I-BATE: A PRECURSOR TO SPACE-BASED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

Air traffic worldwide is becoming more congested due to rapidly increasing flight volumes. ADS-B, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, is a new air traffic management system that is being deployed world-wide. Each aircraft is equipped with both a GPS receiver and a transmitter that broadcasts the aircraft's identifier and state vector (position, altitude, heading, airspeed, etc.) once per second. These signals are received on the ground and used by air traffic controllers to safely route flights. Areas that are not in sight of a ground receiver or traditional radar remain uncontrolled airspace. Ground controllers remain ignorant of the location of aircraft in these areas. The International Space University-Balloon-borne Air traffic control Technology Experiment (I-BATE) has tracked ADS-B-equipped aircraft from the vantage point offered by a high-altitude balloon during two flights from the Swedish arctic. I-BATE's successful operations has proven that ADS-B transmissions from aircraft within a large coverage area can be received from a high-altitude vantage point. This demonstration paves the way for space-based air traffic monitoring that could create safer skies for air travelers by eliminating unmonitored airspace. This paper presents the I-BATE experiment and the results of both balloon flights.