Elements from the first ECHO project and and its concept of operations (CONOPS) which are specific to the integration of space operations will build the foundation of conceptual developments for Solution #01.
In addition, experience from previous and ongoing national projects will be exploited. In the joint data exchange project (DEP) of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the Office of Commercial Space Transportation of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the cross-border data exchange for launch and re-entry operations in real time was conceptually developed and demonstrated in 2021.
The follow-up national project at DLR “SpaceTracks” has further refined the concept for planning, execution, and post-mission analysis of spaceflights in an air traffic environment. The procedural framework will be developed from the existing airspace management procedures, contingency management at European Aviation Crisis Co-ordination Cell (EACCC) level, Network Manager (NM) flight and flow management and local Air Traffic Services Unit (ATSU) procedures.
The new concept will focus on developing new procedures using real-time data provision for ATSUs and NM with the use of prototypes such as the Space Data Integrator (SDI) and Real-time Mission Monitor (RMM), which will provide improved situational awareness to enable and support timely release of airspace restrictions when no longer required, plus provide real-time information in case of non-nominal events to those actors concerned.
Real-time monitoring of mission-critical parameters and the utilisation of safety-relevant information in non-nominal situations, developed and tested during the DLR / FAA Data Exchange Project, will be incorporated in the Solution #01 concept and adapted for the European network. This support will optimise the integration of space events into ATM during the strategic, pre-tactical, tactical and follow-up phases. The prototypes will be adapted to support the NM related integration tasks addressed within Solution #01 and will be compatible with the development related to the future NM system Integrated Network Manager (iNM). (update based on ECHO2 work)