US in move towards GPS-based air traffic control

[fyrefli]

The US aviation regulator has selected ITT Corp to provide a new generation of GPS satnav-based air traffic control equipment, awarding a $207m, three-year initial contract...

Under ADS-B, each plane is fitted with GPS satellite navigation, and thus knows its own location precisely. This information will then be broadcast in real time to a ground network, updating every second. Controllers will have a much more accurate idea where all the aircraft are, which could potentially allow them to move planes through bottlenecks more quickly...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/04/gps_satnav_air_traffic_for_america/

There's a related thread in Dunnunda & Godzone:

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=287594&page=8&highlight=ADSB

[Pugilistic Animus]

ADS-B will probably augment rather than replace ground radar for ther near future the FAA is SLOWWWW, but i believe it would contribute to safety especially for the GA crowd in mountainous areas where coverage is spotty, of for the. but where is LAAS, and LPV [precision gps aprch's]?
give it at least 30 years before it is the primary means of control,
I may be wrong

[Saint76]

Nothing new. The FAA announced their plans to replace SSR with ADS-B well over a year ago now.

"Controllers will have a much more accurate idea where all the aircraft are, which could potentially allow them to move planes through bottlenecks more quickly...".
--> Not true, they already have an accurate picture. However, using ADS-B on the flight deck (ASAS) has significant potential to increase efficiency and capacity.

Google "NextGen" to see the FAA's plan. Europe is developing similar plans under the SESAR programme, but no commitment yet to what the FAA are proposing.

[Airbubba]

You can now track planes in real time with your own UK-made ADS-B receiver:

http://www.javiation.co.uk/sbs-1.html

[green granite]

So what happens during a big solar flare that causes a sudden GPS outage for 10mins or more?

The Dec. 6 solar flare spawned an intense burst of radio wave radiation, including some at the same frequencies used by GPS hardware -- creating a "noise" that made it impossible for many receivers to continue receiving signals from GPS satellites. The effect, said Cornell University professor Paul Kintner, was "more profound and widespread than we thought possible."

The impact of the December disruption on transportation and other systems remains unclear, in part because military and commercial GPS users do not like to discuss their vulnerabilities. But the researchers said many receivers were useless for 10 minutes, and some for longer periods.

Full article http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/07/AR2007040700916.html

[ComJam]

They'll have to work hard to make it jam proof as well. Weak signal strength, easy to take down i believe.

[Shore Guy]

Yes, there will have to be a position back up source as the world transitions to aircraft based surveillance from ground based surveillance.

Leading candidate......E-Loran.

[Saint76]

Only supported in the US though and not Europe (well Airbus anyway) due to the extra avionics required for LORAN (too expensive). Europe will likely stick with SSR and DME as a supplement to GPS.