best prac ces for air traffic surveillance and understand the capabili es and standards for opera on. The future of avia on is not about maintenance or "status quo"; it's about managed risk taking, while s ll making safety a top priority. The demand for airspace is far outpacing capacity, and NATCA sees that as a vital issue when it comes to policy. They stand by the need for innova on and new technology to support our ever-growing need for an airspace that can accommodate larger aircra , more aircra , and more routes. Let's not forget drones, spaceports for commercial space use, urban air taxis, supersonic jets, ar ficial intelligence, and the use of upper airspace. The future is not in a few years, the future is now, and the airspace has to be ready to accommodate. Innova on is not going to slow down due to capacity constraints. Many people call space-based ADS-B ground-breaking, transforma ve, or disrup ve, but it's really just a 23-year-old technology with defined standards da ng back to the end of the 90s, deployed on a low-earth-orbit satellite. Here we are in 2018, months away from going opera onal with our space-based ADS-B air traffic surveillance service, and we are ready to provide worldwide aircra surveillance equivalent to en route radar. What's not to like? Seeing aircra where none could be seen before, using a tried and true technology. It's just ADS-B providing real- me posi on informa on of every ADS-B equipped aircra in the world. With the last of eight launches scheduled for December 2018, Aireon will have a fully opera onal system in the beginning of 2019. This will allow ANSPs to perform ATS surveillance with our service. This will empower air traffic controllers to ensure a target level of safety that scales with increasing air traffic. Aireon's space-based ADS-B addresses surveillance gaps and improves surveillance service availability, ensuring predictable service provisions. By making the whole world of ADS-B 1090MHz equipped aircra visible, regardless of loca on, air traffic controllers can perform their jobs more effec vely. ADS-B equipped aircra around the world will be seen with an eight second or less update interval. An incredible milestone, but again, using a technology with standards defined back before the turn of the century. This is a legacy technology, but a new medium of providing it. So, I guess yes, we are a "new technology" as I referenced earlier, fine. But the one difference is that our technology will also help addi onal new technology, poten ally being able to track drones, supersonic jets, high al tude balloons, and rockets. I want to end this piece with an update. We are coming to a close this year but have a posi ve direc on with the ANSP you are all so closely associated with and a leader in the world, the FAA. In September 2018, the FAA made a strategic decision to move forward with the implementa on and deployment of space-based ADS-B. The strategic decision includes a phased approach for the implementa on of space- based ADS-B ini ally in Miami Oceanic airspace, where space-based ADS-B will be integrated with ERAM. In parallel, the FAA will focus on building ATOP capabili es for the use of space-based ADS-B. The long- term strategy will be to validate the use of space-based ADS-B as a con ngency technology in the Na onal Airspace System (NAS). This is an extremely posi ve step, much of which is a ributed to the support Aireon has received from NATCA leadership and members. Please feel free to stop by our booth in the exhibi on hall to see real- me space-based ADS-B data. RISK-BASED DECISION MAKING: THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SPACE-BASED ADS-B AND NEW TECHNOLOGY IN ANSP By Vincent Capezzuto, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Engineering, Aireon COMMUNICATING FOR SAFETY Wednesday, Oct. 24 7

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