Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
President Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 (FY11) would allocate $1.057 billion for Department of Defense (DoD) GPS-related procurement and development activities and nearly $180 million to the Department of Transportation (DoT) for civil GPS programs.
By Inside GNSS
First Block IIF Satellite (Boeing)[updated Februaary 16] The first Block IIF satellite is undergoing final launch preparations after arriving at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a Boeing-built C-17 Globemaster III airlifter.
Space Vehicle 1 (SV-1), the first of 12 GPS IIF satellites for the U.S. Air Force, will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV vehicle later this year, with the first launch window in mid-May.
By Inside GNSS
Diagram of solar flare effects (NOAA)An Atlas 5 rocket sent NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) up on February 11 on an $850 million, five-year mission to find out more about the sun’s magnetic field activity and space weather and, hopefully, to improve forecasting enough to make it possible to safeguard GPS and other technologies.
By Inside GNSS
Trimble has introduced its new Condor family of GPS modules, featuring advancements in signal tracking for applications in poor signal environments, as well as two antenna companion modules.
Compatible with active or passive antennas, the Condor L1 C/A-code GPS receivers can be used in portable handheld, battery-powered applications such as sport accessories, PDAs, cameras, computers, and communication peripherals as well as vehicle tracking, navigation, and security products.
By Inside GNSS
Col. Bernard Gruber. USAF photo
Col. Bernard Gruber, currently the commander of the 45th Space Wing Operations Group at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, will take over command of the GPS Wing later this year.
Gruber served at the wing’s predecessor organization, the NAVSTAR GPS Joint Program Office (GPS JPO) in the early 1990s, where he was involved with user equipment acquisition including the Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) procurement. He will replace Col. David Madden, perhaps as soon as May. Gruber received his appointment as colonel in January 2006.
The deadline for abstract submission for the 2010 Joint Navigation Conference has been extended to Friday, February 19.
The 2010 Joint Navigation Conference (Guidance, Navigation and Control) will take place at Wyndham Orlando Resort in Florida, USA from June 7 to June 10, 2010.
The conference theme is "Military Navigation Technology: The Foundation of Military Ops." It is cohosted by the Joint Service Data Exchange (JSDE) and the Institute of Navigation (ION) for the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.
By Inside GNSS
A new Canadian company, Tallysman Wireless, Inc., has entered the GNSS antennas and RF modules marketplace.
By Inside GNSS
Inside the LM Space Vehicle Integration Laboratory. Lockheed Martin photoLockheed Martin has announced that its new Space Vehicle Integration Laboratory (SVIL) near Denver, Colorado, has achieved initial operational capability and is supporting the company’s satellite development program activity, including the production run of the next-generation GPS IIIA spacecraft.
By Inside GNSS
Anthony RussoAnthony Russo took up duties this week (January 19, 2010) as the director of the National Coordination Office (NCO) for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT). The NCO provides the working staff for the National Space-Based PNT Executive Committee, drawing on representatives assigned from various federal agencies and departments.
By Inside GNSS
Gen. Norton Schwartz, USAF photoThe Global Positioning System is vulnerable to threats such as jamming and anti-satellite weapons and the United States should reduce its dependence on the system while developing alternatives for precise positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), the U.S. Air Force’s top military leader said Wednesday (January 20).
By Inside GNSS
SWPC U.S. Total Electron Count MapThe U.S. National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is inviting suggestions and opinions about the agency’s ionospheric weather products for the GPS constellation, today and on out through the next solar max, 2013–2014. Increased solar activity can magnify ionospheric scintillation and other phenomena that can affect the performance of GNSS receivers.
By Inside GNSS
Raytheon Company has awarded a new contract to GMV to develop a prototype algorithm to mitigate ionospheric effects on users of India’s GAGAN (Global Positioning Satellite-Aided Geosynchronous Augmented Navigation System),
By Inside GNSS
The 14th Meeting of the APEC Global Navigation Satellite System Implementation Team will be held at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in Seattle, Washington USA from June 21-24, 2010.
Registration is open online at the web address below.
The last meeting held in Singapore tabled a draft strategy for 2010-15 that emphasized intermodal GNSS transportation applications. It will also serve as the focus of the Seattle meeting.
By Inside GNSS
