Vietnamese University Announces First Galileo-Only Positioning

A research team at the NAVIS Center at Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Vietnam has achieved what it says is the first successful Galileo-only positioning in Asia.

Move to Set Privacy Rules for Operating Unmanned Systems Gathers Steam

The prospects for the rapid integration of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the day-to-day work of farmers, pipeline operators and firemen seem to be dimming amidst a hail of privacy legislation.

Virginia is poised to enact a two-year moratorium on the use of UASs, roughly 30 other states are weighing legislation and nearly half a dozen federal bills limiting the use of UASs have already been introduced in Congress just two months into the new session.

Continuing Resolution Pares GPS OCX, Launch Line Items

President Obama has signed a continuing resolution, an omnibus federal spending measure that includes funding for the GPS program.

Registration Opens for ESA Summer School on GNSS

Registration has opened for the European Space Agency’s International Summer School on GNSS.

Scheduled July 15–25 in Davos, Switzerland, this year’s program will be held in conjunction with the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC). The program is open to graduate students (with a first university degree), Ph.D. candidates, early-stage researchers, and young professionals wishing to broaden their knowledge.

ICG Interoperability Workshop Seeks Views on New GNSS Signal Design

An International Committee on GNSS (ICG) Interoperability Workshop April 25–27, in Honolulu, Hawaii, is seeking participation by designers and manufacturers of GNSS user equipment. The workshop, convened by ICG Working Group A (WG-A) on Compatibility and Interoperability, immediately follows the ION Pacific PNT conference at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.

Congress, States Proposes Bills on Location Privacy, UAVs

Congress is moving to limit the sharing of geolocation information.

The Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act (HR 983), introduced on March 6, addresses a privacy loophole created by services like Gmail and social networking sites. Though law enforcement must get a warrant to access an archive of e-mail stored on your computer, the same protections do not exist for information voluntarily given to a third party.

Air Force Announces Plans for L2C, L5 CNAV Message Tests

The U.S. Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) invited comments today (March 20, 2013) on its proposed plans to test CNAV message capabilities on the GPS L2C and L5 signals June 15–29.

The signals are part of the GPS modernization program and will provide, among other things, greater capability for civilian users. The notice was posted in the official government Federal Register.

NavSAS, Septentrio Report Galileo IOV Positioning Results

Two European organizations announced successful positioning results yesterday (March 12, 2013) using signals from the four Galileo in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites.

The NavSAS group of Politecnico di Torino and Instituto Superiore Mario Boella in Turin, Italy, obtained its first Galileo autonomous position using signals from the Protoflight Model (PFM) and three Flight Model space vehicles (FM2, FM3, FM4), which have started transmitting valid navigation messages.

ESA Achieves First Galileo-Only 3D Position Fix

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced a key milestone today (March 12, 2013) in the development of Europe’s GNSS program: the first determination of a ground location using the four Galileo satellites currently in orbit together with the system’s ground infrastructure.

This fundamental step confirms the Galileo system works as planned, according to ESA scientists.

The Sequester and Its GPS Discontents

Deep military spending cuts set to kick in March 1 will likely slow efforts to modernize the GPS constellation, insiders agree, in large part because many of the personnel needed to push the program forward will be sitting at home, unpaid, one day out of every five.

The human impact of the deep cuts taking effect when sequestration kicks in on Friday was already evident in mid-February during the program review conference held by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.