Faulty Booster Component Delays IIR-M Launches

Suspected faulty components in a Delta II rocket are delaying the launch of the final two modernized GPS Block IIR satellites, possibly preventing the early broadcast of an L5 civil signal that faces a 2009 deadline for being on the air.

Boeing Will Build GPS IIF Satellites on New ‘Pulse’ Line

The Boeing Company will use its new “pulse line” process for assembling satellites to build GPS Block IIF satellites for the U.S. Air Force.

Constructed at the company’s facility in El Segundo, California, the new process is expected to shorten the time needed to build a space vehicle and will eventually be implemented on all Boeing satellite production lines.

For the Block IIFs the new process will reduce the travel distance of a space vehicle from 12,000 feet to 10,000 feet, according to John Duddy, director of GPS programs for Boeing.

Openmoku Plans Publication of Mobile Phone Schematics, including GPS Chip

Okay, they’re really serious about open source.

Mobile device manufacturer Openmoko has announced that it will publish the schematics for the company’s Neo 1973 and Neo FreeRunner mobile phones, further opening its mobile platform to the development community.

u-blox AG, Switzerland, maker of the GPS chip — the u- ANTARIS 4 ATR0635 — used in the Neo FreeRunner, endorsed Openmokos publishing the complete schematics for the GPS chip in the Neo FreeRunner phones.

GIOVE-B Signal Observations Confirm MBOC's Multipath Advantage

Initial results from observations of the Galileo GIOVE-B satellite conducted by researchers at the European Space Agency (ESA) and Septentrio Satellite Navigation indicate that the multiplex binary offset carrier (MBOC) modulation outperforms the BOC(1,1) modulation on the L1 (data + pilot channels) frequency in mitigating the effects of multipath or reflected signals.

Air Force Hopes for November, December Launches of Final GPS IIR-Ms

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 10 2008: With replacement parts currently being manufactured for faulty components that have delayed launch plans, Air Force GPS program managers hope to get the final two modernized Block IIR satellites on orbit by the end of the year.

A tentative launch date of November 7 has been targeted for the Block IIR-20(M), which will carry a payload that includes an experimental L5 signal. If all goes well, the final IIR launch would take place by December 31.

Lost in the Noise: The Need for Longterm Infrastructure Development

You know how people talk louder when asking something of a person who doesn’t speak their language? (As if the failure to communicate is a simply matter of volume and not frequency or modulation.)

So, here we are in the GNSS world: a community that depends on radio waves so faint they might as well be Atlantic Ocean breakers rippling up on the Florida beach when a Daytona car race is roaring in the background.

Lost in the noise.

NXP/STMicroelectronics JV Launches

ST-NXP Wireless, a new company bringing together key wireless operations of STMicroelectronics and NXP, will begin operations August 2 following completion of a deal announced earlier this year.

Owning thousands of communication and multimedia patents, the new joint venture will bring key technologies for UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) and for the emerging TD-SCDMA standard, as well as other cellular, multimedia and connectivity capabilities -- including WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM radio, USB, and UWB (ultra-wideband).

Boeing Wins NRL Contract to Continue Iridium/GPS Development

The Boeing Company has received a three-year, $153.5-million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to continue its efforts to augment GPS for military applications by exploiting the Iridium low earth orbit (LEO) communications satellite system.

Hemisphere GPS Announces New Products, Patents

Hemisphere GPS recently introduced two new products: the LV100 GPS Compass Board, an OEM  format based on the company’s Crescent Vector technology, and the Air IntelliFlow Dual Rate controller for aerial applications.

Ron Beard: The Measure of Time

Beard's Coordinates
Approximate Position (ITRF)
X coordinate (m): 1117249.15762
Y coordinate (m): -4848758.67469
Z coordinate (m): 3976821.16656
Latitude (N is +): +38.491471
Longitude (E is ): -077.012785
Elevation (m,ellips.): -26.010