Actively developing new aviation tracking solution called EURIALO; Plan demonstration satellite launch in 2025
Current aircraft tracking relies on two systems. GNSS provides geolocation data directly to aircraft. That location data is sent on in the form of ADS-B signals out to satellites or ground stations. The second system is an on-the-ground air traffic control radar. While these are effective, ground radar only operates within a limited radius and provides no coverage in remote areas. While ADS-B solves inefficiencies in aircraft surveillance, the future of the aviation industry requires a more advanced system than is provided by GNSS.More planes in the sky, slower uptake of ADS-B in developing countries, GNSS accuracy, and short-staffed air traffic controllers across the U.S. as recently reported in the New York Times, are driving forces behind the need for a modernized aircraft surveillance system.
In 2025, Spire Global and ESA aim to deploy the demonstrator mission for this revolutionary tracking system that works globally with existing onboard technology- no installation required.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
EURIALO's multilateration technology aims to accurately and autonomously validate aircraft positions, eliminating the need for GNSS and ground-based radar systems. Each satellite overhead receives a radio signal from an airplane. The EURIALO satellites will record a radio signal's precise time-of-arrival to the satellite - with that the constellation can determine the location based on minute differences in times-of-arrival to separate satellites passing overhead.It's similar to solving for a triangle's missing angle in high school math class, but each side is a radio signal measured in fractions of a second and each corner is a satellite. The point in question is the aircraft. This multilateration method works even when geolocation signals are disrupted, supplementing accurate tracking anywhere on Earth.While rules for ADS-B are by flight levels and regions, multilateration has the potential to work immediately out of the box worldwide, at all altitudes. This has the potential to even monitor aircraft taxiing traffic to reduce on-the-tarmac fuel use and optimize taxiing times for passengers. While Spire's ADS-B data captures much of this, multilateration would provide this coverage even in unmandated ADS-B airports.
WHEN WILL WE HAVE EURIALO?
Spire is now in the planning stages of leading a consortium of major industry players to develop the mission and system design for the EURIALO constellation. The demonstrator mission of 4 satellites is aiming for a 2025 launch. - Source TradeTheNews.com