Using the DFlight API Special Security Area Endpoints
Background
Special Security Areas (SSA) include the “airspace within and adjacent to select national security sensitive locations” as defined by UAS NOTAM FDC 1/0488, wherein all UAS flight operations are prohibited.
- Types of SSA include national laboratories, nuclear reactors, dams, prisons, military bases, and other sensitive installations
- UAS flight restrictions extend from the surface to 400 FT AGL over land and 2000 FT MSL over open water
- Operators seeking approval to fly within SSA airspace must contact the facility’s designated point of contact to request permission
The SSA request body
Request bodies for /ssa endpoints are “basic”, meaning the only information you need to provide are those parameters that define your area of interest (point/distance, route, or poly). For this example we will use a distance request. Here is our request body:
{
"longitude": -110.92,
"latitude": 32.08,
"distance": 15000
}
and we’ll send our POST request to the /ssa/distance-query endpoint.
As with all request types (except airspace), the response body is a json object containing a single element named found. The contents of found will be a GeoJSON FeatureCollection with one Feature per SSA found in your requested area of interest. Below shows the entirety of our results, with the gray circle indicating our requested area.
Response JSON
{
"found": {
"type": "FeatureCollection",
"features": [
{
"type": "Feature",
"geometry": {
"type": "Polygon",
"coordinates": [
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]
]
]
},
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"agency": "DOD",
"contact_info": "CP: 520-228-3900 or Airspace Mgr: 520-228-4680 Emergency: Command Post: 520-228-3900",
"ceiling": 400,
"ceiling_uom": "FT",
"ceiling_ref": "AGL"
}
},
{
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"ceiling": 400,
"ceiling_uom": "FT",
"ceiling_ref": "AGL"
}
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[
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],
[
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],
[
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],
[
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],
[
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],
[
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[
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],
[
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],
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],
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],
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],
[
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]
]
]
},
"properties": {
"name": "Tucson, FCI Tucson",
"agency": "DOJ",
"contact_info": "CONTROL CENTER (520) 574-7100",
"ceiling": 400,
"ceiling_uom": "FT",
"ceiling_ref": "AGL"
}
},
{
"type": "Feature",
"geometry": {
"type": "Polygon",
"coordinates": [
[
[
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],
[
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],
[
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]
]
]
},
"properties": {
"name": "Tucson, USP Tucson",
"agency": "DOJ",
"contact_info": "Control Center (520)663-5000",
"ceiling": 400,
"ceiling_uom": "FT",
"ceiling_ref": "AGL"
}
},
{
"type": "Feature",
"geometry": {
"type": "Polygon",
"coordinates": [
[
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},
"properties": {
"name": "Tucson ANGB (Tucson IAP), Installation",
"agency": "DOD",
"contact_info": "TSgt Branden Hickok, DSN 844-6731 Emergency: TSgt Branden Hickok, DSN 844-6731",
"ceiling": 400,
"ceiling_uom": "FT",
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}
} 
The feature properties given for SSA are:
- name: name of the location
- agency: sponsoring federal agency
- contact_info: contact person(s) and their telephone number(s)
- ceiling: upper limit of the area
- ceiling_uom: unit of measure used for the numeric ceiling value
- ceiling_ref: reference level used for the numeric ceiling value (AGL or MSL)
The first two are associated with the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and share the same contact information. The next two adjacent areas are both associated with the Tucson Federal Correctional Complex, but are administered separately and have different contact information. Finally, there is the Tucson Air National Guard Base.
If you need to traverse any of these areas, contact the associated person(s) given in the results to coordinate and obtain permission.
It is important to remember that any authorization you receive to fly within a SSA does NOT constitute authorization to fly in controlled airspace. Notice that both Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and Tucson International Airport are located within our requested area. A separate request to the airspace endpoint will give you details on the boundaries, altitudes, and LAANC availability for the associated controlled airspace.