Episode 3 (EP3) - Single European Sky Implementation Support through Validation
Overview
Background & policy context:
The European Commission and Eurocontrol launched the 'industry-led' SESAR programme (Single European Sky Air traffic management Research) in April 2006, and Commissioner J. Barrot set the following goals:
- Safety: increase 10 times
- Capacity: increase 3 times
- ATM (Air Traffic Management) costs: reduce by 50%
- Environmental impact: reduce by 10%.
SESAR delivers its concept of operations covering strategic and tactical planning, ATC, airport and airspace user operations in 2007.
EP3 (Episode 3) was initiated by the European Commission to undertake a detailed first assessment of SESAR, validating the operational concept developed by it for medium-term deployment (2020).
Objectives:
The objective of Episode 3 was to begin to validate the Air Traffic Management operational concept developed by SESAR for medium term deployment. The emphasis was on obtaining a system level performance assessment of the concept's ability to meet the targets defined by SESAR.
EP3 assessed a significant part of the SESAR gate-to-gate operational ATM concept during a three-year period. It delivered validated Operational Services and Environment Definitions (OSEDs) together with associated performance justifications, to SESAR stakeholders. During its life cycle, these activities were fully integrated into the SESAR programme’s development phase (2007-2013), governed by the SESAR joint undertaking.
EP3's scientific and technical objectives were to:
- provide evidence that the SESAR operational concept is 'safe in principle', or otherwise;
- define a performance validation framework based on SESAR performance targets;
- provide evidence of the performance of the operational concept against these targets;
- provide evidence of the operational viability of the SESAR target concept, or otherwise;
- provide evidence of the technical viability of the SESAR target concept, or otherwise;
- consolidate and detail the SESAR operational concept in accordance with the assessment results.
Methodology:
The Episode 3 work was divided into three main areas:
- the project-wide validation strategy;
- the set of validation exercises based on this strategy; and
- the development of validation tools.
The work was structured against two main axes, the ATM scope and validation maturity. The ATM scope clusters the validation exercises into work packages according to the phase of flight with a transverse system view ensuring coherence. The validation maturity breaks the project plan into two cycles, the first 24 months focusing on exercises addressing generic issues and moving to local implementation issues in the final 18 months.
EP3 focused on the assessment by using ICAO key performance areas and the European Operational Concept Validation Process methodology. The project constructed validation areas that group the SESAR concept elements in accordance with its mode of operation to assess the expected benefits and its acceptability by human actors. Sequences of classical and innovative assessment tools were used, including:
- Expert groups providing initial qualitative assessment against selected KPA (Key Performance Areas) in relation to operability, safety and human factors whilst also developing validation scenarios;
- Gaming exercises providing human assessment of strategic decision-making processes feeding fast-time simulation and analytical modelling;
- Fast-time modelling performance assessment on KPA, and filtering scenarios and options to be evaluated by real-time simulation and trade-off activities;
- Real-time simulation providing qualitative operational assessments, valuable for developing the concept and building common understanding.
All assessments were consolidated in a top-level system model for trade-off and reporting, and a full assessment of the SESAR Concept of Operations was produced.
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