Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Thwarted thus far in efforts to convert satellite spectrum into a terrestrial service, LightSquared Inc. and 19 affiliates have filed for bankruptcy. But the would-be wireless broadband provider said it had not abandoned efforts to build out a nationwide network of transmitters that extensive tests have shown would interfere with GPS receivers.
By Inside GNSS
UK-based Racelogic has been singled out as a double winner in the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, receiving both Innovation and International Trade awards.
Announced on April 21 to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday, the 2012 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise listings contained 209 companies, with Racelogic being one of only four to be honored with the award for both Innovation and International Trade.
By Inside GNSS
Legislation moving through Congress could reshape efforts to counter GPS interference as the government steps up its efforts to fight cybercrime and protect critical systems like the power grid and communications networks.
Though cybersecurity generally focuses on protecting information systems the broad definitions in some legislation now on the Hill appear to encompass GPS support systems, some user communities, and even the constellation itself.
By Inside GNSS
Variations on the common GPS/Galileo MBOC signalThe U.S. government is so unhappy about a British patent claim on the new civil GPS signal that, if things cannot be worked out, officals might consider abandoning the countries’ interoperable signal structure, sources told Inside GNSS.
By Inside GNSS
New York’s 450 Park Avenue, home of Harbinger CapitalHarbinger Capital Management LLC fund manager Philip Falcone has reportedly agreed to eventually withdraw from his leadership position with LightSquared Inc., the would-be wireless broadband that ran into problems because its proposed terrestrial transmitters would have caused interference to GPS receivers.
By Inside GNSS
Variations on the common GPS/Galileo MBOC signalThe British military establishment is seeking royalties from GPS receiver manufacturers, asserting it holds a patent on the technology at the heart of the new GPS and Galileo civil signals.
Should U.S. manufacturers have to pay royalties, American GPS users, who have already paid for the GPS constellation and made it available to the world free of charge, could find themselves spending more to use its location capabilities. Sources said the development could undermine relations between the U.S. and the European Union (EU), which have cooperated for years to develop a common signal at the L1/E1 frequency centered at 1575.42 MHz.
By Inside GNSS
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched a search for an atomic inertial sensor to measure orientation in GPS-denied environments.
The Chip-Scale Combinatorial Atomic Navigator (C-SCAN) initiative seeks to create a sensor that integrates small size, low power consumption, high resolution of motion detection, and a fast startup time into a single package.
By Inside GNSS
Location of real-time GPS monitoring stations in the western United States that make up part of the Real-Time Earthquake Analysis for Disaster Mitigation Network. The networks stations are overlain on a U.S. Geological Survey seismic hazard map showing areas forecast to have a 10-percent probability of exceeding a certain level of ground shaking within the next 50 years. (Areas in shades of red have the strongest shaking, while areas in green shades have the weakest shaking.) Image credit: USGS/UC Berkeley/Scripps Institution of OceanographyEvolution of real-time GNSS reference networks and data processing has evolved to the point that NASA-backed researchers believe they can soon implement large-scale demonstration tests to provide earthquake and tsunami alerts to the general public and emergency responders.
By Inside GNSS
The 11th GPS Partnership Council meeting will take place on May 1 and 2,
2012 at the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles Air
Force Base in El Segundo, California. It is located about four miles
south of the Los Angeles Airport.
As of April 27, the meeting is full, however registration is open for the golf tournament on Wednesday and social evening on Tuesday.
By Inside GNSS
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Raytheon Company a two-year contract extension to continue to provide services for the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The $30.1 million contract extends the period of performance through Sept. 24, 2013.
By Inside GNSS
Aurora Borealis, 1977, near Anchorage, Alaska from the National Weather Service collection in NOAA’s online photo databaseThe annual Space Weather Workshop will take place on April 24-27 2012 at the Millennium Hotel in Boulder, Colorado. Registration is now open.
The conference schedule is online here.
Organizers call it the meeting of science, research, applications, operations and users.
By Inside GNSS
PLANS conference venueThis biennial conference and industry exhibition explores the field of navigation—from fundamental research, to applications, to field test results.
It will take place April 24, 25 and 26 at the Marriott Resort and Spa at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina USA.
Sponsored by IEEE’s Aerospace and Electronics Systems Society and the Institute of Navigation, participants will learn about sensors, systems, optimal integration of multiple sensors and emerging technologies in navigation.
The core structure of the GPS III Non-Flight Satellite Testbed (GNST) stands vertical in Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Processing Facility. LM photo.An emphasis on quality assurance in system engineering and components in the first GPS III satellite now under development has driven projected costs up in the program above the budgeted amount, leading the U.S. Air Force to deny a $70 million incentive fee to prime contractor Lockheed Martin.
By Inside GNSS
