Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Today (December 15, 2016) the European Commission (EC), owner of Europe’s GNSS system, Galileo, formally announced the start of Galileo Initial Services, the first step towards full operational capability.
Further launches will continue to build the satellite constellation, which will gradually improve the system performance and availability worldwide.
By Inside GNSS
Following a complex tendering process that began in January 2015, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) awarded the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) contract, with a value of up to €1.5 billion (US$1.56 billion), to Spaceopal at a special event in Brussels today (December 15, 2016).
The ceremony was featured in an event organized on the occasion of the European Commission’s declaration of Galileo Initial Services.
By Inside GNSS
Europe’s satellite navigation system, Galileo, is about to go operational on December 15 when the European Commission makes a Declaration of Initial Services at a special event in Brussels. With that, European satellites will provide users with global positioning, navigation and timing information for the first time.
By Inside GNSS
After months of testing, the European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that Galileo satellites 13 and 14 are transmitting healthy navigation signals and ready to relay distress calls to emergency services.
The satellites, launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on May 24, went through lengthy testing that included receiving and uplinking signals through specialized antennas, ESA said. Some of the tests included navigation and search and rescue payloads methodically switched on, the agency said.
By Inside GNSS
The navigation sensors for location-based services (LBS) are complex technical systems. Modern technical science can answer most questions about the optimality of particular position determination methods, signal processing algorithms, electronic circuits or similar well-defined problems, but the rigorous answer to the questions concerning the optimal LBS positioning sensor are still a big problem.
By Inside GNSS
One of 12 magnetograms recorded at Greenwich Observatory during the Great Geomagnetic Storm of 1859
1996 soccer game in the Midwest, (Rick Dikeman image)
Nouméa ground station after the flood
A pencil and a coffee cup show the size of NASA’s teeny tiny PhoneSat
Bonus Hotspot: Naro Tartaruga AUV
Pacific lamprey spawning (photo by Jeremy Monroe, Fresh Waters Illustrated)
“Return of the Bucentaurn to the Molo on Ascension Day”, by (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Canaletto
The U.S. Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock at 2nd Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB in Colorado. This photo was taken in January, 2006 during the addition of a leap second. The USNO master clocks control GPS timing. They are accurate to within one second every 20 million years (Satellites are so picky! Humans, on the other hand, just want to know if we’re too late for lunch) USAF photo by A1C Jason Ridder. 
Detail of Compass/ BeiDou2 system diagram
Hotspot 6: Beluga A300 600ST
Highest altitude fix for a GPS signal, GNSS timing signals and hacking the Grid, Eagles act as drone countermeasures and rumors of a GNSS-nano-chip contributes to cash crisis in India
By Inside GNSS
Didier Faivre, director of the Guiana Space Center, overseeing launch of four Galileo satellites. Screen capture of launch video by European Space Agency/ArianeSpace.A modified Ariane 5 rocket lifted four Galileo satellites into orbit today (November 17, 2016) following an 8:06 a.m. (EST) launch from the European Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.
The Galileo satellites reached their target altitude, after a "flawless release" from the new dispenser designed to handle four satellites, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). The dispenser released the first pair three hours and 25 minutes after liftoff, while the second separated 20 minutes later.
By Inside GNSS
The European Commission (EC) has opened the third round of competition for €33 million (US$35.15 million) in Horizon 2020 (H2020) contracts for development of European GNSS (EGNSS) applications exploiting use of Galileo and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).
By Inside GNSS
Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC)The Geospatial World Forum 2017 and industry exhibition will be held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Hyderabad, India on January 23 – 25, 2017.
Online registration is available.
By Inside GNSS
EPFL Campus, Lausanne and Lake Geneva (photo A. Herzog)The 2017 European Navigation Conference (ENC 2017) will take place on the EPFL campus in the new Swiss Tech Convention Centre (STCC) on the shores of Lake Geneva in Lausanne, Switzerland from May 9 – 12, 2017.
The call for papers is now open. The submission deadline is January 8, 2017. Registration and conference program will be available soon.
By Inside GNSS
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and Qascom, an Italian company specializing in Galileo, are collaborating to build the first GPS and Galileo receiver to be tested on board the International Space Station (ISS) Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed.
By Inside GNSS
The modified Ariane 5 launcher that will lift four Galileo satellites into space is being assembled at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, preparation for launch on November 17.
By Inside GNSS
Furuno GV-86Furuno’s GV-86 GPS receiver chip with its dead-reckoning DR/GNSS module will be integrated into Clarion’s NXR16 car navigation systems for the auto-leasing and car rental industries.
The GV-86 features a dead-reckoning-enabled GNSS receiver, which receives concurrent GPS, SBAS, and QZSS satellite signals. The dead-reckoning capability allows the unit to provide positioning while receiving multiple GNSS signals in such harsh environments as tunnels, urban canyons and underground parking, the company said.
By Inside GNSS
