Purpose of this Characteristic
This standard sets forth the desired characteristics of Aviation
Ku-band Satellite Communication (Satcom) and Ka-band Satcom Systems
intended for installation in all types of commercial air transport
aircraft. The intent of this characteristic is to provide guidance
on the interfaces, form, fit, and function of the systems. This
document also describes the desired operational capability of the
equipment needed to provide a broadband transport link that can be
used for data, video, and voice communications typically used for
passenger communications and/or entertainment. The systems
described in this characteristic are not qualified, at this
writing, for aviation safety functions.
The key goal of this characteristic is to promote
interchangeability at a number of levels, as shown below, with the
aim of minimizing airline life cycle costs:
- Aircraft Manufacturer Interchangeability: the same equipment
can be fitted to aircraft built by different aircraft
manufacturers.
- Aircraft Type Interchangeability: the same equipment can be
fitted to a large number of different aircraft types.
- Equipment Manufacturer Interchangeability: equipment from
different manufacturers can be fitted to standardized aircraft
provisions.
- Frequency Band Interchangeability: the same aircraft provisions
can be used for either Ku-band or Ka-band equipment.
- Satellite System Interchangeability: the same Ku-band Antenna
Subsystem can be used for different Ku-band satellite systems and
the same Ka Antenna Subsystem can be used for different Ka
satellite systems. That is, in the future, an airline could change
their satellite provider (provided the frequency band is not
changed) and could reuse their Antenna Subsystem, although they
would need a new Modem and Manager (Modman).
Note: Outside Antenna Equipment (OAE), the Ku/Ka-band Radio
Frequency Unit (KRFU) and the Ku/Ka-band Aircraft Networking Data
Unit (KANDU) (which are collectively known as the Antenna
Subsystem) and Modman are described in Sections 3 to 6.
- Antenna Subsystem and Modman Interchangeability: a consequence
of Satellite System Interchangeability is that the Antenna
Subsystem can be sourced from one supplier and the Modman can be
sourced from a different supplier.
- Modman and Airplane Personality Module (APM)
Interchangeability: The Modman and the APM are defined to be a
functional doublet. This means that the interwiring between them
and their installation details are defined in this characteristic;
but due to unique electrical signaling, protocol implementations
and memory size/architecture/content, the supply and acquisition of
these units are manufacturer-specific. Functional doublets are
different from matched pairs in that each unit of the functional
doublet may fail and be changed independently; whereas in matched
pairs, both units must be changed regardless of which unit has
failed.
| Edition : | 14 |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 8.3 MB |
| Number of Pages : | 185 |
| Published : | 08/29/2014 |
