Atlanta's Hartsfield–Jackson rolls out new Raytheon ATC system

The Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility in Atlanta's Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is now operating exclusively with automation technology from Raytheon Company. Raytheon is providing the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) as part of the FAA's Terminal Automation Modernization and Replacement contract.

"The STARS implementations around the country are progressing exceedingly well, with all activities on time and within budget," said Michael Espinola, managing director, Raytheon Air Traffic Systems. "The Raytheon team has deep expertise in system deployment and understands the unique safety-critical requirements of air traffic control facilities such as TRACONs and Towers."

Raytheon and the FAA have successfully completed Contractor Acceptance Inspections at all 11 large FAA facilities, including TRACONs and associated towers for: New York, Potomac, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft Worth, Louisville, St Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver and Northern and Southern California. To date, 168 facilities have installed the STARS system and are in various states of operation and testing.

"Implementation of STARS brings the national airspace system into a single terminal-area operational system, which provides increased efficiencies in terms of resources, training and maintenance," said Espinola. "Creating an effective, advanced and streamlined system, all while maintaining outstanding safety standards, is a key goal of the FAA's Next Gen initiative."

Located in Peachtree City, Ga., the Atlanta TRACON covers approximately 19,000 square miles of airspace over north central Georgia and portions of South Carolina and Alabama. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) is currently the world's busiest, with an average 2,800 operations per day. ATL's state of the art TRACON has 28 radar positions, two Flight Data positions and 13 Handoff/Coordinator positions. It utilizes five short-range and four long-range radar feeds, which give complete overlap and redundancy in the event of a radar failure.