The Emergence Of Satellite Communication For Commercial Aircraft

This paper presents a view of the emerging aeronautical use of geosynchronous relay satellites. This brings to commercial air craft the first new communications system in over forty years. The new system will provide reliable long range communications to support the needs of airlines, flight crews, air traffic control, and passengers. The various implementations will be explored along with their parameters and operating characteristics. The potential for spectrum saturation will also be examined.

IT HAS BEEN OVER FORTY YEARS since a new communications system has been introduced into the aircraft cockpit for communicating with earth bound stations. Dreamers have long looked to the new era of satellite communications. There have been false starts with earlier programs, but this time a service will emerge not within years, but months. Many people have tried in the past to make use of earth orbiting satellites to relay aircraft communications and to create an operational service. While the tests were successful, no operational service resulted.