With successful tests under its belt, Collins Aerospace is confident its new Iridium Certus airborne satellite communications (satcom) system for civil aviation will prove “extremely competitive” and see strong adoption when it makes its market debut in 2022.
Operating via the global Iridium NEXT constellation, the higher-bandwidth solution boasts the operational advantage of being able to connect anywhere including the poles.
But Collins Aerospace’s IRT-NX-branded system, which includes the satcom data unit, satcom configuration module and an antenna – either an Active Low Gain Antenna (ALGA) or a High Gain Antenna (HGA) depending on an operator’s bandwidth requirements – boasts other key advantages, says Collins Aerospace VP and GM of business aviation avionics Christophe Blanc.
Collins Aerospace Reaches Significant Milestone in its Iridium Certus Development
Collins Aerospace has reached another critical milestone in the development of its higher bandwidth Iridium Certus® airborne satellite communications (SATCOM) system. Recently, Collins Aerospace was able to successfully connect and transmit data to an orbiting Iridium® satellite using the Iridium Certus service utilizing a High Gain Antenna (HGA). A similar transmission was recorded last August with Collins Aerospace’s new Active Low Gain Antenna (ALGA). This puts Collins Aerospace among the first to successfully connect with both its Iridium Certus systems. Collins Aerospace is a Raytheon Technologies business.
Collins Aerospace’s two SATCOM solutions, currently in development, will provide customers with faster speeds, lower weight and smaller antenna footprint than legacy SATCOM systems allowing for minimum drag and lower pow
Collins Aerospace has reached another critical milestone in the development of its higher bandwidth Iridium Certus® airborne satellite communications (SATCOM) system. Recently, Collins Aerospace was able to successfully connect and transmit data to an orbiting Iridium® satellite using the Iridium Certus service utilizing a High Gain Antenna (HGA).
A similar transmission was recorded last August with Collins Aerospace’s new Active Low Gain Antenna (ALGA). This puts Collins Aerospace among the first to successfully connect with both its Iridium Certus systems. Collins Aerospace is a Raytheon Technologies business.
Collins Aerospace’s two SATCOM solutions, currently in development, will provide customers with faster speeds, lower weight and smaller antenna footprint than legacy SATCOM systems allowing for minimum drag and lower power usage. This will provide operators with additional options for use in both the cockpit for safety services and in the cabin for passenger entertain
ATG cellular tower.
New satellite and air-to-ground (ATG) networks and coming improvements to first-generation connectivity systems are bringing lower cost, higher speed, and more compact Wi-Fi access to a growing number of aircraft, now extending from executive airliners to smaller general aviation aircraft. Here are some of the major developments to look for in 2021.
Air-to-Ground Networks
Avance L3
Gogo Business Aviation rang in the New Year on the heels of notching the 500
th installation of its Avance L3 ATG broadband Wi-Fi system, a lower-cost and smaller footprint option to its Avance L5, delivering about one-third the speed of its flagship service, and sized for turboprops to midsize jet aircraft. Connected to the Gogo Biz 3G data network, Avance L3 provides access to email, texting, internet browsing, and voice calls.