exactEarth expands AIS satellite constellation

March 11, 2011

exactEarth Ltd., has reached an agreement with SpaceQuest Ltd of Fairfax, Virginia to purchase two new satellites equipped with advanced AIS payloads. exactEarth has had access to AIS message data and real-time spectrum feeds from two in-orbit SpaceQuest satellites since the middle of last year and processing the spectrum data using its proprietary de-collision technology to generate AIS messages for its global exactAIS™ service.  The two new satellites will add to this capability, and will also incorporate SpaceQuest’s next generation advanced on-board AIS message processing technology designed to further improve AIS message detection from space. The launch of the satellites is expected to occur by the middle of this year on a Russian Dnepr rocket and exactEarth will assume ownership of the new spacecraft following their successful in-orbit commissioning.

“We are pleased to expand our relationship with SpaceQuest.  Their satellites have proven to be a reliable source of AIS signals that meet our needs for a high-performance, global data feed,” said Peter Mabson, President of exactEarth.  “With this purchase, and the anticipated deployment of two more exactEarth advanced AIS satellites in the next few months, we will have access to a constellation of six spacecraft in orbit by this summer that is expected to produce in excess of six million AIS vessel reports per day.  This will solidify exactEarth’s position as the provider of the world’s most comprehensive and high performance satellite AIS data service capability.”