Using the data from just eight satellite pings after the planes other onboard ACARS automatic tracking system went off at 1.07am, the team at Inmarsat was initially able to calculate that it had either headed north towards the Asian land mass or south, towards the emptiest stretches of the India Ocean. Inmarsat said that yesterday it had done new calculations on the limited data which it received from the plane in order to come to its conclusion. McLaughlin told CNN that it was a groundbreaking but traditional piece of mathematics which was then checked by others in the space industry. The companys system of satellites provide voice contact with air traffic control when planes are out of range of radar which only covers about 10% of the Earths surface and beyond the reach of standard radio over oceans. It also offers automatic reporting of positions via the planes transponders. It is possible to send route instructions directly to the cockpit over a form of text message relayed through the satellite.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 22:46:25 +0000
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