GPS

IIF SV1 Launch: Cancellation No. 4 and Counting
May 26, 2010

IIF SV1 Launch: Cancellation No. 4 and Counting

A Boeing technician works on a GPS IIF satellites moving through the “pulse line” at the company’s Satellite Development Center in El Segundo, California. Boeing photo

(UPDATED May 25) The next launch attempt of the first GPS IIF space vehicle (SV1)  has been tentatively set at Cape Canaveral for Thursday, May 27, when the launch window will be 11-11:19 p.m. EDT.

Originally scheduled for May 20, the launch was delayed several times. The fourth launch attempt  was scrubbed Sunday night.

Read More >

By Inside GNSS
GPS Block IIF: A Third Cancellation
May 24, 2010

GPS Block IIF: A Third Cancellation

GPS IIF-SVN1: Still Waiting. United Launch Alliance photo

The third time wasn’t the charm for an attempted first launch of a GPS follow-on (Block IIF) generation of satellites.

Problems with ground support equipment and then with the telemetry signal between the spacecraft and the ground equipment have delayed initial launch of the new-generation satellite three times in the last four days.

Originally scheduled for May 20, the launch was postponed again on May 21 and May 23. Mission controllers hope to get the IIF off the ground on May 24.

Read More >

By Inside GNSS
GPS IIF Launch Scrubbed on Pad for Second Time
May 23, 2010

GPS IIF Launch Scrubbed on Pad for Second Time

GPS Block IIF-SVN1 on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. United Launch Alliance photo

Launch managers canceled the second attempt to place the first GPS Block IIF satellite in orbit on Friday, May 21, when the telemetry signal between the spacecraft and the satellite ground support equipment was lost minutes before scheduled liftoff. The problem could not be resolved in time to launch during the 18-minute launch window. 

Another launch attempt has been set for Sunday, May 23, betwen 11:17 and 11:35 p.m. (EDT). The first launch effort on May 20 was called off when a problem with ground support equipment was detected during the day.

Read More >

By Inside GNSS
[uam_ad id="183541"]
ESA Sponsors GNSS Summer School this September in Denmark
May 20, 2010

ESA Sponsors GNSS Summer School this September in Denmark

An informal discussion at the 2009 GNSS summer school

Online registration is open for the fourth International Summer School on Global Navigation Satellite systems. The 10-day course will take place at the GPS Center at Aalborg University in Slettestrand, Denmark from Wednesday afternoon, September 1 through Saturday morning, September 11.

Held for the first two years at University FAF Munich, it now takes place in Denmark with two new lead sponsors, the European Space Agency and Nokia.

Read More >

By Inside GNSS
ESA International Summer School 2010 on GNSS

ESA International Summer School 2010 on GNSS

The fourth International Summer School on GNSS has a new location and two new lead sponsors: the European Space Agency and Nokia.

It will take place at the Danish GPS Center at Aalborg University in Slettestrand, Denmark from September 1 through 11.

The summer school welcomes graduate students, post doctorate researchers and young professionals. Enrollment is limited to 50 students, so register soon.

See related story "ESA Sponsors GNSS Summer School this September in Denmark"

By Inside GNSS
Equipment Problem Delays First GPS IIF Launch
May 19, 2010

Equipment Problem Delays First GPS IIF Launch

Boeing technicians examine the first GPS IIF satellite as it underwent final preparations for its February shipment to Cape Canaveral. Boeing photo

A ground equipment problem has caused a 24-hour delay in launch of the first GPS IIF satellite (GPS IIF-SV1).

Originally scheduled for late May 20, the launch attempt has been reslotted to a May 21 launch window of 11:25 to 11:43 p.m. (EDT)

During normal processing for the launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, mission managers determined that a piece of ground support equipment used to control one of the swing arms on the fixed umbilical tower was not operating correctly and needed replacing.

Replacing the GSE component will add one day to launch processing, according to the United Launch Alliance managers. This will be the first launch of a GPS satellite on the Boeing Delta IV rocket.

Read More >

By Inside GNSS
NovAtel Inc. Announces New OEMStar Models, New SPAN IMU
May 15, 2010

NovAtel Inc. Announces New OEMStar Models, New SPAN IMU

SPANS IMU-LCI integrated GNSS/Inertial

Canadian GNSS OEM manufacturer NovAtel Inc. has introduced five new models to its low cost, L1 OEMStar receiver card product line and four new models to the OEMStar-supported FlexPak-G2 enclosure product line. The Calgary, Alberta–based company has also added a new inertial measurement unit (IMU) option to its SPAN (Synchronous Position, Attitude and Navigation) GNSS/inertial product line.

Read More >

By Inside GNSS
[uam_ad id="183541"]
U.S. Air Force Prepares First IIF GPS Satellite for Launch on May 21
April 19, 2010

U.S. Air Force Prepares First IIF GPS Satellite for Launch on May 21

A launch pad at Cape Canaveral (satellite image courtesy of GeoEye)

Launch of the first GPS Block IIF (follow-on) satellite is currently scheduled for May 21 from Cape Canaveral aboard a Delta-IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), with a destination in the constellation’s B2 plane and slot.

The IIF-1 SV (space vehicle) is at the launch site and fueled. A final IIF launch mission dress rehearsal (MDR) was scheduled to take place during the weeks of April  26 to May 7.

Read More >

By Inside GNSS
FAA Predicts Erosion of GPS WAAS Service Due to Intelsat GEO Failure

FAA Predicts Erosion of GPS WAAS Service Due to Intelsat GEO Failure

Galaxy 15 satellite under construction. Orbital Sciences photo

[updated April 13] Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials say that loss of control over an Intelsat geostationary (GEO) carrying a GPS Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) transponder could subject users in the National Air Space (NAS) to temporary outages for the rest of this year, beginning within the next two to four weeks as the GEO drifts out of a useable orbit.

Intelsat S.A. announced the anomaly in Galaxy 15 (G-15) on April 8. Although the communications services provided by G-15, located at 133 degrees west longitude (WL), have not been affected, according to Intelsat, the satellite apparently is not responding to commands by controllers. The anomalous condition began on April 3, according to the FAA.

The Luxembourg-based Intelsat is moving an older spacecraft (G-12) that serves as a backup for G-15 from its location at 123 degrees WL. However, G-12 does not have an L-band transponder, which is needed for WAAS transmissions.

Read More >

By Inside GNSS
GPS Partnership Council Meeting 2010

GPS Partnership Council Meeting 2010

The tenth GPS Partnership Council meeting will take place at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, on May 4 and 5, 2010.

The theme is "Advancing PNT Changes Today…Securing the World’s Needs Tomorrow." Conference sessions will take place at the Gordon Conference Center (Building 270).

Read More >

By Inside GNSS
U.S. Invites Comments for Easing GPS SVN49 Signal Anomaly
April 10, 2010

U.S. Invites Comments for Easing GPS SVN49 Signal Anomaly

(This article first appeared in the March 31 Inside GNSS SIGNALS eNewsletter)

The GPS Wing is in the middle of a yearlong process designed to sort out the trade-offs among a set of at least nine options that may be undertaken to reduce the effects of a signal anomaly on the GPS satellite known as SVN49.

In a March 26 teleconference, the first of two scheduled to discuss the options, Lt. Col. James Lake, the wing’s deputy chief engineer, emphasized that some of the options could well improve the performance of some receivers while decreasing that of others.

He underlined the Air Force’s concern that receivers that don’t conform to the specification for GPS space segment/navigation user interfaces (IS-GPS-200) "greatly complicate the issue."

Read More >

By Inside GNSS
1 … 133 134 135 136 137 … 157
IGM_e-news_subscribe