1. GOVERNMENT ACTION
√ President Bush has announced an end to Selective Availability (SA), the intentional degrading of open GPS civil transmissions. In a September 18 statement, Bush said he was adopting the recommendation of defense officials to eliminate the SA capability on future generations of satellites (see story in this issue).
1. GOVERNMENT ACTION
√ President Bush has announced an end to Selective Availability (SA), the intentional degrading of open GPS civil transmissions. In a September 18 statement, Bush said he was adopting the recommendation of defense officials to eliminate the SA capability on future generations of satellites (see story in this issue).
2. LAUNCH
√ The fourth modernized GPS Block IIR satellite (IIR-M) was successfully launched on October 17.
3. SIGNAL
√ A Russian official says that preliminary agreement has been reached to implement a CDMA-type signal on future GLONASS satellites (see story in this issue).
4. LAUNCHES
√ Russia’s next launch of three GLONASS-M satellites will take place as scheduled on October 25, but launch of the Galileo GIOVE-B spacecraft has been postponed until March due to the lack of a rocket module.
5. GOVERNMENT ACTION
√ European Commission reveals plan to build Galileo solely with public funds following the collapse of the Public-Private Partnership strategy. (see story in this issue).
6. CONFERENCE
√ The 39th annual (PTTI) Systems and Applications Meeting focuses on precise time and frequency technologies and their challenges.
7. CONFERENCE
√ The first official public presentation on China’s Compass/Bei Dou program is expected at the Shanghai Navigation Forum 2007 in December. The event is backed by the P.R.C. Ministry of Science and Technology and other authorities.
8. BRIGHT IDEA
√ Swedish technology group Hexagon AB offers to buy NovAtel, Inc. in deal valued at $391 million.
9. CONFERENCE
The Arab Institute of Navigation will host its biennial International Navigation Conference and Exhibition – MELAHA 2008 — April 13–15, 2008 in Hurghada, Egypt.