Originally Posted by
awblain
Neither the distance change away from the satellite between the hourly pings nor any potential Doppler information would by itself rule out a Northern location,
From what I understood, the Doppler shift of interest was caused not by the aircraft movement, but by the slight movement of the satellite itself. So if the frequency increases when the satellite is moving "south", it means the airplane is in the Southern hemisphere.
But it could as well be a cover for a leak from spysats.