Satellite ADS-B takes off

ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast) is a technology for surveillance and tracking of air planes. The purpose is comparable to radar. The difference with radar is that with ADS-B, the air plane itself is broadcasting its position, velocity and direction to the air traffic controllers through an L-band signal. This is possible through the combination of a GNSS (GPS) receiver and a low-L-band transmitter on board of the air plane,

When the plane flies over land, terrestrial antennas can pick up the signal and inform the air traffic controller. But what do you do when the plane is flying over an ocean or an extremely remote area like a desert, a rain forest or a mountainous area? We have heard about the difficulty in locating crashed planes in case they get lost above such isolated places.

In that case satellite based ADS-B receivers can pick up the weak L-band signals in space and redirect them to the home base. This should allow tracking aircraft to any place on earth - as long as the ADS-B system remains fully operational.

I'm proud my company is a European pioneer in satellite based ADS-B. You can read the full story on the SES blog below.

Satellite ADS-B takes off with SES Techcom Services and DLR

I also refer to my earlier blogs: Satellite navigation can save your life (3) - SAR and Satellite navigation can save your life (4) - High Integrity