Agnirva Space Premier League - Expedition #31281: GLASS: Tracking Ships from Space with the Global AIS System
- Agnirva.com
- Aug 1
- 1 min read
Shipping is the lifeblood of global commerce, and monitoring vessels is critical for security, environmental protection, and logistics. Enter GLASS—the Global AIS on Space Station—an experiment that leveraged the ISS to track ships using their Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals.
Led by Principal Investigator Dominick Risaliti from Adcole Maryland Aerospace, GLASS transformed the ISS into a floating maritime tracker. By installing AIS receivers onboard, the experiment captured data from thousands of ships worldwide, operating during Expeditions 45/46 through 66.
AIS is a system used by ships and traffic services for identifying and locating vessels via data exchanges with nearby ships and coastal stations. However, traditional AIS has limited range, confined to line-of-sight or regional receivers. GLASS overcame this limitation by receiving signals directly from space.
By placing the receivers in orbit, GLASS expanded AIS coverage to remote oceanic regions and polar areas that were previously blind spots. The real-time data offered by GLASS supports maritime safety, disaster response, and even illegal fishing detection.
Another benefit is its role in climate and environmental studies. Tracking shipping lanes allows researchers to correlate traffic patterns with greenhouse gas emissions and ocean pollution.
GLASS demonstrated how orbital platforms like the ISS can serve as persistent, global monitoring stations. This sets a precedent for future Earth-observing networks and enhances our ability to manage global marine traffic.
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