Isavia, the air navigation service provider (Ansp) and airport manager of Iceland, has signed a data services agreement to receive tracking information from the Aireon satellite-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system. Once in operation, the system will for the first time provide real-time surveillance and tracking of aircraft in the region from 70 degrees north latitude to the North Pole, Isavia said.
The agreement announced on January 18 calls for Aireon to provide tracking data throughout the Reykjavik Oceanic Control Area, which will complement terrestrial-based surveillance resources in the southern part of the airspace. The area encompasses some 5.4 million sq km (2.1 million sq mi) of airspace; it borders the Gander Oceanic Flight Information Region (FIR) controlled by Nav Canada and the Shanwick Oceanic FIR controlled by UK NATS to the south, and the Norwegian Bodo Oceanic and Russian Murmansk FIRs to the north.
ADS-B receivers hosted on a new generation of Iridium Next satellites will stream aircraft position data to Isavia, which helps manage transoceanic flights within the North Atlantic Tracks system. Isavia expects the real-time surveillance data will support reduced aircraft separations and more efficient operations.
“Aireon is already working with our colleagues at Nav Canada and UK NATS to introduce this capability for oceanic crossings in the North Atlantic,” said Asgeir Palsson, Isavia director of air navigation services. “The benefits speak for themselves, and we are working closely with our North Atlantic neighbors. We anticipate optimizing the 160,000 flights that use our airspace every year.”
Isavia announced the data services agreement days after the January 14 launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket of the first 10 of 66 active satellites [plus spares] planned for the Iridium Next mobile communications constellation. Iridium and rocket provider SpaceX have agreed to a series of seven launches, with each one deploying 10 Iridium Next satellites. The second launch will be scheduled after testing of the first satellites is completed in April, Iridium said.
Aireon is a joint venture of Iridium, Nav Canada and the Ansps of Ireland, Italy and Denmark. The McLean, Va.-based company expects its space-based ADS-B network will begin operating for participating Ansps in 2018.