https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20100042396 2019-04-14T23:03:59+00:00Z NASA/CR—2010-216324 SAA3–978–1 C-Band Airport Surface Communications System Standards Development Phase I Final Report Edward Hall and James Isaacs ITT Corporation Electronic Systems, Fort Wayne, Indiana Natalie Zelkin and Steve Henriksen ITT Corporation Information Systems, Herndon, Virginia December 2010 NASA STI Program . . . in Profi le Since its founding, NASA has been dedicated to the • CONFERENCE PUBLICATION. Collected advancement of aeronautics and space science. The papers from scientifi c and technical NASA Scientifi c and Technical Information (STI) conferences, symposia, seminars, or other program plays a key part in helping NASA maintain meetings sponsored or cosponsored by NASA. this important role. • SPECIAL PUBLICATION. Scientifi c, The NASA STI Program operates under the auspices technical, or historical information from of the Agency Chief Information Offi cer. 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Does not contain • Write to: extensive analysis. NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI) 7115 Standard Drive • CONTRACTOR REPORT. Scientifi c and Hanover, MD 21076–1320 technical fi ndings by NASA-sponsored contractors and grantees. NASA/CR—2010-216324 SAA3–978–1 C-Band Airport Surface Communications System Standards Development Phase I Final Report Edward Hall and James Isaacs ITT Corporation Electronic Systems, Fort Wayne, Indiana Natalie Zelkin and Steve Henriksen ITT Corporation Information Systems, Herndon, Virginia Prepared under Contract NNC05CA85C National Aeronautics and Space Administration Glenn Research Center Cleveland, Ohio 44135 December 2010 This report contains preliminary fi ndings, subject to revision as analysis proceeds. Trade names and trademarks are used in this report for identifi cation only. Their usage does not constitute an offi cial endorsement, either expressed or implied, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Level of Review: This material has been technically reviewed by expert reviewer(s). Available from NASA Center for Aerospace Information National Technical Information Service 7115 Standard Drive 5301 Shawnee Road Hanover, MD 21076–1320 Alexandria, VA 22312 Preface This National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Contractor Report summarizes and documents the work performed to develop system standards for the proposed C-band (5091- to 5150-MHz1) airport surface communications system. This report documents the work done in Phase I. It was delivered to NASA on December 19, 2009, under the fiscal year 2009 project-level agreement. This work was completed under the NASA Aerospace Communication Systems Technical Support (ACSTS) contract, based on direction provided by the Federal Aviation Administration project-level agreement (PLA FY09_G1M.02-02v1) for “New ATM Requirements—Future Communications” as a follow-on to the FAA/EUROCONTROL (European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation) Cooperative Research Agreement (Action Plan 17 (AP−17)), commonly referred to as the Future Communications Study. 1With a possible future extension into the 5000- to 5030-MHz band, pending a decision at the World Radiocommunications Conference in 2012. NASA/CR—2010-216324 iii Executive Summary ES.1 Introduction This report is being provided as part of the NASA Glenn Research Center Aerospace Communication Systems Technical Support (ACSTS) Contract (NNC05CA85C), Task 7: “New ATM Requirements— Future Communications, C-Band and L-Band Communications Standard Development.” Task 7 is separated into two distinct subtasks—each aligned with specific work elements and deliverable items identified in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) project-level agreement (PLA) and with the FAA fiscal year 2009 New ATM Requirements—Future Communications Project and spending plan for these subtasks. The purposes of subtask 7−1, and the subjects of this report, are the definitions of the concepts of use (ConUse), high-level system requirements, and architecture; the performance of supporting system analyses; the development of test and demonstration plans; and the establishment of operational capability in support of C-band aeronautical data communications standards to be advanced in both international (International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO) and national (RTCA) forums. The future C-band (5091 to 5150 MHz1) airport surface communication system is referred to as the Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications System (AeroMACS). Assumptions and constraints for this report follow: • The 5091- to 5150-MHz spectrum allocation for AeroMACS use at the World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC−2007) is provisioned only for use on the airport surface. This allocation is within the aeronautical mobile (route) service (AM(R)S) band. Therefore, AeroMACS applications are constrained to mobile applications on the airport surface. This is interpreted to include communications for nonmobile (i.e., fixed) applications provisioned within a mobile AeroMACS network that support the safety and regularity of flight. • The proposed AeroMACS is assumed to provide an increase in overall air-to-ground (A/G) communications systems capacity by utilizing the new spectrum (i.e., in addition to existing very high frequency, VHF). • The scope of this ConUse and requirements report includes airport surface A/G air traffic control (ATC) communications and ground-to-ground (G/G) communications. • AeroMACS will be designed specifically for data communication. • This report assumes that the data communications system developed as part of the FAA Data Communications Program (Data Comm) will precede an AeroMACS implementation and deployment. • Although some critical services could be supported, AeroMACS systems will also target noncritical services, such as weather advisory and aeronautical information services implemented as part of an airborne System Wide Information Management (SWIM) program. • AeroMACS is to be designed and implemented in a manner that will not disrupt other existing services operating in the C-band. Additional interference research and testing will determine if any operational constraints are to be imposed, such as limiting the number of users, the time of the day, the duration, and so on. ES.2 ConUse A process recommended in the “National Airspace System: System Engineering Manual” (SEM, Ref. 1) was adopted as a guide in developing ConUse and requirements for the proposed system. Figure ES–1 summarizes the steps. NASA/CR—2010-216324 v Identify Operational Provide Proposed Define Proposed Define ConUse Need for a New System Justification System System •Describe Current •Potential •Objectives and •Use of the A/G Benefits of New Scope Proposed Communication Systems •Proposed System for System •Operational System in Airport •Describe Current Shortfalls context of NAS •Data Link airport surface Addressed by EA Operational Messages G/G Data Comm View Examples Communications Program •System •Operational Systems •Description of Description Scenarios •Current System Desired Change •Operational Operational •Change Priorities Environment Environments and Road Maps •Frequency and •Current Systems •Assumptions and Technology – Scope and Constraints Environment, Capability Requirements Shortfalls and Limitations •Users •Operational Policies and Constraints Figure ES–1.—ConUse development process. Acronyms are defined in Appendix A. ES.2.1 Identify Operational Needs for a New System Operational needs for a new system are supported by describing the current system and its associated problems and capability shortfalls. “System Requirements Document, Next Generation Air/Ground Communications (NEXCOM)” provides a good description of the FAA’s current analog A/G voice communications system used for ATC (Ref. 2). The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) concept of operations (ConOps) summarizes the current attributes (and associated constraints) of the voice-based A/G communications system as follows (Ref. 3): • Limited data communications for air traffic management (ATM) and operational control • Limited access to real-time weather and aeronautical data • Voice communications routine for ATM • Analog voice • Analog weather information display systems • A/G and G/G communications • Loss of communications due to beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) aircraft position (e.g., over the ocean) • Individual ground systems for each information type brought to the flight deck • Point-to-point aircraft communications based on ATC sectors There are several principal shortcomings of the current A/G voice communications system, including lack of automation, limited or no data communications availability, aging infrastructure, technology limitations, and spectrum saturation. The resulting operational problems, if not addressed, could lead to service degradation and limit the introduction of new or expanded services. These, in turn, could potentially compromise safety of operation and increase operating costs. Saturation of spectrum is the problem specifically mitigated by the introduction of a new C-band system (AeroMACS); the other operational problems would also be mitigated with AeroMACS. Current G/G communications on the airport surface are conducted predominantly over a combination of wire and optical fiber cabling and a limited number of point-to-point line-of-site radio links. The limitations imposed by the current G/G communications infrastructure could result in restrictions in the deployment of new ATM services, resulting in the following service limitations (Ref. 4). NASA/CR—2010-216324 vi • Limited ATM (e.g., traffic) information on the flight deck Limited data shared among stakeholders for collaborative decision making (CDM) processes • Information sharing in support of operational security performed manually instead of electronically • Not all stakeholders able to access data they need • Stakeholders unable to use custom data sources ES.2.2 Provide Proposed System Justification Rather than being a National Airspace System (NAS) service itself, G/G and A/G communications are enablers of NAS services. It is important to note that the FAA’s “Final Program Requirements for Data Communications” (Ref. 5) recognizes that “the scope of the mission shortfalls identified herein [is] broader than will be addressed solely by a data communications capability.” Because of the limitations and constraints of implementing data communications using very high frequency digital link (VDL) Mode 2 over a congested aeronautical VHF band, the FAA’s Data Comm Program will focus principally on implementing the most critical air traffic services (ATS). This will provide opportunities for AeroMACS systems to augment data communications on the airport surface by enabling communications of less critical and essential ATSs to address the shortfalls listed. Even though each of the shortfalls listed above are meant to be addressed to some extent by Data Comm using VDL Mode 2, there are opportunities to overcome these shortfalls to an even greater extent during the later program segments of Data Comm (e.g., late Segment 2 and Segment 3) using link technologies such as AeroMACS with greater bandwidth capabilities, which could augment the benefits already attained through the earlier VDL Mode 2 Data Comm segment implementations (i.e., Segments 1 and 2) by providing a broader scope of services. ES.2.3 Define Proposed System and ConUse Some FAA objectives defined in the FAA’s NextGen portfolio are based on the requirement to support future air traffic growth. AeroMACS will be designed and developed to help meet those objectives in part by expanding the data communications capacity in the airport surface domain. Global harmonization is being ensured by developing the proposed AeroMACS component of the FRS as a collaborative effort of the U.S. and European partners. As recommended by the Future Communications Study (FCS) technology assessment, the proposed airport surface communications system (i.e., AeroMACS) is based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) 802.16 standard and its extension, IEEE 802.16e-2005 (Ref. 6), and will be implemented in the aeronautical C-band (5091 to 5150 MHz). A new standards profile for airport applications is currently being developed within an RTCA special committee (SC–223) to operate in the C-band and make use of the scaling properties inherent in the IEEE 802.16e standard.2 The proposed AeroMACS could provide supplemental means to the ATC communications required by the operating rules (e.g., VHF voice communications) in continental airspace (albeit on the airport surface) and will adhere to the data link characteristics noted in the “Safety and Performance Requirements Standard for Air Traffic Data Link Services in Continental Airspace (Continental SPR Standard)” (Ref. 7). This report focuses on the ATS and advisory data services that are defined in the communications operating concept and requirements (COCR) and are not expected to be provided by Data Comm through Segment 2. The following list shows the proposed candidates for AeroMACS: • Flight information services Data link operational terminal information service (D−OTIS) o 2Specifically, IEEE 802.16-2009 will provide the basis of ongoing profile selection. NASA/CR—2010-216324 vii Data link surface information and guidance (D−SIG) o Flight plan consistency (FLIPCY) o System access parameters o Pilot preferences downlink (PPD) o • Weather advisory service Data link significant meteorological information (D−SIGMET) o • Emergency information service Urgent contact (URCO)—if in conjunction with other more routine services o Additional data services that may be provided via AeroMACS may be identified as NextGen and Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) progress. In addition, an AeroMACS could provide the means for A/G data transfer on the airport surface to support the FAA SWIM program. Table ES–1 lists the operational scenarios and concepts envisioned for the midterm NextGen airport surface flight phase. Although most, if not all, of these concepts are currently envisioned for Data Comm, they are technology independent and, thus, equally valid for an AeroMACS implementation. TABLE ES–1.—NEXT GENERATION AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM (NextGen) MIDTERM OPERATIONAL CONCEPTS FOR THE AIRPORT SURFACE PHASE Phase of flight NextGen midterm communications operational concept (from Ref. 8) Flight planning Access to flight planning information will be available to authorized users via a secure network and will include a publish/subscribe capability so that users can receive automatic updates when conditions change along the proposed flight path. Push back, taxi, and As the time for the flight approaches, the final flight path agreement will be delivered as a data departure message to pilots who access the agreement before beginning the flight. Table ES–2 illustrates the potential operational use of the proposed AeroMACS based on the COCR services previously identified as potential applications (Ref. 9). TABLE ES–2.—USE OF THE PROPOSED AeroMACS IN THE AIRPORT FLIGHT DOMAIN [Acronyms are defined in Appendix A.] Operational services Airport domain phases Predeparture airport Departure taxi airport Arrival airport Arrival taxi domain domain domain airport domain Flight information services D–OTIS D–OTIS D–OTIS D–RVR D–RVR D–RVR D–RVR D–SIG D–SIG D–SIG D–SIG D–SIGMET D–SIGMET Flight position, flight intent, and PPD PPD PPD PPD flight preferences services FLIPCY FLIPCY FLIPCY FLIPCY WAKE WAKE WAKE WAKE Emergency information service URCO URCO URCO URCO Services suitable for Airborne Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS), AWOS Data Acquisition Service (ADAS), SWIM (generally weather Expanded Terminal and Tower Data Service, General Information Message Distribution advisory and aeronautical Service, Information Display System (IDS) Data Service, NextGen Network Enabled information services) Weather (NNEW) service,a NOTAM distribution service, TMA Flight Data Service, WARP/WINS NEXRAD service aIt is possible that the information provided through the NNEW service could range from advisories for routine forecasts though safety-critical transmission of certain hazardous weather warning messages, which might limit the extent to which this service could be provided over commercial links. This requires further investigation. NASA/CR—2010-216324 viii