Using satellites to improve air traffic control coverage

Space services company Skykraft have partnered with national air traffic control services company Airservices Australia to develop a space-based communication and surveillance air traffic management capability. The proof of concept study will involve launching a number of satellite constellations into low Earth orbit (LEO), commencing with seven satellites to be launched in June this year.   

It is hoped that the collaboration will lead to improved air traffic control coverage, with significant portions of the Earth still not having monitoring available. Airservices Australia will share its air navigation technical engineering and air traffic management expertise to support the design, development, and validation of the system.

According to Airservices Chief Customer Experience & Strategy Officer Peter Curran, the project will support an Australian company developing new sovereign capability that has the potential to provide near-continuous surveillance reporting and higher fidelity communications that not only benefits Airservices and our customers but the global aviation industry.

“Space-based technologies provide significant opportunity to enhance safety, efficiency, predictability and capacity while reducing overall infrastructure costs associated with the current ground-based networks,” he added.  

Airservices Australia currently manages around 11% of the world's airspace, an area of almost over 50 million square kilometres, which includes the Australian mainland and sovereign airspace and the flight information region of the Solomon Islands and Nauru. With the area stretching in latitude from two degrees to 90 degrees south; and in longitude from 75 degrees to 163 degrees east, a significant proportion of that area cannot be monitored using ground-based equipment.   

In December 2020, Skykraft signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airservices where they agreed to share information and technical expertise as part of the development of Skykraft’s commercial space-based air traffic management service. 

Skykraft Executive Chairman Air Vice Marshal (retd) Mark Skidmore said the partnership would support the rapid maturation of Skykraft’s satellite constellation which enables surveillance and communication with aircraft at all altitudes and across land and sea.

The system will use the aircraft's automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast system, ADS-B, which automatically broadcasts the precise location of the aircraft via a digital data link. The system, integrated with GPS data, then allows air traffic control to determine the identity, altitude, velocity of the aircraft. However, this system relies mainly on ADS-B ground stations to relay the information to air traffic control. 

There are a couple of reasons that utilising space assets would be advantageous, Skidmore told SpaceAustralia.com.   

“One of them is that in some remote areas we still don't have radar surveillance or surveillance capability, so our system will allow us to pick up the surveillance signals that are broadcast [via ADS-B]. And being able to pick that up, provide that [information] to someone like Airservices, [will allow] safer flying, providing specific information so they're aware exactly where that aircraft is. That's also important for flow management of aircraft [leading to] more efficiencies and environmental benefits,” he said.

Whilst Skykraft are not the only organisation looking into satellite-based air traffic control, their satellites will be unique in that they will be combining data with real-time communications. 

“It makes more sense to have surveillance and communication, so that's what we're aiming for, is to combine the surveillance and communication so we've been focused on that,” said Skidmore.  

According to Skidmore, this is a great opportunity for the two organisations to work together. 

“Working with a Tier 1 air navigation service provider like [Airservices Australia] means that we can identify and understand the requirements that are going to be needed by all navigation service providers,” he said.

“[It will allow] us to better understand the systems and then be able to set our system to meet their requirements, so I think that's the real advantage for us is just having that knowledge and understanding of someone like Airservices, who in the future we would be aiming for to be a customer of ours,” Skidmore added.

Skykraft have their first launch planned for June this year onboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch, the same payload that is supporting Valiant’s in-space testing of its new thruster propellant valve.  Skykraft will have a constellation of seven satellites making up their 300kg payload, the first of three planned deployments, with the second and third happening in Oct this year and Jan 2023 respectively. 

“We look forward to continuing to work closely with Airservices to demonstrate Skykraft’s capability to deliver commercial space-based surveillance and communication technologies for air traffic management,” concluded Skidmore.

Skykraft, which received \$3.5 million in investment in December 2021, was founded by Chief Engineer Dr Doug Griffin and Chief Innovation Officer, Dr Craig Benson. Between them, they have 20+ years of satellite mission and aerospace experience, including European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA missions, RAAF and UNSW Canberra Space.