One Sky for Europe EUROCONTROL © 2003 European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) NexSAT NexSAT Steering Group Meeting - 20 May.

‘One Sky for Europe’EUROCONTROL

© 2003 European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL)

NexSAT NexSAT Steering Group Meeting - 20 May 03

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Eurocontrol, Brussels20 May 2003

Welcome to the Steering Group for a Next Generation Satellite System

(NGSS)




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Reminder of why are we here ?

• Communication systems operating outside the VHF band will be required to meet the predicted future communications demand

• Eurocontrol and other organisations believe that satellite communication systems have potential to support aeronautical safety communication

• You are a representative group of stakeholders with an interest in satellite communication and its potential

• You have agreed to provide feedback and guidance to Eurocontrol to help guide this activity




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Item 2 - Acceptance of the Agenda




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Two major objectives of this meeting are:

• Achievement of a shared view of the mission expected from such as system (agenda item: Recall of the Operational Requirements)

• Identification of what needs to be clarified and undertaken as next steps - draw an action plan (agenda item: Discussion of future activities)

• We have left time for discussion for your feedback and contributions

Objectives




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• Welcome and Introduction• Acceptance of the agenda • Overview of the satellite communications activities since

the 1st meeting• Recall of the Operational Requirements• Roadmap for development• Discussion of future activities• Any Other Business• Actions• Date of future meetings

Agenda Overview




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Item 3 - Overview of Satellite Communication Activities since the first meeting




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• Primary driver in Europe is communication spectrum Need to find solutions that operate outside the VHF band The problem is here already but is predicted to become critical around

2012-2015 satellite communications systems offer the capability to complement

terrestrial systems

• Satellite systems are available or being developed review the potential of these systems contribute to definition of the requirements of evolving systems

Why satellite

systems ?




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Initial Technical Specification

• Initial technical specification of a potential new system - NexSAT - developed drawing on -

early ESA MSBN work SDLS demonstrator + new ideas

• First draft sent to Steering Group members just before Christmas - thanks for comments

• Final document input to ICAO AMCP/8

• Thales Aviation UK study proved there were no ‘show stoppers’ with some basic concepts




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Initial Technical Specification

• The document contains a combination of technical standards, guidance material and circular material.

• Some of the sections are very similar to those in the existing AMSS SARPS because NexSAT supports the same services packet data voice

• Although there is a considerable amount of information in the document it is still open for discussion and refinement




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Avionic considerations

• A key to the use of a new system is the impact on aircraft largest investment therefore minimise unit cost problems of retrofit achievable technical performance versus size and cost

• Study undertaken by a leading satellite avionic manufacturer to review and comment on assumptions

• Thales Avionics study (WP2) looked at trade-off in power, costs, antenna gain, and other implementation issues




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Thales Avionics presentation




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Outcome of ICAO AMCP/8

• Initial Technical Specification presented at AMCP/8

• Panel was supportive of re-opening NGSS activities to review ALL potential systems dormant work item re-opened

• Work will be undertaken in a renamed panel Aeronautical Communications Panel (ACP) combined ATNP and AMCP




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ICAO ACP• Work will be progressed in 2 Working Groups

Working Group M

– splitting existing AMSS SARPs into ‘generic’ core SARPs for ALL ICAO defined satellite systems

– producing a Technical Manual for the existing AMSS Working Group C

– will review candidate NGSSs

– start to develop Technical Manuals for those promising systems

– work needs to be supported by States, industry, etc Reports will be given to ACP/1 (2-3 years time) on viability of

NGSSs and recommendation on continued work (or not)




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ESA activity

• Based on confirmation that NGSS is active again in ICAO ESA launched continuation work on SDLS

• Work is focussed on refined investigations on key technical aspects

• Work is being undertaken by a Consortium led by Alcatel Space

• To complement this work a video is being produced on opportunities of NGSS in collaboration with Eurocontrol




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ESA Activities presentation

Claude Loisy and Alcatel Space




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Other satellite communication activities

• FAA looking at future options for more demanding applications in oceanic airspace

• Boeing ATM contract with FAA to look at possible uses of satcom

• British National Space Centre (BNSC) study undertaken by a Helios-led consortium




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FAA activities




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Boeing ATM presentation




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BNSC study

Paul Ravenhill

Helios Technology




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Conclusions

• There is a lot of activity underway on satellite communications work restarted in ICAO work underway in the Europe, Japan, US and other places

• Different technical options for the communication system some available now - some not designed for safety

communications other long-term solutions being designed for safety

communications




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Item 4 - Recall of Operational Requirements




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High level global requirements

• What are the basic requirements for a system operating worldwide - Defined in ICAO standards and Technical Manual Supports Safety and Regularity of flight communications only i.e.

AMS(R) S Operates in L-band and uses it efficiently (bits/Hz) Supports voice and data simultaneously Interface to the ATN Offers global coverage and regional coverage Operation of the system is transparent to the end users




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Mission of the system for Europe (1/2)

• Offers communication service in controlled airspace

• Initially in upper airspace only core and non-core area

• Later in all controlled airspace for data but not TMA or airports for voice

• Interface to ATN and IP networks

• Interface to ATS voice network and to PSTN for AOC

• ATS Voice broadcast to all or group of aircraft ?




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• Availability figures compatible with Macondo Multi-user service availability 0.993

• Meets Peak Instantaneous Aircraft Count (PIAC) expected in ECAC around 2015 i.e. around 2000 in upper airspace - 4700 in all ECAC

• Provides party-line voice service to offer seamless transition between VHF and satellite areas

• No requirements for a high rate position reporting

• Aircraft to aircraft communications are not supported

Mission of the system for Europe (2/2)




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European Implementation assumptions (1/2)

• Start with existing global infrastructure

• Able to add European regional beam(s) as required

• AES costs minimised to around typical VHF radio values

• GA not generally expected to be equipped unless in controlled airspace

• Certification of avionics to Level C

• No specific security provisions in the subnetwork

• Possibility to use of small Ku band GESs at a number of locations in Europe




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European Implementation assumptions (2/2)

• Satellite and GES diversity where possible to achieve very high reliability and availability (designed in system but implemented as required)

• Subnetwork specific protocol for short data messages




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STNA - Mission Requirements

Luc Deneufchâtel




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Some Technical Assumptions

• Use of CDMA

• Low rate vocoders (4.8 or 2.4Kbps)

• Throughput requirements compatible with Eurocontrol MACONDO study for ATM applications

• AOC throughput requirements for data link applications are as described in ICAO AMCP working paper




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ATS QoS requirements

• Most demanding data requirements from Macondo study

• Aggregated throughput requirements around 1200 bps per aircraft excluding ADS-B

HomogeneousZone

End-to-end delay(95%)seconds

RER TotalSystemAvailabilty

1 (coreEurope)

2 10-8 99.995

2 (non-core) 2 10-8 99.997




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ATS VoiceExtract from MACONDO study

Voice coding : Vocoder DBSI 4,6k with FEC1/ 2 channel coding

Homogeneous Zone PIAC Party Line

Service

(mE)

Selective

Service

(mE)

Pilot-Pilot

Service

(mE)

Interactive

Service

(mE)

Total

Traffic (E)

System

Throughput

(kbps)

Total

Messages

per hour

En- route Core Area (HZ- 1) 696 1,8 1,5 0,6 0,6 3,13 29 1025

En- route Outside Core Area (HZ- 2) 435 1,8 1,5 0,6 0,6 1,96 18 641

Major TMAs (HZ- 3) 660 24 0 0 0 15,84 146 5184

Other TMAs (HZ- 4) 150 24 0 0 0 3,60 33 1178

Major Airports (HZ- 5) 125 1,8 1,5 0 0,6 0,49 4 160

Other Airports (HZ- 6) 25 1,8 1,5 0 0,6 0,10 1 32

Total Traffic 2015 25,11 231 8219




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AOC Applications

• Voice assumed to be continued to be required although expected to

decline - requirements are considered as non-demanding

• Data Link Used extensively today Use will grow over time Requirements are difficult to determine Information presented at AMCP Aggregated throughput requirements for current and future

applications - 52bps en-route (22 bps at the gate)




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AOC data link applications

Current ApplicationsOut Off On In (OOOI)NOTAM Request/NOTAMSFree TextWeather Request/WeatherPosition Weather ReportFlight StatusFuel StatusEngine Performance ReportsMaintenance ItemsFlight Plan Request/Flight Plan DataLoadsheet Request/LoadSheet TransferFlight Log Transfer

Future Applications

Real Time Maintenance Information

Graphical Weather Information

Online Technical Trouble Shooting

Real Time Weather Reports for Met Office

Telemedicine

Technical Log Book Update

Cabin Log Book Transfer

Update Electronic Library

Software Loading




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Conclusion

• Therefore the conclusion appears to be that for safety related communications only a low throughput solution is needed for data

• The requirements for voice are in upper airspace which is more strategic. Low rate vocoder is likely to satisfy requirements (to be confirmed)

• Therefore overall data rates are low at around 4-8 kbps




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Discussion

• Are the assumptions on ATS and AOC requirements correct ?

• Is data and voice required simultaneously ?

• Is position reporting required ?

• Are ATS voice communications with the same level of service to VHF R/T required ?

• Do we attempt to make the use of satellite transparent to the controller What are the HMI issues in setting up the ‘channel’




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Item 5 - Roadmap for Development




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History of satellite communications for aviation

• Dedicated aviation satellite in 1970s - AEROSAT - failed

• In 1980s PRODAT experiments showed satellite supporting ATM

• Inmarsat changed convention to support other forms of mobile satellite communications including aeronautical supported by their ‘signatories’ ICAO FANS mainly driven by promised of satellite technology industry sensed market opportunities airline carried out market surveys - main revenue from passengers

to fund equipage




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History of satellite communications for aviation

• INMARSAT acted as the focal point for definition of the system - System Definition Manual Support of the ICAO process liaison with industry, communication service providers and

airlines definition of enhancements to space segment to support safety

communications - safety studies safety communications was recognised as important area network operations for Inmarsat satellites




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The current AMSS was born

• Design choices for the current ICAO AMSS based on a business case for sharing of safety and non-safety

traffic and shared use of spectrum Designed to meet full range of users Large aircraft installation and avionics for long haul aircraft Use of Large Ground Earth Stations (GES) operated by PTT-type

organisations Compatible with as Inmarsat Aero H and H+




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Inmarsat Aero H

• Currently deployed in around 3000 aircraft - mainly long haul

• Some of these are FANS1/A equipped for ATM use in various regions of the world - mainly remote or oceanic

• Operational applications and meet by the performance of the system in these types of airspace

• Performance is not adequate for high density high space

• Aero I introduced with cheaper antenna for service in spot beam - few deployed

• Aero L low cost data only - deployed for helicopter safety




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Other Candidate technologies

• Aero H (and I) perceived as costly so can we use other systems at exist or are emerging ? Boeing Connexion Iridium Globalstar Inmarsat Aero systems Swift64, C, Mini-Aero, ……….

• Or another system as an evolution of AMSS ? NexSAT




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Other Inmarsat systems

• No other systems are defined in ICAO SARPs …?

• Do they meet the requirements ? Store and forward type systems do not - non-deterministic delivery

times Swift64 could meet requirements but not offered for safety related

communications (position could change) Will future Inmarsat systems support safety communications ?




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Boeing Connexion

• High -speed Internet in the sky

• Only targeted at non-safety communications I.e. AAC and APC

• Does not operate in protected frequency band

• Trials with Lufthansa and British Airways for passengers only




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Iridium & Globalstar

• Iridium is being used by aviation for AAC and APC applications but also by FAA in Alaska

• Globalstar avionic product available A product that complies with RTCA DO-262 (NGSS MOPS)

• Both primarily aimed at GA and for non-ATS related uses

• Can they be used for safety related communications in Europe ? Frequency bands - they are not able to offer AMS(R)S What is the guaranteed length of service ? What performance is guaranteed ? Number of users ?




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So what are the options ?

• Iridium and Globalstar do not appear to be candidates doubts over their long-term viability shared with non-safety services not defined in ICAO standards (at the moment anyway)

• Inmarsat Swift64, C and Mini-Aero not designed to support safety communications not designed for safety services not defined in ICAO standards (at the moment anyway)

• Improve the existing Aero H system possible but difficult




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NexSAT - a new design ?

• No existing system seems to meet the requirements so can we design and implement a new system ?

• Design has to have high levels of availability, reliability and continuity required for safety and regularity of flight communications safety must be built into the design process - Safety Regulation

Unit has some ideas on how to do this

• A world-wide system• But it does not exist yet




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How can we implement NexSAT ?

• Difficult but not impossible

Impossible is nothing but an excuse for the weak and a challenge for the bold

• For safety communications Inmarsat are unlikely to act as they did in the past

• We need a champion how will act in a similar way




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Reuse and improve

Aviation is unlikely to be able to afford its own satellite system

• reuse existing infrastructure where possible

GEO Satellites

GESs

Spectrum in L-band

Terrestrial networks

Institutional arrangements

add regional beams




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Example European regional beam

ARTEMIS

3-15




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Role of a Champion

• Need to have a long term vision

• Can see the commercial potential

• Willing to invest in the considerable development process

• Willing to co-ordinate the various interests avionic, space segment, communication service provision, etc

• Is willing to market the system




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Implementation timescale

Timescale 2015

ICAO Process

Technical Development

Flight trials

OPERATIONAL SERVICE

Deployment

Commercial Arrangements

How is this

phase funded ?

Industrial

consortium,

Public body

Inmarsat ?

The service provider

has to start rolling

out the service but

traffic may be low

initially




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STNA Study on Institutional Aspects

Luc Deneufchâtel




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Discussion

• How will the considerable R&D funding be found ?

• How will non-European interests be included ? ICAO for the technical standards but what about operational

(mission) requirements ?

• When does the R&D phase finish and the implementation phase begin ?

• To meet the timescale we need to start now !

• …….




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Item 7 - Discussion of future activities




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Discussion of future activities

• Eurocontrol has identified 3 main areas in which some further detailed work may be required business model institutional aspects mapping operational requirements to physical airspace

• Detailed descriptions of work necessary to clarify these areas are being prepared

7-1




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1 - Business aspects (1/2)

• Targeted at AMS(R)S therefore has to be paid by ATSPs and airlines only e.g. no APC traffic revenues however it is not vulnerable to market failure

• Cost benefit studies have to be carried out identification of benefits including ‘do nothing ’ option comparison of technology solutions to achieve same result view point models to be defined communication cost confirm goal of making equipment costs significantly lower than

AMSS

6-4




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Business aspects (2/2)

• What are the cost saving for ATSP/airlines ? Do nothing case alternative solutions

• Satellite capacity is expected to be leased from space segment provider - who pays for this ? Could it be paid on behalf of the European aeronautical

community by a communication service provider and recovered based on usage by ATS or AOC

flexible service provision mechanisms

• Funding development and deployment

6-4




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6-3

2 - Institutional issues

• Standardisation ICAO, RTCA/EUROCAE, ETSI, AEEC standards also detailed

technical standards for the system

• Role of communication service providers (e.g. ARINC, SITA)

• Space segment providers co-ordination between them in sharing common resources

(assignment of frequency sub-bands and possibly of codes (in CDMA system) to the various access points (GESs))




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ICAO Institutional Criteria (1/2)

Comply with the Radio Regulations of ITU and benefits from Radio Regulation protections for AMS(R)S

Ensure priority, precedence and pre-emption for AMS(R)S consistent with AMSS SARPs requirement

Supplies AMS(R)S service on non-discriminatory basis to all ATS/AOC organizations

Commits to long-term provision of AMS(R)S Commits to the backward compatibilty of future technology

transitions Demonstrated commitment of service/system provider and

avionics supplier(s) to international and national standards development and approval process




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ICAO Institutional Criteria (2/2)

Provides necessary documentation to regulatory and user community

Provides non-discriminatory access to necessary communications technology

Provide near global coverage Provides security against unauthorized activities and

communications Unrestricted access for distress/urgency communications Provides details on the design and documentation standards

followed in designing the NGSSs




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3 - Supporting real world requirements

• Mobile Operating Concept study was useful in defining types of information exchange HZ do not map easily into physical airspace this is needed to identify physical implementation choices e.g. size

and position of satellite beams

• QoS is dependent on position of aircraft in beam degrades towards edge of coverage

• If voice communications is it supported on a sector basis ? many sectors in Europe expanded




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Mapping applications to airspace

• Eurocontrol study has categorised airspace as a set of Homogeneous Zones

• In each HZ, mobile communications (voice and data) will be required with varying qualities of service. High density airspace has highest QoS Not all data link or voice services will be supportable by satcom

• Need to map QoS to system design/cost and capability there still has to be an iterative between mission objectives, system

design, achievable performance, safety and costs




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Design cycle

System design

Performance

Safety

Cost

Operational requirements




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Discussion of future activities

• So you have heard what we are planning to do

• What do you think ? What is missing ?

• Where could you offer guidance or support ?

• Specific areas where you would like to contribute

7-1




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Item 7 - Any other business




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NexSAT web site

• EUROCONTROL has introduced a web site for information on the project, as a repository of information and links to other sites

• Address is www.eurocontrol.int/wacs

• If you have any information to share or links you want added please provide them




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Item 8 - Actions




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Item 9 - Date of future Meetings




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Next meeting

• Meetings are held at approximately 6 month intervals

• Proposed next meeting Thursday 30th October 2003 in Brussels

One Sky for Europe EUROCONTROL © 2003 European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) NexSAT NexSAT Steering Group Meeting - 20 May.

Documents

europe eurocontrol

meeting slide

european organisation

meeting recall

agenda slide

d item

d welcome

activity slide