Satellite communications provider Inmarsat and the European Space Agency (ESA) have completed the first phase of ESA’s “Iris” program to develop a satellite network supporting air traffic management (ATM) communications. Completion of the first design phase frees a further €7.6 million ($8.2 million) in ESA and partner funding to begin the next phase, the parties said.
The July 14 announcement “marks an important milestone for Inmarsat and ESA,” said Leo Mondale, president of Inmarsat Aviation. “The European airspace is the most congested in the world, and this project will unlock the full potential of the aviation industry in the region and serve as a model for efficiently and effectively managed airspace for the rest of the world.”
Based on Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband Safety service, the Iris program will develop satellite communications for safety-critical ATM applications. In June, Hawaiian Airlines became the first commercial carrier to use SwiftBroadband Safety after obtaining a supplemental type certificate for its Boeing 767-300 fleet.
Iris falls under the Single European Sky ATM Research (Sesar) portfolio. “Iris Precursor,” the first stage of the effort, aims to provide short-to-medium term ATM communications. Having completed the system design, the parties will build an improved satellite network to overlay existing terrestrial VHF networks that carry ATM communications across Europe. They plan by 2018 to provide air-ground communications supporting initial “4D” flight-path control via satellite, adding the element of time to the three spatial dimensions. This makes possible more precise tracking of flights and traffic management, in line with Single European Sky ATM concepts.
Iris Long-Term, the program’s second stage, is an evolution of the Precursor stage representing the system’s full implementation, with guaranteed continuity of technical service.
ESA and Inmarsat signed a €15 million ($16.3 million) contract in November creating a public-private partnership for the Iris Precursor effort. The program “strengthens ESA’s alignment and relationship with Sesar and demonstrates Iris is a key enabler and credible viable solution for the satcom element of Sesar’s air-to-ground network,” said Magali Vaissiere, ESA director of telecommunications and integrated applications.
