Startical, the company founded by ENAIRE and Indra to provide communication and surveillance services from space, has successfully completed the first real-time voice communication between a pilot and an air traffic controller using VHF signals transmitted via satellite. The breakthrough was achieved using IOD-1, Startical’s first In-Orbit Demonstrator satellite, launched in March 2025 as part of the European-funded ECHOES project.
The first conversation took place during a functional test with actual traffic over the Atlantic Ocean, in which a pilot held a conversation with the controller based at ENAIRE’s Area Control Centre in Gran Canaria following standard procedures. Several tests have been successfully carried out, including the participation of different airlines such as Iberia, Air Europa and TAP Air Portugal, proving the robustness of the system. “This is a first in aviation and opens a world of possibilities for safer, more connected skies. Importantly, aircraft require no new equipment, and neither pilots nor controllers need additional training,” said Juan Enrique González Laguna, General Manager of Startical.
The test confirmed successful integration with ground-based systems and included precise and real time coordination between Startical’s satellite operations center in Madrid, Indra’s and ENAIRE’s technical teams, air traffic controllers in the Canary Islands, and participating pilots.
IOD-1 is a satellite demonstrator equipped with an ADS-B surveillance system and a 3-metre VHF deployable antenna to confirm the feasibility of real-time communications between air traffic controllers and pilots. With these capabilities, Startical aims to enable seamless satellite-based communication and surveillance services anywhere in the world.
The satellite-based demonstration activities have received European support through the ECHOES project, which is co-funded by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), managed by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), with support from the SESAR Joint Undertaking.
Startical’s second demonstrator satellite, IOD-2, is scheduled for launch soon. Within the ECHOES framework, the tests continue in the South Atlantic corridor, covering FIRs over the Canary Islands, Azores-Santa Maria, Dakar Oceanic, Cape Verde, and Brazil’s Atlantic. These trials involve collaboration with ENAIRE, NAV Portugal, ASA, ASECNA, and DECEA. The results from these tests will provide critical input for the global standardisation and regulation of satellite-based air traffic communication systems.
These satellites are the foundation for the upcoming Startical constellation of over 200 satellites in low Earth orbit, which will deliver global coverage for real-time air traffic voice and data communications and ADS-B surveillance.
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Image: ENAIRE
