Iris, element 10 of the ESA ARTES Programme, aims to develop a new air-ground communication system for Air Traffic Management. It is a satellite-based solution for the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) programme.
Since the inception of Iris, ESA has involved the best competences in the aviation, telecom research and industrial communities to make sure that the lessons of the past are applied and that a wide community participates and shares the decisions to be taken.
The Iris Public Event briefed stakeholders on the progress of Iris studies. Detailed presentations from the industrial teams explained the alternative approaches to system design taken by the ANTARES Phase B study and the THAUMAS study respectively. Satellite operators and service providers also presented their analyses of the business case and the pre-requisites for a service deployment.
Of particular interest was a presentation given by Mr. Nicolas Warinsko, representative of the Single European Sky and ATM Modernisation Unit of the European Commission. His presentation proposed a scheme for governing and incentivising SESAR deployment. He explained Iris implementation could be a "common project" within the framework of SESAR deployment, stressing that achieving the single European sky performance objectives is the most challenging objective for European aviation over the coming years.
A presentation by ESA Telecommunications and Integrated Applications (TIA) Director Mrs. Magali Vaissiere highlighted the fact that Iris is designed to serve aviation. Since the space component is just an enabler in the European ATM modernisation programme, ESA has to adapt to the schedule and constraints of a much wider initiative and a variety of stakeholders.
Click here to access the presentations available for download.
For more information, see the links located in the column to the right.
