FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 28, 2000
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-5571
DOT 17-00
Secretary Slater, FAA Administrator Garvey
Unveil New Air Traffic Control Technology for Syracuse
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Responding to President Clinton’s charge in his State of the Union message to address the new century’s challenges by investing in technology, U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today marked another milestone in building an aviation system for the new millennium when he unveiled state-of-the-art air traffic control workstations at Syracuse Hancock International Airport.
On Jan. 12, FAA air traffic controllers in Syracuse became the second in the nation to use Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) workstations, following El Paso, Texas, which began using the displays in December. The workstations are the first part of a phased program to deploy STARS as a full-service system nationwide. Raytheon Corporation of Lexington, Mass., is the development contractor.
"In his State of the Union address yesterday, President Clinton spoke of the importance of investment in technology," Secretary Slater said. "Today, we see concrete evidence of his vision -- STARS, a new technology unveiled here in Syracuse, will demonstrate how we are using technology to take our nation and our aviation system into the 21st century."
"We have turned the corner on STARS," said Federal Aviation Administrator Jane F. Garvey, who joined Secretary Slater at the dedication. "We will continue to work together to make sure than an operationally suitable and acceptable system is deployed at air traffic control facilities throughout the National Airspace System."
Secretary Slater noted that STARS is part of a broader strategy to meet the aviation needs of the 21st century and keep America’s aviation system the safest, most secure and most efficient in the world.
STARS modernizes automation equipment and displays at terminal radar approach control facilities and associated towers by replacing aging controller workstations, mappers and network infrastructure. Controllers and technicians at the Syracuse approach control facility successfully integrated the existing automation system with the new workstations, which feature high-resolution color monitors.
Once STARS is fully developed, it will provide air traffic control automation for terminal facilities of any size. Major advantages of the system, in addition to color monitors, include industry-developed software, an "evolutionary" approach to planned upgrades, and reduced life-cycle costs through use of common hardware and software. STARS is planned to replace automation equipment at all FAA terminal radar approach facilities in the United States.
Raytheon is under contract with the FAA to install STARS at 173 FAA terminal area control facilities, 199 military radar approach control facilities and at associated air traffic control towers over the next decade.
Testing on the new workstations was completed in September. Raytheon engineers worked in partnership with FAA management and with two employee unions, the Professional Airways System Specialists and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, to develop the new system.
Air traffic controllers at the Syracuse Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility handle about 450 daily aircraft operations. In 1999, the TRACON handled over 160,000 operations. Its control room can accommodate up to five operational positions. The TRACON controls approximately 8,000 square miles of airspace. The TRACON’s airspace boundaries extend west of Utica, N.Y., east of Waterloo, N.Y., north to Watertown, N.Y., and south to Cortland, N.Y.
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