Frequency approvalIn December 2023, the International Telecommunication Union World Radiocommunication Conference approved the spectrum allocation for future space-based VHF communications services (voice and data) and surveillance for air traffic management. As the project’s and SESAR SJU’s first satellite, IOD-1 took the concept of space-based VHF communications into orbit, enabling the first demonstration activities. Unlocking VHF Data-Link from spaceThe validation of space-based VHF voice was only the beginning. ECHOES achieved another world first with the validation of VHF data communications via satellite. Its results feed directly into ongoing conversations around how the space-based VHF solution can make aviation safer and greener, opening the door to the next chapter of connected, global air traffic management.