Control system and method for controlling an antenna of a vehicle

An aircraft comprising:

• a satellite communication system (SATCOM) comprising an antenna configured to emit RF signals, wherein:
• the SATCOM is configured to operate in a plurality of modes, wherein the plurality of modes comprises a low power mode and a high power mode,
• a strength of the RF signals emitted by the antenna is greater when the SATCOM is operating in the high power mode than when the SATCOM is operating in the low power mode;
• and
• a control system that is configured to switch the SATCOM from the high power mode to the low power mode when a distance between the aircraft and at least one other aircraft is or is predicted to be less than or equal to a threshold value,
• wherein the control system is configured to determine the threshold value based at least in part on a separation distance at which the RF signals emitted by the antenna when the SATCOM is operating in the high power mode would interfere with the at least one other aircraft.

A method of controlling a satellite communication system (SATCOM) of a vehicle, the SATCOM comprising an antenna configured to emit RF signals, the method comprising:

• determining or receiving vehicle position data;
• determining or receiving traffic data;
• determining a distance or predicting a future distance between the vehicle and at least one other vehicle based at least in part on the vehicle position data and the traffic data;
• switching the SATCOM from a high power mode to a low power mode in response to determining that the distance or the predicted future distance is less than or equal to a threshold value;
• determining whether the vehicle is on the ground or not on the ground;
• and
• switching the SATCOM from the high power mode to the low power mode in response to a determination that the vehicle is on the ground and a determination that the distance is less than or equal to the threshold value.