Rendering of Aireon space-based ADS-B system. Photo: Aireon

[Via Satellite 11-04-2016] Aireon has successfully completed a service delivery point Site Acceptance Test (SAT) with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), Ireland’s Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP). The test confirmed that IAA’s service delivery point, a critical component for receiving global air traffic surveillance data, can process Aireon’s space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data as soon as satellites are in orbit.

According to the IAA, this is a major step toward deploying space-based ADS-B in Irish airspace, in addition to implementing the Aireon Aircraft Locating and Emergency Response Tracking (ALERT) service, a free global emergency-tracking service that will be hosted and operated by the IAA from its North Atlantic Centre in Ballygirreen on the west coast of Ireland.

IAA’s first service will be augmented surveillance in 5 nautical mile (nm) and 3 nm airspace. Aireon’s space-based ADS-B system, scheduled to begin operations in 2018, will be used to augment ground surveillance sensors by contributing to IAA’s air traffic management automation platform.