Tired of monstrously long flights to Europe? A new space-based global tracking system should shave flight times by opening up new routes, including paths that take advantage of quick-forming wind streams.

Appeasing grumpy passengers is just the beginning. Shorter flights also reduce fuel consumption, which in turn cut greenhouse gas emissions, say partners in a project to outfit 72 Iridium communications satellites with equipment to track airplanes worldwide.

"It's a quantum improvement over how we operate today," said John Crichton, president of Nav Canada, a private company that provides air traffic control services in Canada.

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Nav Canada intends to be the first customer for the new service, which will be offered by an Iridium spin-off company called Aireon. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is interested as well.

The project builds on the ongoing effort to upgrade aircraft tracking systems from radars to GPS satellite navigation signals.Currently however, only about 10 percent of the planet has the GPS receivers to pick up an aircraft's signals. That limits the routes airplanes can fly, particularly those crossing the oceans or flying over the planet's poles.

Iridium intends to put GPS receivers on all of its next-generation satellites. The network, which primarily is used for global mobile communications, will include 66 operational spacecraft and six orbiting spares. They are scheduled to be launched aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets beginning in 2015.

"There won't be any more blind spots anywhere in the world," said Iridium chief executive Matt Desch.

Project adviser Russ Chew, former Jet Blue Airways president and FAA operations manager, estimates the new system will save airlines between $6 billion and $8 billion over 12 years on their north Atlantic and north and central Pacific routes.

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Eyes in Space Could Shave Flight Times