Successful Third Launch Brings 10 More Aireon(SM) Payloads to Orbit

Space-Based ADS-B data already displaying significant value as NAV CANADA, Enav, Naviair, the IAA, ATNS and FlightAware have established live data connections

MCLEAN, Virginia, Oct. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aireon announced today the successful launch and deployment of the third batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites, carrying its space-based automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) payloads.  Conducted from Vandenberg Air Force Base with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:37 a.m. PDT, this launch has increased the total number of Aireon payloads in orbit to 30, with another 45 destined for space in a series of five additional launches planned over the next ten months.  Aireon is well on its way to become the first to provide global, real-time air traffic surveillance and tracking to air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and aviation stakeholders.

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/569422/Aireon_Logo.jpg 

The Aireon payloads from the first two launches, completed on January 14th and June 25th of 2017, have demonstrated the ground-breaking capability to identify aircraft all over world, resulting in more than six billion ADS-B position reports being received in just seven months.  Besides highly accurate position reports from commercial aircraft, the system has generated position reports from helicopters, general aviation aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and surface vehicles, such as airport maintenance vehicles.  These findings are a testament to the strength of the Aireon system. 

Many Aireon customers and partners, including NAV CANADA, Enav, Naviair, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), South Africa's Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) and FlightAware, have been connected to the system in preparation for live operations in 2018. Initial results of these integrations show an average update of position data for ADS-B equipped aircraft approximately every five seconds. This will enable Aireon to provide radar-like position information to air traffic controllers in 100 percent of their airspace. That far surpasses current coverage capabilities, where 70-plus percent of the world, particularly oceanic airspace, averages 10-minute to 18-minute aircraft position updates.