IMO to Consider Iridium for GMDSS (again)

Iridium is asking IMO to certify it to operate GMDSS (again) | Maritime Insight

SatMagazine 2008 Iridium Year in Review
Increasingly, the eyes of the shipping industry are turning toward the Arctic as new sea lanes open in the far north. Iridium welcomes these IMO decisions, which will introduce an element of competition into the marketplace and also make an important contribution to safety at sea by providing GMDSS satellite coverage for the first time to ships operating in Region A4 (Polar Regions above approximately 70 latitude). Only Iridium can provide complete universal coverage over all GMDSS Regions with a single low-cost shipboard terminal to meet both the voice and data requirements of the GMDSS. We are currently moving forward as quickly as possible to achieve full GMDSS compliance and offer GMDSS-compliant ship terminals to the marine market as soon as the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS Convention) IV amendments come into force July 1, 2009.  

Maritime Journal - Iridium offer 
Iridium takes another run at the IMO phased to coincide with opening of the Arctic to commerce to benefit from Iridium polar coverage (region A4 compared to GEOSAT INMARSAT) with follow on to Iridium Next, and Iridium Prime.

Iridium IMO GMDSS Application 

Summary

• A Lasting Value Proposition For The Maritime Industry
• Operates a fully global satellite network providing maritime communications in all four Sea Areas (A1, A2, A3 & A4)
• Has a long history of providing mission critical and maritime communications
• Iridium is seeking recognition to be part of the GMDSS and will provide a comprehensive application demonstrating compliance with Res A.1001 to the NCSR sub-committee and IMSO for review
• Current constellation is healthy and is fully compliant with GMDSS requirements
• Iridium NEXT will provide continued service beyond 2030 and will be fully compliant with GMDSS requirements without the need to replace approved shipboard equipment
• Iridium PRIME provides an opportunity to enhance or extend maritime communications cost effectively globally 

International Maritime Organization to Consider Iridium Application to be a Global Maritime Distress and Safety System Service Provider - MarketWatch

Iridium Communications Inc. IRDM -3.06% today announced it has formally submitted a comprehensive application to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) through the United States for the provision of mobile satellite communications in the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). If the application is approved, Iridium could begin providing GMDSS services in late 2015.  

Today, ship operators are forced to carry multiple communications systems to meet GMDSS requirements as well as the operational communications needs of the vessel. Iridium's entrance into GMDSS communications will be supported by an array of maritime communications systems, giving the industry the option of a single, affordable communications terminal to satisfy both safety and business communications requirements wherever they operate. Iridium is working with recognized maritime communications equipment manufacturers for the production and certification of GMDSS terminals that use the Iridium® network, which are expected to be available before the end of 2015.  

Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)

Ship distress and safety communications entered a new era on 1 February 1999 with the full implementation of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) - an integrated communications system using satellite and terrestrial radiocommunications to ensure that no matter where a ship is in distress, aid can be dispatched. 

The GMDSS was developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the specialized agency of the United Nations with responsibility for ship safety and the prevention of marine pollution, in close co-operation with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and other international organizations, notably the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the COSPAS-SARSAT partners. 

The GMDSS requirements are contained in Chapter IV of SOLAS on Radiocommunications and were adopted in 1988. The requirements entered into force on 1 February 1992 but provided for a phase-in period until 1 February 1999. 

Coast Guard: Global Maritime Distress and Safety System 


FCC: Wireless Services: Ship Radio Stations: Operations: Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) 

What equipment is necessary under the GMDSS rules?

The exact suite of equipment depends upon the intended routes of your ship. A careful review of the new regulations, 47 CFR Section 80.1105, is needed to determine the requirements applicable to each ship in each sailing area. Generally, all GMDSS ships must carry 

• a 406 MHz EPIRB, 
• a VHF radio capable of transmitting and receiving DSC and radiotelephony, 
• a NAVTEX receiver, 
• a Search and Rescue Transponder, SART, and 
• two-way VHF portable radios. 

Armed and Dangerous? UAVs and U.S. Security | RAND

Armed and Dangerous? UAVs and U.S. Security | RAND

Abstract

Armed drones are making the headlines, especially in their role in targeted killings. In this report, RAND researchers stepped back and asked whether these weapons are transformative. The answer is no, though they offer significant capabilities to their users, especially in counterterrorism operations as has been the case for the United States. Will they proliferate? Yes, but upon a closer look at the types of systems, only a few rich countries will be in a position to develop the higher technology and longer range systems. U.S. adversaries and others will likely find weapons such as aircraft and air defenses more cost and militarily effective. Their proliferation will not create the kinds of global dangers that call for new arms control efforts, but the risks to regional stability cannot be dismissed entirely, as is the case of any conventional weapon. How the United States will use these weapons today and into the future will be important in shaping a broader set of international norms that discourage their misuse by others.

A Navy Officer Retention Study

NavyOfficerManningWhitePaper.pdf

Lessons from the past post Vietnam era need to be studied, adapted and relearned

KEEP A WEATHER EYE ON THE HORIZON

A Navy Officer Retention Study

Commander Guy M. Snodgrass, U.S. Navy

“The Admirals back in Washington had so many pressures on them, so many diversions, they forgot their primary job is to make sure that the Fleet is ready to go with highly trained and motivated Sailors. The problem particularly manifests itself when the budget is way down.”

ADM THOMAS B. HAYWARD, 21st Chief of Naval Operations, recalling the post-Vietnam War drawdown

Situation in Brief

The U.S. Navy is about to face its most challenging officer retention problem in more than two decades. Pivotal factors include:

• Continued high operational tempo after a decade of unusually long deployments
• Loss of “combat” mentality; plummeting morale and esprit de corps
• Significantly improved, and improving, economic trend lines
• Perception that operational command is not valued – and increasingly administrative
• Outflow of Boomers from workflow and influx of Millennials
• Erosion of trust in senior leadership

This study takes an in-depth look at factors significantly impacting officer retention, compares them with historic retention downturns, evaluates Fortune 500 approaches for retaining talent, and provides actionable recommendations to enable us to outrun the approaching storm.

US Navy Sends Bluefin Robotics' AUV to Search for MH370 B777

US Navy Sends Bluefin Robotics' Underwater Sonar Robot in Search for Missing Malaysian Airliner - Naval Technology

The US Navy is sending a sonar equipped underwater robot as part of its search efforts for the missing Flight 370 Malaysian Airlines 777 plane, service officials told USNI News Monday afternoon.


The Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is part of an additional search effort from the Navy to locate the airliner, presumed to have crashed in the Southern Indian Ocean off the western coast of Australia.



The torpedo shaped AUV can operate almost up to three miles underneath the waves and is equipped with a variety of sonar and cameras that could possibly detect debris at the depths of the ocean floor and transmit locations to nearby motherships on the surface.

Depth Rating	14,763 ft (4,500 m)
Endurance	25 hours @ 3 knots with standard payload
Speed	Up to 4.5 knots
Energy	13.5 kWh of total energy Nine 1.5 kWh battery packs Lithium-polymer, pressure-tolerant

Standard Payloads
(others available) EdgeTech 2200-M 120/410 kHz side scan sonar
(option: EdgeTech 230/850 kHz dynamically focused)

EdgeTech DW-216 sub-bottom profiler

Reson 7125 400 kHz multibeam echosounder

GA Energy Multiplier Module (EM²) almost doubles reactor efficiency, makes SMR competitive

Energy Multiplier Module (EM²)

General Atomics Energy Multiplier Module (EM²) reactor

Nuclear Energy Institute - Small Reactors

The U.S. Department of Energy has committed about $450 million to two Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (SMR) designs over the last year-and-half -- one by Oregon's NuScale and the other by North Carolina's Babcock and Wilcox.

The licensing program is focused on light water small modular reactors, which are intended to be much smaller — generally, a capacity ranging between 50 and 300 megawatts — than the large reactors operating around the world.

Once again the Government may have picked the wrong winner.

Company stumbles have Energy Dept., Capitol Hill worried about $450 million nuclear program | Taxpayers for Common Sense

"Small modular reactors represent a new generation of safe, reliable, low-carbon nuclear energy technology and provide a strong opportunity for America to lead this emerging global industry,” Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said when the department announced the NuScale deal in December.
 
But those outside the administration and the nuclear sector have one question: What industry?
There are few players in the light water small modular reactor space. Westinghouse, which had applied for the cooperative agreement with DOE, is winding down its operations. That leaves Holtec International as the only U.S.-based company without a DOE contract working on light water small modular reactors. Few are looking to invest in nuclear technology when utilities and industrial consumers can build natural gas-fired generation for a song.

On top of that, the cost per kilowatt-hour for small modular reactors is prohibitive — Peter Bradford, a former NRC commissioner, said costs would need to fall between 20 and 25 percent to be competitive, but that companies haven't been able to achieve that. Boosters say cost issues could be remedied by placing multiple reactors near each other, but NRC regulations prohibit monitoring more than two from the same control room.

"The fundamental problem here is that there's no foreseeable market," Bradford told the Examiner



Alternative nuclear energy race heats up as Canadian company enters - SmartPlanet

MSR Schematic

There are molten salt reactor companies including Terrestrial Energy, Thorium Tech Solution and Transatomic Power.

Pebble Bed Reactor Schematic

Pebble bed reactors companies are Steenkampskraal Thorium, X-Energy and Northern Nuclear.

Nuclear energy is going to be around for the foreseeable future, but the same cannot be said for the current nuclear reactor fleet, many of which were commissioned in the 1960s and 1970s. In July (Burke Moeller) appeared on Llewellyn King's "White House Chronicle" with Jone Lin Wang to interview John Parmentola VP of General Atomics about the EM2 nuclear reactor design technology, that would create more energy with less waste. But those benefits may not be enough to attract investors. Why? Watch the show and find out.

SmartPlanet provides a detailed update on the General Atomics (GA) Energy Multiplier Module (EM²) reactor.

GA is innovating new materials, getting the efficiency way up, simplifying the design and getting the cost into the competitive range.

GA is developing a Brayton cycle to convert heat to electricity at 53% versus 28-34% for regular steam turbines. In a four-module plant (1.06GW), one point of efficiency is worth a billion dollars in revenue over the life of the plant. 53% efficiency means $19 billion dollars more than a 34% efficient plant.

GA's design is a 265-megawatt (electric) sized reactor, with a fuel cycle lifetime of 30-plus years.
 
No refueling and very small waste.

8.9 – The Brayton cycle and MSR reactors | daryanenergyblog
provides discussion of merits of Brayton Cycle.

Brayton v. Rankine Cycle

 

Quantum Measurement of current one electron at a time redefines the Amp

Graphene Nanopump Zeroes in on the Perfect Ampere - IEEE Spectrum
Thanks to quantum Hall resistance and Josephson voltage measurements, the ohm and volt can be practicably defined within 10 parts per billion. Both, however, depend on empirical measures of current, typically via watt-balance measurements that are accurate to only 100 ppb. (Watt balances, in their turn, depend on the definition of the kilogram, which is still evolving, related initiatives like a Compton-wave definitions of mass.)

That leaves the amp, waiting for a way to produce exquisitely accurate currents.

The Ampere, Redefined | EE Times
Scientists across the globe therefore are working to find a similar constant to determine the unit of 1 ampere. A suitable natural constant could be the charge of a single electron. This charge in principle can be measured by tunneling single electrons in a suited circuit using quantum mechanics. A potential tool towards this end could be a single-electron pump, which has been known since 1990. However, it took the development of PTB researcher Hans Werner Schumacher and his team to transform the theoretical knowledge into the real world and measure the charge difference associated with every single "jump" of an electron, directly and very accurately.





Ampere - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The ampere (SI unit symbol: A; SI dimension symbol: I), often shortened to amp,^[1] is the SI unit of electric current^[2][3] (quantity symbol: I, i)^[4] and is one of the seven^[5] SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836), French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics.

In practical terms, the ampere is a measure of the amount of electric charge passing a point in an electric circuit per unit time, with 6.241×10¹⁸ electrons (or one coulomb) per second constituting one ampere.^[6]

The practical definition may lead to confusion with the definition of the coulomb (i.e., 1 ampere-second) and the ampere-hour (A·h), but in practical terms this means that measures of a constant current (e.g., the nominal flow of charge per second through a simple circuit) will be defined in amperes (e.g., "a 20 mA circuit") and the flow of charge through a circuit over a period of time will be defined in coulombs (e.g., "a variable-current circuit that flows a total of 10 coulombs over 5 seconds"). In this way, amperes can be viewed as a flow rate, i.e. number of (charged) particles transiting per unit time, and coulombs simply as the number of particles.

Predicting and Surveying Potential Wind farm Sites for radar interference

Wind Turbine Radar Interference Research | Eolos

The rapid increase in the number of wind farms has created serious concerns about wind turbine interference on surveillance, navigation, and Doppler weather radars. This concern has resulted, in particular, in halts or delays in a number of proposed installations in Europe and the US. 

Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB): Wind farms and radar

A new measuring system can detect the electric field strength as well as the signal contents of air-traffic control and terrestrial navigation systems with unprecedented accuracy. As an extended measuring device, it will be able to acquire measurement data which can be used in the planning phase of wind farms to find out to what extent the planned wind farms would influence the measured data and the subsequent signal processing of neighboring radar facilities used for air-traffic control, aerial defence or meteorological observations.

The measuring system consists of a reference antenna and a receiving facility. In the design used to date, it hangs down from a helicopter and can measure the electromagnetic field strength at any random location in space and synchronously save the measured data as well as the exact position with a very high sampling rate. Successful tests have already demonstrated that this system measures the electromagnetic far field which is necessary for a flawless signal transmission (e.g. between an instrument landing system and an aircraft) as precisely as required by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). These validation measurements are traceable to the International System of Units (SI), which ensures its comparability.

As the latest development, the measuring system was miniaturized and mounted onto an octocopter of approx. 80 cm in width. On such aerial vehicles, the system can be used at places where wind farms already exist or where they are planned in order to acquire data with regard to the field strength and to modified signal contents at any selected coordinates over longer periods.

Wind Turbine Radar Modeling and Analysis.pptx - wind_turbine_radar_modeling_and_analysis.pdf

Air Force looks to solve wind farm radar interference -- Defense Systems
AGI’s simulator, known as ROEMS, works with the company’s Systems Tool Kit modeling program, which has been used by NASA, the Marine Corps and the Air Force on projects ranging from network architecture analysis to airborne early warning, according to the company. The new simulator, to be called ROEMS II, will be a “straight-forward configuration control architecture” to help radar system designers account for wind turbine interference, the Air Force’s announcement said.

Radar interference from wind turbines isn’t a new problem, but it’s becoming more common as wind farms proliferate. Any structure, such as a building or TV tower, can reflect radar. Wind turbines can complicate things depending on their height, size of blades and the speed of their rotation. The amount of interference can range from none at all to significant, and could depend on the sensitivity of the radar equipment.

AGI Blog

AGI awarded IEEE Philadelphia Section Corporate Technology Innovation Award for software that analyzes the effects of wind farms on radar systems

Wind Turbine Radar Interference Reduction Patents

A lot of research and patent activity in both reducing RCS of wind turbines and mitigating interference in doppler radar is being done. The following patents resulted from a Google search "radar wind turbine interference":

Reducing radar interference from wind turbines

www.google.com/patents/US20130017096

App. - ‎Filed Jul 13, 2011 - ‎Published Jan 17, 2013 - ‎Charles Holley - ‎Charles Holley

A wind turbine including components formed from or coated in a radar absorptive material. A method for scanning an area having one wind ...

‎Overview - ‎Related - ‎Discuss

Method for mitigating the effects of clutter and ...

www.google.com/patents/US20110260908

App. - ‎Filed Dec 8, 2009 - ‎Published Oct 27, 2011 - ‎Christopher New - ‎Qinetiq Limited

The interference primarily occurs over the region of the wind farm, but due to some types of radar processing, the problem can extend over a ...

‎Overview - ‎Related - ‎Discuss

Wind turbines

www.google.com/patents/US20130135135

App. - ‎Filed Apr 27, 2011 - ‎Published May 30, 2013 - ‎Steve Appleton - ‎Vestas Wind Systems A/S

The present invention relates to the use of radar-absorbing materials in connection with wind turbines for reducing interference caused by wind ...

‎Overview - ‎Related - ‎Discuss

Wind turbine with reduced radar signature

www.google.com/patents/US20100166547

App. - ‎Filed Oct 6, 2009 - ‎Published Jul 1, 2010 - ‎Walter M. Presz, Jr. - ‎Flodesign Wind Turbine Corporation

In addition, the wind turbine may cause direct interference by virtue of high reflectivity reducing the radar sensitivity and may produce false ...

‎Overview - ‎Related - ‎Discuss

Improvements relating to wind turbines

www.google.com/patents/WO2011138597A2?cl=en

App. - ‎Filed Apr 27, 2011 - ‎Published Nov 10, 2011 - ‎Steve Appleton - ‎Vestas Wind Systems A/S

Technical field The present invention relates to the use of radar-absorbing materials in connection with wind turbines for reducing interference ...

‎Overview - ‎Related - ‎Discuss

Wind turbine providing reduced radar signature.

www.google.com/patents/EP2400152A2?cl=en

App. - ‎Filed Jun 8, 2011 - ‎Published Dec 28, 2011 - ‎Francis Eugene Parsche - ‎Harris Corporation

Indeed, a wind turbine assembly may cause both reflectivity and motion interference that may impact any radar site that covers the region ...

‎Overview - ‎Related - ‎Discuss

Wind turbine with reduced radar signature

www.google.com/patents/EP2412525A1?cl=en

App. - ‎Filed Jul 29, 2011 - ‎Published Feb 1, 2012 - ‎Walter M. Presz Jr. - ‎Flodesign Wind Turbine Corp.

In addition, the wind turbine may cause direct interference by virtue of high reflectivity reducing the radar sensitivity and may produce false ...

‎Overview - ‎Related - ‎Discuss

Wind turbine with reduced radar signature

www.google.com/patents/US20110020110

App. - ‎Filed Jul 29, 2010 - ‎Published Jan 27, 2011 - ‎Walter M. Presz, Jr. - ‎Flodesign Wind Turbine Corporation

In addition, the wind turbine may cause direct interference by virtue of high reflectivity reducing the radar sensitivity and may produce false ...

‎Overview - ‎Related - ‎Discuss

Wind turbine with reduced radar signature

www.google.com/patents/EP2334930A1?cl=en

App. - ‎Filed Oct 6, 2009 - ‎Published Jun 22, 2011 - ‎Walter M. Presz, Jr. - ‎Flodesign Wind Turbine Corporation

[0004] In addition, the wind turbine may cause direct interference by virtue of high reflectivity reducing the radar sensitivity and may produce ...

‎Overview - ‎Related - ‎Discuss

Wind turbine with reduced radar signature

www.google.com/patents/CA2747473A1?cl=en

App. - ‎Filed Jul 28, 2011 - ‎Published Jan 29, 2012 - ‎Walter M. Presz, Jr. - ‎Flodesign Wind Turbine Corp.

In addition, the wind turbine may cause direct interference by virtue of high reflectivity reducing the radar sensitivity and may produce false ...

‎Overview - ‎Related - ‎Discuss

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UAS Workshop San Diego | Embry-Riddle Worldwide

UAS Workshop San Diego | Embry-Riddle Worldwide

a two-day course being offered in San Diego April 24-25 by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University–Worldwide. Topics to be discussed include:

• introduction and impact of UAS; 
• UAS designs; 
• legislation, certification and regulation; 
• industry concerns; 
• applications; 
• operational profiles; 
• business opportunities; and 
• the future of UAS.

The course is developed and taught by Embry-Riddle Worldwide faculty with UAS operations and research experience. The cost of the course is $550, and continuing education units are available.

a two-day course being offered in San Diego April 24 to 25 by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide.
Topics to be discussed include: introduction and impact of UAS; UAS designs; legislation, certification and regulation; industry concerns; applications; operational profiles; business opportunities; and the future of UAS. The course is developed and taught by Embry-Riddle Worldwide faculty with UAS operations and research experience.
The cost of the course is $550, and continuing education units are available. For more information, visit the workshop page on our Professional Education website (proed.erau.edu), or email training@erau.edu.
- See more at: http://worldwide.erau.edu/newsroom/press-releases/erau-worldwide-host-unmanned-aerial-systems-workshop-san-diego.html#sthash.lmDRNzLH.dpuf

a two-day course being offered in San Diego April 24 to 25 by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide.
Topics to be discussed include: introduction and impact of UAS; UAS designs; legislation, certification and regulation; industry concerns; applications; operational profiles; business opportunities; and the future of UAS. The course is developed and taught by Embry-Riddle Worldwide faculty with UAS operations and research experience.
The cost of the course is $550, and continuing education units are available. For more information, visit the workshop page on our Professional Education website (proed.erau.edu), or email training@erau.edu.
- See more at: http://worldwide.erau.edu/newsroom/press-releases/erau-worldwide-host-unmanned-aerial-systems-workshop-san-diego.html#sthash.lmDRNzLH.dpuf

FAA Grounds Non-commercial Texas Search And Rescue UAV Flights

Drone Team That Finds Missing People and Dead Bodies Would Like To Keep Doing That

A volunteer search-and-rescue team out of Houston is doing its best to make the FAA’s restrictions on drone use look really, really bad. The Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team has retained drone lawyer Brendan Schulman (who famously got a judge to issue a ruling last month questioning the FAA’s drone authority) to write an angry letter to the FAA letting it know that the group will sue if the airspace-regulating agency doesn’t let it do what it wants with its search-and-rescue drones. And what it wants to do is find missing persons, an incredibly sympathetic drone use case.


The team uses a remote controlled Spectra flying wing plane with a camera that can photograph “a square mile in less than 10 minutes,” according to the letter. The letter doesn’t mention the
unmanned plane spotting any living missing persons, though it has “directly pinpointed the location of remains of 11 deceased missing
people,” such as a 2-year-old who went missing in April 2012. His red shirt was spotted in a drone photo in an area of the swamp through which search-kayakers had already passed without seeing his body. “Because of the presence of alligators in the water, had the body not been found by the model aircraft, it likely never would have been found, and Devon’s family would to this day not know what became of their child,” they write in their letter to the FAA.


FAA Grounds Non-commercial Search And Rescue UAV Flights | Aero-News Network


FAA Behaves Like A Petulant Child Trying To Prove A Point By Misbehaving


Once again the FAA has gone after the operation of UAVs as if they actually had regulations to control it. Only last month, an NTSB judge ruled that the FAA did not have control over drone flights because they were using an internal document that has not gone through a regulatory process.

As reported in an article published on arstechnica.com, a group in Texas that voluntarily searches for missing persons through the use of a UAV in a non-commercial operation is being told by the FAA
they need approval to do so. The group known as Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team voluntarily helps local authorities search for missing persons with the aid of a UAV mounted television camera.


In the article it’s reported that the group’s founder, Tim Miller said, "This technology gives us a better chance at finding missing people alive without the high cost of using helicopters, which are often
not even available, and making the best and safest use of our volunteer searchers' time during the critical first hours. The drones help me fulfill the promise I make to families that I will use every resource available to bring home their missing loved ones." According to EquuSearch, they have found more than 300 persons alive in some 42 states and eight countries.


The FAA contends that the search and rescue organization can, through an email process, request a certificate of authorization on a case-by-case basis. However, there still appears to be no regulatory
reason for this sort of bureaucratic approach.


It seems beyond reason that the FAA continues with this approach to UAV operation without addressing it through the standard regulatory process. It looks like another case of the FAA taking the path of ruling through intimidation alone regardless of the law.

FMI: http://texasequusearch.org, www.faa.gov, www.auvsi.org

NTSB Studying Live Streaming For Flight Data Recorders - AFIRS via Iridium

NTSB Studying The Possibility Of Live Streaming For Flight Data Recorders | Aero-News Network

Disappearance Of A Second Airliner In Five Years Spurs Interest In Flight Data Recording Streaming

The NTSB said last week that it was studying the possibility of live streaming of flight data recorder information. Joe Kolly, the director of research and engineering for the NTSB made no comments
regarding the disappearance of flight MH 370 in an interview with Reuters, but he said discussions about live streaming of black box data from airliners are more prevalent now because it took nearly 2 years to recover the flight data box from the Air France jet that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean on a flight from Brazil to France in 2009.

In the discussions with Kolly, he indicated that working groups are meeting to determine such things as what type of data a system like this would need to transmit and what event would trigger the data to berecorded.

A Canadian company, FLYHT Aerospace Solutions, is working on an automated flight information reporting system that can also stream black box data in emergencies. Their system could serve as a basis for determining what is needed. Richard Hayden, a company director with FLYHT said there was growing interest in his company's technology.


It stands to reason that the disappearance of flight MH 370 will add more to the discussions on about flight data recorder streaming of information.

FLYHTStream

FLYHTStream | FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd.

The Oceanic Position Tracking Improvement & Monitoring (OPTIMI) project was launched by the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) after the tragic accident of Air France Flight 447, that occurred over the South Atlantic in June 2009, showed improvements were needed in the monitoring of air traffic in oceanic and remote low density airspace and in coordination between Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Search and Rescue (SAR) services in these oceanic areas.

FLYHTStream™ is a proprietary Emergency Streaming Mode providing proactive risk management for aircraft awareness and incident analysis.  FLYHTStream automatically transmits four-dimensional GPS-based position and flight data recorder information when automatically triggered by an airborne event, initiated in the air by the pilot or on the ground by the airline. The real-time streaming of critical flight data to the ground creates a “virtual black box”, allowing the data to be analyzed immediately.

AFIRS 228 | FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd.

Iridium | Products | FLYHT afirs UpTime Flight Information System

U.S. NTSB studying streaming of ‘black box’ flight data | Firstpost

He said the system had not caught on as well as expected given airlines' resistance to anything that increased costs. But he said it cost less than $100,000 to install a new system on an airplane, and a few dollars per flight hour to receive the data. The system is in use on 350 aircraft today, including many that fly over remote areas such as Alaska, Canada, Africa, Afghanistan and Russia. FLYHT also recently won a deal to provide the system for a Chinese aircraft operator, Hayden said. "This isn't expensive, and we don't have to build any infrastructure since we use the Iridim satellites," Hayden said, noting that FLYHT was also exploring opportunities to increase its work with military operators.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/world/u-s-ntsb-studying-streaming-of-black-box-flight-data-1457073.html?utm_source=ref_article

System is in use on 300 aircraft today, initial cost $100,000, uses Iridium network for data transmission. 


Thinking outside the black box - Lowell Sun Online
Flyht's Automated Flight Information Reporting System, or AFIRS, would have been sending a steady stream of the same information as the events unfolded using Iridium satellites, Hayden said.

Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/news/ci_25501913/thinking-outside-black-box#ixzz2y2LuvMLN

Even if they get the black box back, getting the data is frequently not easy.

NETC mods Nine Contracts for $34M Naval Training & Education in Pensacola

Defense.gov Contracts for Tuesday, April 01, 2014

1. URS Federal Inc., Germantown, Md. (N00189-12-D-Z016); URS Federal Services Naval Training Product and Services (NTSP)
2. Raytheon Technical Services Co. LLC, Sterling, Va. (N00189-12-D-Z017); Raytheon Technical Services Co and Department of the Navy Contract | N0018912DZ017
3. Technical Software Services Inc.,* Pensacola, Fla. (N00189-12-D-Z018); 
4. Camber Corp., Huntsville, Ala. (N00189-12-D-Z019); 
5. General Dynamics Information Technology, Fairfax, Va. (N00189-12-D-Z020); 
6. Northrop Grumman Corp., Herndon, Va.
   (N00189-12-D-Z021); 
7. Logistic Services International Inc., Jacksonville, Fla. (N00189-12-D-Z022); 
8. Sonalysts Inc., Waterford, Conn.
   (N00189-12-D-Z023); and 
9. Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, San Diego, Calif. (N00189-12-D-Z024), 

are being awarded modifications under previously awarded multiple award contracts to exercise option two of  the contracts pursuant to contract clause FAR 52.217-9, option to extend the term of the contract. These nine contractors will compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. see Defense.gov Contracts for Thursday, March 08, 2012

The contracts provide education training products and services for the Naval Education Training Command (NETC) in conjunction with Naval Education Training and Professional Development and Technology Center which works to educate Navy sailors in a variety of ways. The maximum contract value, for option two, for all nine contracts combined, is $33,079,710.

No funding will be obligated with the exercise of the option, and therefore none of the funding will expire before the end of the current fiscal year. Funding will be provided on individual task orders issued against the contracts during the period of the option.

Work will be performed in Pensacola, Fla. (90 percent) and the other 10 percent will be performed at the contractors' locations. Work is expected to be completed April 30, 2015. 


The NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia Office, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.


Naval Education and Training Professional Development and Technology Center

Mission Statement -Provide quality products and services to enable and enhance education, training, career development, andpersonnel advancement.

• Administer the Navy Enlisted Advancement System (N3)
• Provide audio-visual products and services and serve as Naval Education and Training Command’s (NETC) Visual Information program manager (N5) 
• Develop and maintain training information and training  management technology support systems (N6)
• Provide resources management support services to assigned activities (N8)