Kongsberg Simrad announced a partnership with Norway to bring Automatic Identification System, AIS, ship tracking beyond its current line of sight (approximately 40 mile) range. With a target date of 2009 this capability will extend government and shipowner’s capabilities to manage ships in the region. Kongsberg tells us:
Studies have been initiated by the Space Centre over the last year to investigate the prospects for building a Norwegian maritime ship tracking satellite. Last fall the Norwegian government issued a broad strategy for the high North where one recommendation is to pursue the space-based AIS initiative.
Space-based AIS is now entering a new phase with the goal to develop a low cost satellite design for an experimental AIS satellite.
A Canadian satellite platform design will be adjusted to carry the Norwegian AIS receiver. The platform will be designed and eventually manufactured and tested by the University of Toronto Space Flight Laboratory.
“Modern technology has made it possible to build very small and capable satellites, which reduces the launch cost considerably,” says Terje Wahl at the Norwegian Space Centre.
Norway is not the first country to develop satellite based ship information and tracking. The Coast Guard has been studying the feasibility of receiving maritime automatic identification system (AIS) signals from space since 2001. In May 2004 the Coast Guard contracted with ORBCOMM, a satellite data communications company, to develop and build the capability to receive process and forward AIS signals from space via an AIS receiver onboard a communications satellite. In addition, ORBCOMM will provide the ground systems capable of processing the AIS signals and relaying the collected messages to the Coast Guard. The USCG also says:
This line of sight system was originally designed as a collision avoidance tool, but Coast Guard engineers and scientists quickly realized that significant ship tracking capabilities could be accomplished far out to sea if a receiver were placed on a spacecraft.
Studies conducted at Johns Hopkins University in 2003 indicated this concept was feasible, but it was not proven until a Dec. 16, 2006, launch by the Department of Defense of the TACSAT-2 satellite, which was equipped with an automatic identification receiver.
The geeks among us will we interested to know this satellite is running Linux to power the TIE payload, a RF (radio frequency) sensor suite developed by the Naval Research Lab, that is capable of gathering a various radio signals, including AIS (Read more on the actual satellite HERE). One problem, however, is that TACSAT-2 is only capable of providing twice daily updates. Kongsberg, ORBCOMM and others will undoubtedly improve the data collection capabilities in upcoming years.
By Yimou Lee TAIPEI, March 7 (Reuters) – China has stepped up grey-zone warfare against Taiwan, aiming to make the areas around the democratic island “saturated” with balloons, drones and civilian boats,...
Austal USA has kicked off plans to construct a new manufacturing facility, marking a significant expansion of its shipyard capacity in Mobile, Alabama in support of U.S. Navy and Coast...
Oldendorff and Norsepower have announced an agreement to install three Norsepower Rotor Sails™ on board a modern bulk carrier to reduce its emissions. The vessel, Dietrich Oldendorff, will be equipped...
February 5, 2024
Total Views: 838
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.