Harris Corporation’s first four maritime vessel tracking receivers are now fully operational, establishing the beginning of the only global, persistent, real-time Automatic Identification System (AIS) ship tracking capability.
Highlights:
- Harris hosted payloads now providing ship-tracking data to customers
- Full constellation will deliver the only global, persistent, real-time AIS tracking and information
- Customers will have access to the fastest, most accurate vessel information available
Launched Jan. 14 onboard four Iridium NEXT satellites, the maritime tracking hosted payloads are now tracking 250,000 ships and providing data to government and commercial customers.
(See overview on the Harris’ role on the Iridium NEXT constellation focused on Harris hosted payloads for real-time flight and ship tracking advancing global situational awareness. Courtesy of Harris Corporation and YouTube)
Once the satellite constellation is fully operational next year, it will offer a continuous revisit rate and improved vessel detection and downlinking of AIS information, with an average latency of less than one minute – the fastest, most accurate vessel information available.
Harris owns and operates the AIS payloads and is the exclusive provider of exactEarth AIS products and services to the U.S. government.
Harris is partnered with exactEarth, which performs the ground-based data processing and continues to service all other global markets.
“Ninety percent of the world’s trade is transported via oceans, making maritime domain awareness critically important,” said Bill Gattle, president, Harris Space and Intelligence Systems.
“This is the first global, persistent, real-time system for the industry, enabling customers to accurately track cargo, tanker, passenger and fishing vessels outfitted with existing AIS transceivers.”
exactEarth has pioneered Satellite AIS, a powerful new method of maritime surveillance and has delivered to its clients a view of maritime behaviors across all regions of the world’s oceans unrestricted by terrestrial limitations.
(65 satellites in exactView RT powered by Harris revolutionizes the ship tracking industry providing the only solution for global real-time vessel monitoring, courtesy of exactEarth and YouTube)
exactEarth has deployed an operational data processing supply chain involving a constellation of satellites, receiving ground stations, patented decoding algorithms and advanced big data processing and distribution facilities.
This ground-breaking system provides a comprehensive picture of the location of AIS equipped maritime vessels throughout the world and allows exactEarth to deliver data and information services characterized by high performance, reliability, security and simplicity to large international markets.
Harris will showcase the new AIS technology in booth 1451 at the GEOINT 2017 Symposium June 4-7 in San Antonio, Texas.
