Enhanced Controller Working Position for Integrating Spaceflight into Air Traffic Management

Kurzfassung

Commercial space transportation is raising the number of space activities and space vehicles are increasingly traversing the civil airspace. During such activities, aircraft need to be protected from possible non-nominal events, particularly from those generating debris. To respond effectively to malfunctions operators and air navigation service provider (ANSP) need to collaborate and exchange operational data. In the data exchange project (DEP) the German Aerospace Center (DLR) cooperates with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to demonstrate such a data exchange. Based on the data exchange, DLR has developed a concept to visualize information at the controller working position (CWP). This enables the controller to initiate appropriate measures to protect aircraft from falling debris. The concept was implemented and evaluated at DLR's Air Traffic Validation Center. The goal was to identify, if the information presented is the information required by controllers to manage the situation.