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Volpe Center Highlights - July/August 2000

Economic Growth and Trade

Director's Notes | Focus | Safety | Mobility | Human and Natural Environment |
Economic Growth and Trade | National Security

Advance America's economic growth and competitiveness domestically and internationally through efficient and flexible transportation.

Supporting the Surface Movement Advisor System (FAA)

The Surface Movement Advisor (SMA) is one of the key products of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Free Flight Phase 1 initiative to improve airspace utilization and reduce congestion. A collaborative effort between FAA and the airlines, SMA provides airlines at eight busy airports with estimates of arrival runway and touchdown times at 20-second intervals (Chicago, New York, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Atlanta). SMA information is routed through the Volpe Center to the FAA and the airlines.

The Volpe Center's Traffic Management System (TMS) operations team now provides 24-hour, 7 day-a-week operational support for the SMA air traffic management information system. Each of the three operation shifts at the Volpe Center has received training and an SMA Troubleshooting Manual has been developed.

In addition, the Volpe Center is providing technical and planning support to the Free Flight Phase 1 Program Office in the preparation and approval of the SMA Security Certification and Authorization Package. From June 26 to 27, 2000, the Volpe Center met with representatives of the SMA Program Office, FAA's Office of Information Security, and the National Airspace System Policy Division to develop an information system security plan for the SMA. Specific Volpe Center input included details of the end-to-end SMA network, security devices, policies, procedures, and a vulnerability assessment.

Volpe Delivers Web-based Situation Display (FAA)

On June 5, 2000, the Volpe Center delivered Version 1.0 of the Web-based Situation Display (WSD) to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Herndon, Virginia. The WSD allows FAA sites to access the FAA's Enhanced Traffic Management System (ETMS), the real time, operational computer system developed by the Volpe Center that the FAA uses to predict, detect, and address airspace congestion problems. WSD will allow small terminal radar approach control facilities that are not ETMS remote sites to access ETMS data.

During the week of June 19, 2000, an upgrade to ETMS, Version 7.0, was installed at more than 80 FAA field sites. The new features included in Version 7.0 allow users to create new routes for traffic management during severe weather, and will allow airlines to send real-time schedule updates to ETMS and provide them with access to the Airport Demand List, which shows detailed flight arrival predictions at a given airport over the next 15 hours. Additionally, weather overlays now extend beyond the continental United States and include Canada and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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