Startical achieves a new milestone: the first transmission of VHF communications and data from space

Startical has reached another historic milestone for aviation. The company, jointly created by ENAIRE and Indra, has successfully transmitted, for the first time worldwide, data between an aircraft and an air traffic controller using VHF communications sent from space in real time. This breakthrough follows the achievement reached in May, when the first-ever real-time voice communication between a pilot and an air traffic controller using VHF signals transmitted via satellite was completed. With these two pioneering accomplishments — voice and data — Startical establishes itself as the first company capable of offering VHF voice and data communications from space, a decisive step toward ensuring continuous coverage over oceanic and remote areas and optimising the future of air traffic management.

During a functional test carried out within the framework of the European ECHOES project over the Atlantic Ocean, an Air Europa aircraft established a data link with the Gran Canaria control centre, performing the first pilot-controller datalink via satellite using standard procedures. This success provides practical evidence of how satellite-based data communications can optimise daily air traffic operations, by providing coverage on oceanic areas where conventional VHF radio systems have insufficient range. In addition to Air Europa, airlines such as Iberia, TAP Air Portugal, Plus Ultra, and Vueling, among others, are also participating in the functional voice and data tests.