Professional Pilot, October 2017

Ka band frequency range Because the Ka satellite transmission range of 183 31 GHz is somewhat small spot beams were conceived to maximize the bandwidth by reusing the same frequency in different regions simultaneously The smaller pattern means maintaining an uninterrupted communications link between an aircraft in flight and a geostationary satellite is more complex than a simple ground link As the aircraft moves the antenna must continuously align itself with the signal Irrespective of location frequency and purpose each satellite has a maximum throughput capability it can only exchange a finite amount of data even at maximum signal strength Enter ViaSat ViaSat a global broadband services and technology company stands out when it comes to satellite based connectivity The company provides home broadband to 800000 global customers and projects that number to grow to 14 million by 2019 Flight departments currently using ViaSat may not be aware that the ViaSat 1 satellite located in a geostationary orbit at 1151 degrees west longitude right next to the XM 4 satellite previously mentioned is currently the most powerful 78 PROFESSIONAL PILOT October 2017 Ka band satellite positioned over North America When the satellite was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in October of 2011 industry analysts cast doubt over whether ViaSat could deliver the promised speeds Commercial service began in January 2012 and the product has been a phenomenal success with data speeds averaging over 140 Gbps gigabits per second total throughput better than expected On June 1 2017 an Ariane 5 rocket lifted off from the Guiana Space Centre in South America propelling the even higher capability ViaSat 2 satellite into orbit The 624 million satellite that took 40 months to design and build rests in a geostationary orbit at 699 degrees west Placing the new satellite approximately 45 degrees east of the previous one allows ViaSat to extend its Ka band coverage across North America to the Caribbean Central America parts of South America and the major air routes across the North Atlantic When fully operational the ViaSat 2 total throughput is expected to be 300 Gbps Operators using the ViaSat 1 satellite will need to upgrade their antennas in order to take advantage of Via Sat 2 coverage area The good news is that the new hardware will work with both generations of satellites and is forward compatible to work with Via Sats future satellite platforms Global broadband coverage at an affordable price In the quest to offer global broadband coverage at an affordable price ViaSat has committed itself to launching another round of high capacity Ka band satellites Per the naming convention of previous iterations the system will be called Via Sat 3 and consist of 3 space vehicles and a terrestrial infrastructure Operations in Europe the Americas Africa and the Middle East will be supported by the first 2 satellites while the 3rd is directed at the Asia Pacific region Best of all the data throughput is designed at over a terabyte per second 10 times that of any Ka band satellite of the past ViaSat is at the apex of Ka band communications The company has made strong progress on the development of its next generation Ka band inflight connectivity system for the large cabin business jets The companys Global Aero Terminal 5510 equipment which includes the antenna and modem that communicate between the satellite approximately 23000 miles above the Earth and the plane flying at about 600 mph gives business aviation customers access to the fastest inflight WiFi speeds in the industry This particular Ka band equipment enables the industrys best data plans each of which can enjoy peak rates of 16 Mbps It can also be paired with ViaSats Ku band terminal all under 1 radome to provide access to a hybrid Ka band and Ku band network ensuring users are connected across more than 90 of the worlds most popular flightpaths all for a low monthly service fee Advantage of ViaSat antennas ViaSat has made its equipment smaller than any other business aviation internet system on the market Competing systems occupy room in the tail or the luggage compartment as well as in other pressurized areas of the aircraft but ViaSats equipment is smaller in size so it can be installed in non pressurized areas of the aircraft This also enables lower overall installed system weight which can potentially offer fuel savings And finally its smaller size allows for its dual antennas to be installed together in the tail providing a strong backup communications network via Ku band so passengers are virtually connected anywhere the aircraft travels From the perspective of the cockpit having instantaneous electronic access to flight planning weather and NOTAMs pays dividends in situational awareness Not having to stop for newspapers and manually replace charts like in 1964 Well thats priceless Editors note This article is the continuation of a series on airborne connectivity providers that started in our July 2017 issue See more in PP Jul 2017 p 54 and Aug 2017 p 86 Shannon Forrest is a current line pilot CRM facilitator and aviation safety consultant He has over 10000 hours and holds a degree in behavioral psychology ViaSats Ka uplink and downlink speeds permit multiple high bandwidth applications to operate simultaneously