Spire announced today a new space-based global aircraft tracking service for ADS-B-equipped aircraft. Dubbed Spire AirSafe, the service will be ready ahead of the Nov. 8, 2018 ICAO requirement for most international flights to provide updated flight information every 15 minutes.
The company will launch 25 ADS-B equipped satellites next year and another 50 in 2018. These 75 satellites—each about the size of a loaf of bread—will be put into a diverse set of orbits to provide coverage over oceanic areas, polar regions and other remote places where ground-based tracking is ineffective or impossible.
“Spire AirSafe will offer a compelling alternative,” said Spire CEO Peter Platzer. “Most customers don’t need up-to-the-second aircraft information—for many of them, the standard set forth by ICAO of 15 minutes will do just fine. Spire will be able to provide airplane tracking for them at an excellent price.”