Extended Communications in VHf Over Enhanced Satellite Segment: 21-EU-TG-ECHOES

Programme(s): Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)-Transport

Topic: CEF-T-2021-SIMOBGEN-SESAR-DSDA-WORKS

Type of action: CEF Infrastructure Projects

Project ID: 101079448

Objective: 
Communication, Navigation and Surveillance systems are key in the provision of safe and efficient air traffic management. Although Global Navigation Satellite Systems already exist and changed Air Navigation forever, Communication and Surveillance systems are still mainly ground-based which means that in remote and oceanic areas there is limited provision of these services severely affecting the airspace capacity and flight efficiency. This translates into the requirement of a higher minimum separation between aircraft (and thus smaller capacity of air routes) compared to continental areas and the necessity to define the air routes in advance; which is not the most efficient way to define air routes as conditions permanently change and thus the most efficient route changes too. The overall objective of ECHOES is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of a space-based solution for Very High Frequency (VHF) communications (voice and datalink) for the aviation sector. This, in combination with Space-Based Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) , will greatly contribute to Air Traffic Management (ATM) in terms of safety, capacity, cost-efficiency and environmental impact, focusing mainly in oceanic areas although serving as backup for continental areas if necessary. In order to provide the required services and test this technology, ECHOES will develop, manufacture and launch two satellites in a Low Earth Orbit. These satellites will serve as the platform to test the technologies and services aimed at improving the Air Navigation Services. ECHOES will conduct a series of use cases in the South Atlantic corridor, including Southwest European oceanic airspace, which have the following objectives: 1. Demonstrating the technical feasibility of VHF voice and data link and determine the service provision parameters (availability, latency, data rate), in combination with satellite-based ADS-B. 2. Performing an initial assessment of the potential reduction of the required minimum separation between aircraft in oceanic regions, giving input to standardisation bodies in order to update the Performance Based Communications and Performance Based Surveillance concepts and support standardisation and regulation activities. 3. Performing an environmental impact analysis and a Cost-Benefit Analysis model to quantify the environmental benefits and how the technical performance of the service can be an enabler of disruptive green procedures, such as permanent contrail avoidance or more efficient trajectories Additionally, ECHOES’ work partially contributes to the following topics: 4. Aviation-induced cloudiness data collection and analysis aimed at collecting aircraft data from sensors to assess the non-CO2 impact of aviation in conjunction with satellite imagery data and meteorological sources/databases. 5. Integrated 4D trajectories: the evolution from spatial 3 dimension (3D) trajectories to trajectories that also take into account the time as a new dimension (4D) for green and more efficient trajectories. It will be focused on demonstrating the operational benefits of Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Contract (ADS-C) when integrated with ground systems and its environmental benefits. In addition, the benefits of facilitating airlines to flight under user preferred routes will be evaluated. The main applications and improvements that the solution proposed in ECHOES will bring to the industry are: - Increased efficiency: reducing separation, flying more efficient routes and increasing punctuality. - Reinforced safety: monitoring every flight and connecting aircraft permanently. - Reduced CO2 footprint: enabling more efficient routes and increasing the predictability of flights. - Flexible route planning: allowing users to fly preferred and more flexible efficient routes. - Readiness: no changes will be required by services in existing installations, avionics or Air Traffic Controllers and pilots procedures. - Standardization: Project will catalyse the development of standardization for this kind of technology.