National Airspace System
MGMT 203 Management for Aeronautical Science
Manager’s Perspective Paper – The National Airspace System (NAS)
March 16, 2013
Prepared for
Dr. Daniel Nation
Lecturer
Prepared by
Ong Wei Jian Lionel
Introduction
In this report, we will be looking at the National Airspace System (NAS). We will be taking an in depth look at the overview and the infrastructure of the NAS, discuss about the FAA Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), and also examine the future needs of the National Airspace System.
Overview of the NAS
The National Airspace System is defined as a complex combination of systems, procedures, facilities, aircraft, and personnel which work together as one system to ensure safe and efficient air travel in the United States. The NAS consists of several components, and these include:
• NAS Operational Facilities (unstaffed)
• Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC)
• Air Traffic Control Towers (ATCT)
• Ground Radios and Radar Systems
• Airports
• Aircrafts (commercial, private, and military)
• Airline Personnel (operating, maintaining, and modernizing the system)
• Passengers (commercial and military)
Infrastructure of the NAS
The NAS helps to maintain a safe and efficient flight over the US airspace by allowing all control towers, control centers, radios, radars, and many airports to be interconnected to one another to form a NAS operational communications network. This NAS communications network helps pilots to communicate with air traffic controllers and airline operation centers to ensure a safe flight as they travel over the airspace. There are a three systems that make up the NAS, and these include the Digital Airport Surveillance Radar (DASR) System, the Voice Communication Switching System (VCSS), and the Department of Defense (DoD) Advanced Automation System, or DAAS for short.
The DASR
Manager’s Perspective Paper – The National Airspace System (NAS)
March 16, 2013
Prepared for
Dr. Daniel Nation
Lecturer
Prepared by
Ong Wei Jian Lionel
Introduction
In this report, we will be looking at the National Airspace System (NAS). We will be taking an in depth look at the overview and the infrastructure of the NAS, discuss about the FAA Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), and also examine the future needs of the National Airspace System.
Overview of the NAS
The National Airspace System is defined as a complex combination of systems, procedures, facilities, aircraft, and personnel which work together as one system to ensure safe and efficient air travel in the United States. The NAS consists of several components, and these include:
• NAS Operational Facilities (unstaffed)
• Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC)
• Air Traffic Control Towers (ATCT)
• Ground Radios and Radar Systems
• Airports
• Aircrafts (commercial, private, and military)
• Airline Personnel (operating, maintaining, and modernizing the system)
• Passengers (commercial and military)
Infrastructure of the NAS
The NAS helps to maintain a safe and efficient flight over the US airspace by allowing all control towers, control centers, radios, radars, and many airports to be interconnected to one another to form a NAS operational communications network. This NAS communications network helps pilots to communicate with air traffic controllers and airline operation centers to ensure a safe flight as they travel over the airspace. There are a three systems that make up the NAS, and these include the Digital Airport Surveillance Radar (DASR) System, the Voice Communication Switching System (VCSS), and the Department of Defense (DoD) Advanced Automation System, or DAAS for short.
The DASR
References: • NextGen for Airports. Retrieved March 15, 2013 from the Federal Aviation Administration website: http://www.faa.gov/nextgen/qanda/airports/ • What is NextGen? Retrieved March 15, 2013 from the Federal Aviation Administration website: http://www.faa.gov/nextgen/slides/?slide=1 • Houston, Sarina (n.d.). The National Airspace System Explained. Retrieved March 15, 2013 from website: http://aviation.about.com/od/Air-Traffic-Control/a/The-National-Airspace-System-Explained.htm • Wadas, Burt (n.d.). National Airspace System (NAS) Overview. Retrieved March 16, 2013 from Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association (AFCEA) website: http://www.afceaboston.com/documents/events/cnsatm2011/Briefs/01-Monday/07-Wadas-HBAG%20NationalAirspaceSystemOverview.pdf • Williams, James H. (February 2011). National Airspace System Security Cyber Architecture. Retrieved March 16, 2013 from The Mitre Corporation website: http://www.mitre.org/work/tech_papers/2011/10_4169/10_4169.pdf