The U.S. ATC central nervous system–known as the traffic-flow management system–has nearly outgrown its capacity, prompting the FAA to call for modernization of this critical infrastructure. The complex computer system is the heart of the National Airspace System Command Center in Herndon, Va., which continuously feeds traffic-flow information to ARTCCs, Tracons, towers, civil operators, military bases and other U.S. and overseas locations.
Developed in the mid-1980s, the current system has undergone several major upgrades, with more than 50 new capabilities added since 1998. It employs three distinct computer workstation and display technologies, using five software languages, and runs 10 different flow-control programs, with outputs to five separate control networks supporting 30 unique control programs. But its capabilities are stretched, and the FAA intends that modernization must now totally replace, rather than further update, today’s system.
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