The European Space Agency and the SESAR Joint Undertaking have signed a memorandum of cooperation to coordinate research and development for space-enabled air traffic management. Announced on November 10, 2026, the framework covers satellite services and their integration with aircraft and ground infrastructure.
The work includes communications, navigation, and surveillance; secure exchanges between aircraft and the ground; and the integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems. It also covers alternative positioning, navigation, and timing activities. The cooperation includes an assessment of how IRIS², Galileo, and EGNOS can support future aviation services.
Connecting Space Programs With Aviation Operations
SESAR is the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research program. The cooperation aligns with the European Air Traffic Management Master Plan and its Digital European Sky priorities. The framework organizes shared work to identify, develop, validate, and promote space-enabled capabilities.
Communications and navigation perform distinct functions in flight operations. Communications carry information between pilots, aircraft systems, and controllers. Navigation establishes position and supports the route being flown. Surveillance supplies information used to monitor aircraft. The cooperation covers these functions and how their space, airborne, and ground components interact.
Iris Connects Aircraft and Controllers
ESA’s Iris aviation program provides an example of satellite communications applied to air traffic management. Its satellite datalink carries digital information between aircraft and the ground. Flight plans can be updated during a flight, allowing controllers to manage trajectories and plan arrivals.
The connection supports exchanges over land and sea. Aircraft equipment, a satellite network, and ground systems form the communications chain. The service was developed with Inmarsat, now part of Viasat, and a consortium including air-navigation service providers, avionics manufacturers, and ground-system suppliers.
Digital communications allow flight-management information to be exchanged in a form that aircraft and ground systems can process. A trajectory describes where an aircraft is expected to be at successive points in its flight. Sharing that information connects decisions about the route with airspace and airport operations.
ESA’s Iris Global project account records that easyJet began commercial operations with Iris-equipped aircraft in January 2024. The service complements terrestrial datalinks, and its global expansion is intended to support interoperability with aviation systems outside Europe.
Iris Global also includes support for existing and newer aircraft equipment and the planned integration of remotely piloted aircraft. The project describes a dual-link approach combining satellite and terrestrial communications. This connects the satellite service to an aviation environment in which multiple communications systems operate together.
EGNOS Adds Corrections and Integrity Information
Navigation services supply another part of the aviation infrastructure. The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, or EGNOS, augments satellite-navigation measurements with corrections and integrity information. Its Safety of Life service has been available since 2011.
Ground stations at precisely known locations measure incoming navigation signals. Control centers calculate corrections, which are sent through uplink stations to geostationary satellites and then broadcast to compatible receivers. Aircraft use certified receivers to incorporate the information into approach operations.
Integrity concerns the reliability of the position information. EGNOS warns users of signal disruptions or errors within six seconds. A receiver can combine the corrections with a protection level describing the area within which the aircraft’s position is expected to fall at a defined confidence level.
The next-generation EGNOS V3 system is being developed to augment Galileo as well as GPS and to use additional frequency signals. This extends an existing aviation service through changes to its navigation inputs and augmentation capabilities.
Coordinated Research and Validation
New Space Economy’s discussion of the European downstream space economy describes aviation as a user of satellite-derived services. In this setting, the satellite system supplies an operational function within a larger transport system, alongside airborne equipment and terrestrial infrastructure.
The ESA–SESAR memorandum connects that service-development work with aviation research and validation. Its agreed areas include hybrid and multilink communications, secure air-ground data exchange, alternative navigation, and support for new airspace users. The framework connects those activities with European air traffic management priorities.
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