Launch of New Satellites to Boost Australia’s Air Traffic Control

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Oct. 5, 2022. Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images

The first batch of Australia’s air traffic management satellites (ATM) will soon be launched on a SpaceX rocket as part of a project to improve the communication and surveillance of the country’s aviation activity.

The satellites are created under the collaboration of Australian space services company Skykraft, a spin-off from The University of New South Wales (UNSW), and Airservices Australia, which is responsible for managing the country’s skies.

Under the project, Skykraft will launch over 200 ATM satellites into space in the next two years to monitor domestic and international flights.

The first satellite launch is scheduled in early January 2023 via a SpaceX flight from Florida’s Cape Canaveral.

After reaching the Earth’s orbit, the satellites will undergo a three-month testing process before they are put into use by Airservices Australia.

How the Satellites Improve Flight Safety and Communication

Under current practices, air authorities can track aeroplanes via ADS-B, a built-in electronic equipment system that automatically broadcasts an aircraft’s precise location via a digital data link.

However, ADS-B coverage has a distance limit as it depends on ground-based infrastructure.

At present, the maximum range that a ground station can receive a signal is around 250 nautical miles (463 kilometres).

When an aircraft goes beyond this range, its position cannot be tracked accurately.

Meanwhile, with the establishment of a space-based ATM system, aircraft can be tracked during their entire journey, even when they fly over oceanic and remote areas.

“At the moment, there are holes in the coverage over Australia,” Skykraft CEO Michael Frater said in comments obtained by AAP.

“By putting it in space, we can cover a much larger area from the satellite than it’s possible to cover from a ground-based system.

“For the first time, Airservices Australia will have full coverage for their surveillance service. They'll know where every aircraft is in Australia.”

A employee works at the Fucino Space Centre "Piero Fanti" in Ortucchio, Italy, on Dec. 5, 2022. Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images

Aside from position tracking, the satellites could improve communication speed between controllers and pilots via real-time voice and data transfer services.

This would help aircraft reduce turbulence during their journeys and allow them to take the most efficient routes.

“So if you’re flying from Sydney to Los Angeles and your aircraft hits turbulence, the pilot will now be able to get a clearance to change altitude much more quickly,” Frater said.

Details of the Project

In January 2022, Airservices Australia announced a partnership with Skykraft to develop a space-based communication and surveillance ATM system.

The air authority said it would share air navigation technical engineering and air traffic management expertise to help Skykraft design, develop and test the system.

Later, Frater said in comments obtained by AAP that his company developed the satellites for over 12 months with an estimated cost of under $200 million (US$135 million).

The company plans to send a global constellation of 210 satellites to space, with the first five (weighing 300 kilograms) to set a record for the largest Australian-made space objects.

At the same time, the satellites’ components are manufactured in regional Australia.

Specifically, thermal coatings come from a coating company in Queanbeyan, while printed circuit boards and chassis parts are produced in Newcastle and Wodonga, respectively.

Skykraft expects to commence commercial operations for the satellites and provide traffic management services to other countries starting from 2025.

“We are taking giant leaps forward into a whole new era in space and creating a global industry from our nation’s capital,” Skykraft chairman Mark Skidmore said.