Special Temporary Authority application - Applicant Name
Name of Applicant:
The MITRE Corporation
Special Temporary Authority application - Best Contact
First Name:
Wayne
Last Name:
Jerzak
Phone Number:
781-271-3033
Title:
Dr
Special Temporary Authority application - Certification
Applicant certification
Neither the applicant nor any other party to the application is subject to a denial of Federal benefits that includes FCC benefits pursuant to Section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 21 U.S.C. Section 862, because of a conviction for possession or distribution of a controlled substance. The applicant hereby waives any claim to the use of any particular frequency or electromagnetic spectrum as against the regulatory power of the United States because of the prvious use of the same, whether by license or otherwise, and requests authorization in accordance with this application. (See Section 304 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.) The applicant acknowledges that all statements made in this application and attached exhibits are considered material representations, and that all the exhibits part hereof and are incorporated herein as if set out in full in this application; undersigned certifies that all statements in this application are true, complete and correct to the best of his/her knowledge and belief and are made in good faith. Applicant certifies that construction of the station would NOT be an action which is likely to have a significant environmental effect. See the Commission's Rules, 47 CFR1.1301-1.1319.
Date:
2012-10-29 00:00:00.0
Signature of Applicant (Authorized person filing form):
Wayne Jerzak
Title of Applicant (if any):
Group Leader
Special Temporary Authority application - Explanation
Please explain in the area below why an STA is necessary:
We have an approved STA for this experiment (file number 0651-EX-ST-2012, callsign WF9XXQ). However, as the experimental design matured, we want to fly the aircraft at higher altitudes if possible. The original STA was approved for antenna heights that may not exceed 3,000 ft above ground level under the special conditions. We wish to change that to allow operation up to 12,000 ft above mean sea level which is the operational ceiling for the aircraft when operated without oxygen. All other elements of the original STA are identical. We will operate within the constraints of and under the authority in the original STA (callsign WF9XXQ) until and unless this new request is approved. We are developing a new radar system and we need to run some experiments with it in November 2012 and January 2013. The radar is aircraft mounted and designed for ground moving target indications (MTI) to support ground surveillance needs of Department of Defense and other government agencies. The radar is being developed on MITRE internal Research and Development funds. While MITRE is a not-for-profit Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), we do not have a specific sponsor for this radar. We think it will ultimately gain traction with the Air Force or Army, whom we do a lot of work with. You can find out more about MITRE and our FFRDC status at www.mitre.org. We have developed a ground version of this radar in the past with slightly different waveforms and hardware. Since that work was sponsored by the Air Force, we dealt with all spectrum issues through the spectrum management office on Hanscom AFB. However, since this work is not specifically sponsored by the Air Force, those same people told us we had to go through the FCC for any licensing and/or equipment certification. The choice of Grand Junction, Colorado for the test site is based on cost savings and logistical simplicity for our aircraft integrator, Twin Otter International, which is based in Grand Junction.
Special Temporary Authority application - Information
Callsign:
WF9XXQ
Class of Station:
MO
Nature of Service:
Experimental
Special Temporary Authority application - Initial values - Requested Period of Operation
Operation Start Date:
10/29/2012
Special Temporary Authority application - Manufacturer
Equipment 1 Experimental
No
Equipment 1 Manufacturer
Rozenthal Associates antenna horns
Equipment 1 Model Number
RA-2720-10
Equipment 1 No. Of Units
1
Equipment 2 Experimental
No
Equipment 2 Manufacturer
Symetricom (Timing)
Equipment 2 Model Number
XLi 1510-602
Equipment 2 No. Of Units
1
Equipment 3 Experimental
No
Equipment 3 Manufacturer
Xlinx w/custom programming (WFG)
Equipment 3 Model Number
ML605
Equipment 3 No. Of Units
1
Equipment 4 Experimental
No
Equipment 4 Manufacturer
Aethercomm (HPA)
Equipment 4 Model Number
SSPA 9.5-10.5-
Equipment 4 No. Of Units
1
Special Temporary Authority application - Purpose of Operation
Please explain the purpose of operation:
The primary purpose of this testing is to collect airborne radar data. The primary purpose of this testing is to collect airborne radar data needed by our development team to fully integrate and troubleshoot the radar as well as to refine the signal processing and exploitation algorithms in the system. The radar is designed to operate bistatically with a transmitter on one aircraft and a receiver on one or two other aircraft. The angular difference in the paths (transmitter to target to receiver) is 10 to 20 degrees. The antennas are steered to look at the ground for moving targets approximately 3 to 7 km from the aircraft, looking to the side of the aircraft. We plan to fly the system in the desert region around Grand Junction, Colorado in November 2012 and again for a few days in January 2012. The aircraft will orbit our aimpoint at 3 to 8 km radius separated by appx 10 to 20 degress, at various altitudes up to 12,000 ft above mean sea level, looking inward on the ground, subject to safety-of-flight constraints. The aircraft will be Twin Otters (DHC-6) which are twin propeller engine, unpressurized aircraft. We will provide people and vehicles on the ground as targets in an area approximately 2 to 3 km on a side. Although we have planned dates for flights in November and January, this system is still in the early stages of development. As such, the schedule often slips to the right and so we are requesting a single large window of time for this STA. If we finish our experiment earlier in the window, we will notify the FCC. We are coordinating with the Bureau of Land Management for use of particular terrain around Grand Junction and Twin Otter International is coordinating airspace.
Special Temporary Authority application - Requested Period of Operation