GPS World - February 2008 - (Page 15)

THE BUSINESS Industry news and developments | GPS | Galileo | GLONASS p LOUISVILLE is home to UPS’s WorldPort Hub for air package deliv- » AVIONICS & TRANSPORTATION UPS First to Use ADS-B The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved United Parcel Service’s (UPS) use of ADS-B technology for its flight operations at Louisville International Airport (SDF), the first such use of satellite-guided merging and spacing during airport approaches in the United States. ADS-B, or Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, is a key component of the FAA’s GPS satellitebased NextGen program intended to replace the nation’s aging network of ground-based radar sites in the air traffic control system. The new system as designed will be 10 times more accurate than radar, according to the FAA. ADS-B uses GPS signals to determine aircraft position (see figure). The code containing a plane’s flight data is automatically broadcast from the aircraft’s transponder once per second. Aircraft equipped to receive the data and ADS-B ground stations up to 200 miles away receive the broadcasts. Ground stations add radar-based targets for non-ADS-B-equipped aircraft to the mix and send all of the information back up to equipped aircraft, along with information on weather and flight restrictions. This data displays on cockpit screens and air traffic control displays. Fewer Delays. The FAA claims ADS-B will reduce delays and improve safety by providing the precise location of aircraft to both pilots and controllers, resulting in more direct flight routes and airspace efficiency. UPS will use ADS-B to handle merging and spacing of its planes on approach for landing at Louisville. The company has been an early proponent and developer of ADS-B technology; it says it can better manage both fuel ery in the U.S. UPS has 281 aircraft and operates in 200 countries. consumption and emissions with ADS-B. Use of the technology will soon spreading. In 2005 the FAA settled on ADS-B as the preferred technology path for air traffic control; it has set aside $165 million for fiscal years 2007 and 2008 to begin implementing the technology in the United States and begin replacing the existing ground-based radar infrastructure. ITT Contract. In August 2007, the FAA awarded ITT Corp. a $207 million initial contract leading a team to develop and deploy the system. Under the initial threeyear contract, ITT will be responsible for overall system integration and engineering, and under contract options will operate and maintain the system after deployment through September 2025. The contract has a potential value with all options exercised of $1.86 billion. Essentially, ITT will be required to build and operate the ADS-B ground stations, which it will own. The FAA will pay subscription charges for ADS-B broadcasts transmitted to properly equipped aircraft and air traffic control facilities. ITT is required to have the system ready for use by 2010 and enable it to cover the entire nation by 2013. The ITT team includes its partners AT&T, Thales North America, WSI, SAIC, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Aerospace Engineering, Sunhillo, Comsearch, MCS of Tampa, Pragmatics, Washington Consulting Group, Aviation Communications and Surveillance Systems (ACSS), Sandia Aerospace and NCR Corporation. Software in the ADS-B system used by UPS comes from ACSS. In the future, ACSS plans to add an alert feature that will tell flight crews that a runway is occupied or soon will be. ITT graphic February 2008 | GPS World www.gpsworld.com 15 http://www.gpsworld.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of GPS World - February 2008

GPS World - February 2008 Contents Out in Front Expert Advice Galileo's Second Coming Soon UPS First to Use ADS-B European Industry Group Galileo Validation 2008 Antenna Survey Tsumani Detection by GPS Classifieds Advertisers Index Seen + Heard

GPS World - February 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.