Morno;
I’m not saying that bad decisions haven’t been made with various projects, but this is basically putting ADSB receivers on satellites is how I read it. It’s not like they’re reinventing the wheel to do it.
Dear sweet Morno, I admire your optimism.
However; bad decisions have been made on so many government projects that its the successful ones that are the exception.
Yes, space based ADSB is a noble and virtuous project.
But your observation:
"It’s not like they’re reinventing the wheel to do it." You Sir have yet to engage with the Australian bureaucratic mind!
Morno, to these folks, there is no international standard or product that cannot be (a) improved; (b) tinkered with for fun; (c) modified "to better suit Australian conditions"; (d) perverted into a gravy train for interested parties; or all four at once.
The change can be very subtle so that the damage is not apparent for many years after the money is spent.
For a hypothetical example, with reference to chapter 3 of the rough guide to the ADSB format,
https://mode-s.org/decode/book-the_1...-junzi_sun.pdf
Lets say I am a senior bureaucrat with an interest in bushwalking. lets add a teensy new ADSB message that allows "us" to use the system to track feral horses in Kosciusko national park.
There are stupid people around who make such changes,