Operating beyond cellular coverage is a reality for many ArduPilot-powered vehicles, and satellite is often the only practical backhaul. Recently, the ArduPilot Development Team (with support from Ground Control) documented MAVLink telemetry performance over Iridium Certus 100 using the RockREMOTE UAV OEM modem. The goal: understand what usable telemetry looks like over a real satellite link, and share configuration guidance the community can replicate.
RockREMOTE UAV OEM is a low SWaP Certus modem designed for OEM integration on unmanned aircraft. It provides an IP data path for BVLOS command and control (C2), MAVLink telemetry, and payload/edge networking when terrestrial backhaul isn’t available.
What the ArduPilot testing looked at
The work, conducted and written up by Stephen Dade, a member of ArduPilot’s Development Team, evaluated MAVLink telemetry reliability and latency over Iridium Certus 100 across multiple connection configurations. In the reported results, MAVLink telemetry was usable and consistent when configured appropriately, with typical round trip latency reported in the sub-2 second range.
Key takeaways from the write-up
- Reliable MAVLink telemetry over Certus 100 (with the right config): The test summary reported measured latencies roughly in the ~600-1600 ms range, with broader observed ranges depending on protocol and conditions.
- Stream rates matter under uplink constraints: The write-up notes Certus 100 uplink limits and recommends configuring ArduPilot stream rates around 2 Hz to stay within available throughput.
- Secure connectivity works best when designed for satellite: High latency/low bandwidth links benefit from VPN patterns optimized for satellite. Ground Control supports architectures that terminate secure tunneling at the gateway, and offers WireGuard where on-link VPN is required.
- Installation can make or break performance: Antenna placement and local obstructions (trees/buildings) had a major impact. Roof height mounting improved results versus a low height suburban placement.
Why this matters for integrators
The documented setup used a representative unmanned systems stack (ArduPilot flight controller, Ethernet bridging, and ground endpoint infrastructure), and the notes are practical for anyone building satellite-enabled autonomy: you can design for predictable behavior, but you have to design around constraints like latency, throughput, and installation quality.
“These results help validate a satellite telemetry approach that can extend operations into truly remote areas, and provide the community with clear configuration guidance.” – Stephen Dade, ArduPilot Development Team
“What’s exciting here is giving builders real architectural choice: lean messaging for efficient telemetry, and IP connectivity when an uninterrupted C2 link matters.” – Alastair MacLeod, Ground Control CEO
Read the full technical write-up
The full methodology, recommended configurations, and measured performance data are here: https://discuss.ardupilot.org/t/ardupilot-and-the-iridium-certus-satellite-service.
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