PINO MODOLA / GENOA
A joint Italian and Russian project is aiming to establish a satellite-based air traffic management system to aid polar traffic over northern Russia.
Alenia Spazio, the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and Siberia-based NPOMP are close to completing the initial two-year feasibility study for the satellite data relay system (SDRS), and are about to embark on the next phase which will cover system definition, the co-operation framework and financing.
The SDRS will be based on four Ku- and L-band satellites, placed in highly elliptical Molnya-type orbits at altitudes between 270km (168 miles) and 27,000km covering two flight information regions (FIRs) in northern Russia.
The development phase is expected to take 30 months, and the SDRS will be compatible with existing or future global positioning system and Galileo systems, which cannot provide reliable coverage above 70° of latitude.
The Arctic area is seen as a key resource for civil air traffic and Russian economic development.
It is estimated that direct North Pole routeing could cut 4,200km (2,270nm) from flights between New York and Seoul, South Korea; 3,700km from Chicago-Hong Kong routes; and 1,400km from Los Angeles-Bangkok routes.
The application of the SDRS to terrestrial and maritime traffic management could also be a key enabler for the development of the Russian regions, which has little, if any, navigation aids for trans-Siberian air, land and sea routes.
The ASI is negotiating an SDRS agreement with Russian state agency Rosaviakosmos and is seeking Canadian and US involvement, while hoping for greater industrial co-operation from Finmeccanica and other Italian companies. It is hoped that commercial incomes generated by the system could provide a 300-500% return over 10 years.
Source: Flight International
