STARS Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System

by Mr. Flight on August 10th, 2005

Since the 1960s, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been a leader in using computers to help air traffic controllers direct aircraft. As new technologies became available, the FAA added newer generations of computers to those already in service, retiring the most obsolete equipment. To control the airspace around the airport today, the FAA uses five different kinds of older computers and three different kinds of displays. Some of the equipment is more than 20 years old and is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. In addition, the older equipment would have difficulty handling the increase in traffic projected for coming years. STARS is modernizing these computers and displays, and is a joint FAA and Department of Defense (DOD) program that will replace systems at many civilian and military air traffic control facilities worldwide.

Controllers use STARS to provide air traffic control services to aircraft in the busy airspace around airports called the terminal area that extends in a radius of 40 to 60 miles out. The system’s improvements will enhance safety while reducing delays by increasing system reliability and lowering lifecycle operating and maintenance costs. STARS also will accommodate the projected growth in air traffic and provide a platform for new functions to support FAA initiatives such as Free Flight.

STARS Features

STARS offers many advantages, including an open architecture and expansion capability that allow new software and capacity to be added as needed to stay ahead of the growth in air traffic. In addition:

STARS includes new computers, about 1.4 million lines of new software tailored to individual sites, and new controller workstations and displays.
The STARS 20-by-20 inch full-color display shows aircraft positions and other flight information to the controller. The display has been specially developed for air traffic control and is exceptionally readable when viewed at close range by controllers. The displays provide information more clearly—particularly details about local weather—and will allow controllers to track as many as 1,350 aircraft at a time in a 60-mile radius around the airport.
STARS can combine data from up to 16 different long and/or short-range radar systems to create a complete and accurate picture of airplanes and weather in the terminal area.
STARS is designed with back-up capabilities so that the failure of any component will not cause a system failure. STARS also has an independent feature that will ensure controllers continue to receive critical information, even if there is a total hardware or software failure in the primary system. These back-up features, along with increased system reliability, will reduce the number and duration of air-travel delays caused by equipment failures.
The STARS architecture allows up to 22 different training scenarios to run while it supports live operations, allowing controllers to train during normal working hours when air traffic volume is low. STARS also provides a playback feature which will further aid in training and with accident investigations.
STARS software can be adapted at multiple levels, from site-specific to a national baseline configuration. For example, STARS can be adapted to each site’s unique geography, facilities, and controller preferences. At the same time, it can be updated with new national air traffic control procedures and standards.
STARS supplies information that provides technicians the ability to assess the health of the system. The system also can maintain itself automatically while recording data for further analysis. For example, if the system detects a hardware error, it automatically switches to a redundant hardware component.
STARS is a secure, joint FAA and DOD system that shares information, enhancing both national security and aviation safety.

Putting STARS into Operation

The FAA is breaking its terminal modernization program deployment into phases to maintain flexibility to meet potential changes in operational needs or budgets.
Under the first phase of terminal modernization, STARS is being deployed to 47 air traffic control facilities. As of July 2005, 37 FAA and 22 Department of Defense sites were fully operational with new STARS systems. By the end of the first phase expected in fiscal year 2007, STARS will be operational at 18 of the FAA’s 35 most critical, high-volume airports that together handle approximately 50 percent of air traffic.

Raytheon was selected as the prime contractor for STARS in September 1996. The STARS facilities and engineering baseline (development and deployment) cost, from development through the end of phase one, will be approximately $1.4 billion.

In June 2005, the Department of Defense reached a decision committing to full production of STARS at all of their remaining air traffic control facilities worldwide.

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