Spain’s Council of Ministers has authorised the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility to inject, via air navigation services provider ENAIRE, up to EUR 10.5 million into the company Startical to support the development of the first phase of the technological demonstration of this public-private satellite innovation initiative.
Startical, co-owned equally by ENAIRE and Indra, aims to develop technological and operational solutions to enhance the safety, capacity and efficiency of air traffic and other modes of transport by providing global satellite-based surveillance (ADS-B) and communication (VHF) services for voice and digital data, via a constellation of over 200 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
Its main mission is to ensure coverage in remote and oceanic regions—such as the Canary Islands’ oceanic airspace and the corridor to South America, where such coverage is currently not possible using ground-based infrastructure.
This new initiative will make it possible to supplement, or even eventually replace, certain ground-based systems in continental regions, with the potential to transform air navigation in a manner similar to the changes brought about by GPS in the field of navigation.
On 15 March, Startical successfully launched its first satellite, IOD-1 (In-Orbit Demonstrator-1), through the launch integrator Exolaunch, as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-13 rideshare mission. The satellite is currently in the process of deploying all its components and radiating systems in its orbital configuration.
Having successfully completed the allocation of the frequency band and the launch of the first test satellite, the first phase of the initiative is now progressing. A second test satellite is scheduled for launch in July 2025 as part of the European ECHOES project. Additional activities will also be carried out to support the further allocation of funds aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of the satellite constellation before proceeding with its full-scale manufacturing and deployment in the second phase.
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Image: Photo capture of the Earth from the IOD-1 satellite (ENAIRE)
