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WHAT TECHNOLOGY IS INVOLVED IN LIVE TRACKING?
With the great help of Peter Harding and Associates in Australia, Eric Phillips of Interactive Map, and the friendly people at ARGOS,
the airplanes track can be seen on your screen!
Inflight, the aircraft receives GPS position via a dedicated antenna. The internal beacon then transmitts a 2W signal which is received by an ARGOS satellite 26,000 miles above the earth. The satellite then
sends the positional data to other satellites which inturn send the data back to Earth. Here on earth a receiving station sends the raw data
via underwater cable across the continents and to the Argos CLS storage center. The data is then processed and stored as location information. Here, the data is picked up
by Peter Harding computers running specially designed and programmed software. The program then compares the latest data to a database of internal maps, chooses the
correct map, and plots the location on the map with a dot. This then is available to your computer which querries Peter Harding's
computer's in Australia for the latest map. The interactive map courtesy of Peter Harding and InteractiveMap.com is then displayed on your
screen as the latest location of the airplane. This is all done within a matter of seconds.
HOW IT WORKS!
© CLS
1 - The AG02 aircraft transmitter automatically sends messages that are received by satellites in low-earth orbit.
The actual message includes GPS position received from a built antenea.
2 - Satellites relay messages to ground stations
3 - Ground stations automatically forward messages to Argos processing centers
4 - Processing centers calculate transmitter locations, process sensor information, and deliver your results
Introduction
Argos is a satellite-based system which collects, processes and disseminates
environmental data from fixed and mobile platforms worldwide. What makes
Argos unique is the ability to geographically locate the source of the
data anywhere on the Earth. For over 20 years, Argos has provided data
to environmental research and protection communities that, in many cases,
was otherwise unobtainable. The system is fully proven and highly reliable.
Argos was developed under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES, the French space
agency), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, USA)
and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, USA).
The system utilizes both ground and satellite-based resources
to accomplish its mission. This includes instruments carried aboard the
NOAA polar orbiting environmental satellites (POES), receiving stations
around the world and major processing facilities in France and the United
States. This fully integrated system works to conveniently locate and deliver
data from the most remote platforms to the user's desktop, often in near
real-time.
Argos is operated by CLS/Argos,
based in Toulouse, France. CLS has subsidiaries in the U.S., namely, Service
Argos, Inc. and North American CLS. These companies together operate
the system and promote its use.
Go to Argos Home Page
Operating Agencies
The Argos satellite-based system was set up by:
the French space agency (CNES)
the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
The new partners in this international cooperative venture, to supply additional satellites from 2000, are:
the Japanese space agency (NASDA)
the European Meteorological Satellite Organization (EUMETSAT)
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