Simultaneous telephone and fax messages from the cabin of a Challenger 604 business jet successfully demonstrated the Rockwell Collins Satellite Communications (SATCOM) 5000 Aero-I system.
The system completed communication through Satellite Aircom's Inmarsat ground station in Aussaguel, France.
The Collins single box SATCOM 5000 is a small, light satellite communications system that provides the full range of telecommunications services conforming to Inmarsat's Aero-I specifications. It is designed for operations within spot beam coverage areas of the Inmarsat-3 satellites, especially the Northern Hemisphere.
The system offers up to five voice-data channels over 75% of the earth's surface and a single data channel in global beam coverage.
Aero-I is designed to accommodate in-flight exchange of operational and air traffic management data envisioned for CNS/ATM (Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management) and GANS/GATM (Global Air Navigation Safety/Global Air Traffic Management) initiatives.
It offers redundancy, capacity, reliability and integrity needed to deliver air traffic control services on a global basis.
The system offers telephone, fax and real-time data services for both cockpit and passenger communications. The Inmarsat-3 satellites that support Aero-I use high-powered spot beams that are key to extending services to smaller aircraft.
Source: Flight Daily News
