Space Debris – How FlightDeck Freedom® keeps you informed

FlightDeck Freedom® monitors your aircraft and keeps you informed about foreign object debris

In 1997, Lottie Williams, 48, was exercising at her neighborhood park in Tulsa Oklahoma when she was suddenly struck by a six-inch piece of blackened metallic material. It was later discovered that the object was the remnants of a discarded Delta II rocket. While scientists estimate the odds of being hit by a piece of falling space debris are around one in a trillion, Williams is proof that we in the aeronautical and aerospace industry cannot discredit this risk to an absolute zero.

More recently, the Russian Space Agency launched a rocket which caused space debris to fall into the Pacific Ocean.  This is the 5^th occurrence of falling space debris we have seen in the past 6 months and these episodes are showing little to no signs of slowing down; prompting international guidelines and coordinated efforts to install a space traffic management system (STMS). A STMS would reduce the likelihood of an undetected space debris incident, but this is years down the road.

Terrestrially, this event was a bit more critical since the debris affected common flight routes in the North Pacific Ocean region.  Foreign Object Debris (FOD) damage can occur when any type of debris strikes or is sucked into an aircraft’s engines. Boeing estimates that FOD damage costs the aerospace and aviation industry around $4 billion annually.

Satcom Direct’s FlightDeck Freedom® (FDF) is the only datalink communications platform to integrate both flight deck and cabin communications and connects to over 20 leading international trip planning services. FDF monitors the globe for extraterrestrial FOD to ensure the safety of passengers and crew. In the case of the May 3^rd Russian space debris incident, FDF aircraft would have received an automated alert if this event may have impacted their route of flight.