Improving General Aviation safety using low-cost Iridium devices

Low-cost satellite communications devices using the Iridium (or similar) constellations provide the basis for two capabilities that significantly improve safety for General Aviation (GA) pilots: uplink of aircraft and flight plan-specific adverse condition alerts and downlink of position reports to support enhanced Search and Rescue procedures. This paper describes the operational concepts, benefits, and technology behind the initial implementations of these capabilities which are being deployed in Lockheed Martin's Flight Services automation system in the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013 respectively. The longer term goal of integrating these capabilities with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Surveillance and Broadcast Services (SBS) program is also discussed.