Episode 74: Vinny Capezzuto, Chief Technology Officer of Aireon

My guest today is Vinny Capezzuto, the Chief Technology Officer of Aireon.Aireon started as a partnership between Iridium and Air Navigation Service Provider NAV Canada. From its founding in 2012 to today the partnership added several other Air Navigation Service Providers including ENAV from Italy, NATS from the UK, Naviair from Denmark and Irelands IAA.Aireon has hosted Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) receivers built into each of the 66 satellites in the Iridium NEXT constellation which had its last batch of satellites successfully launched earlier this month by SpaceX.Aireon’s space-based ADS-B will for the first time in history provide global data to track airplanes in real time. At present only 30% of the Earth is covered, primarily land area. When the system is fully operational later this year, the roughly 70% of the Earth, primarily oceanic and remote areas, that didn’t have ADS-B receiver coverage, will now be covered. For the aviation industry this is a game changer. In emergency situations having real-time situational awareness of what’s happening to a plane will be available. As well, knowing the precise location of aircraft will lead to other benefits including reducing pilot response time to weather events, reducing the required separation gaps between aircraft, and addressing navigational errors before they become large issues. For the airlines, it should mean cost savings as planes will should be able to fly more efficient routes saving on time and fuel.As you’ll hear from Vinny, he provides historical context to what their new service means, as well as explaining the technology advances, and briefly discussing the business case.Listen in.

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