GPS Archives - Page 155 of 157 - Inside GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design

October 15, 2007

Successful GPS Block IIR-M Spacecraft Launch

Launch of GPS Block IIR-M satellite, October 17, 2007

A Block IIR-M GPS satellite was launched successfully today (October 17, 2007) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Expected to be set healthy for use in early November 2007, the spacecraft will be designated as PRN15/SVN55, referring to its pseudorandom noise code and space vehicle number, respectively.

By Glen Gibbons

October 11, 2007

Nottingham (UK) Establishes GNSS Center

The University of Nottingham and the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) have signed a formal agreement that will create a £9 million (US$18.3 million) state-of-the-art GNSS facility built in Nottingham, United Kingdom.

By Glen Gibbons

October 8, 2007

Hexagon Launches Acquisition of NovAtel Shares

Swedish technology group Hexagon AB, which acquired Leica Geosystems in 2005, launched its tender offer to acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of NovAtel Inc., a Calgary, Alberta, Canada–based developer and manufacturer of OEM GNSS and related products, at a price per share of US$50 cash.

By Glen Gibbons

October 6, 2007

Cornering the Market on Navigable Maps? Nokia/NAVTEQ, TomTom/Tele Atlas Deals

The stunning sequence of multi-billion-dollar buyout offers for the two leading navigable map data providers TeleAtlas and NAVTEQ — by TomTom and Nokia, respectively — raises issues not only of access to critical intellectual property (IP) and a long-delayed explosion of location-based services (LBS) but may also determine the outcome of the long-debated platform of choice for GNSS-enriched consumer applications.

By Glen Gibbons

Block IIF Satellite Heads for Key Tests

Boeing technicians and first Block IIF satellite

The Boeing Company has successfully assembled and integrated all flight hardware onto the first GPS Block IIF (follow-on generation) satellite. Launch is now scheduled for the second half of 2008.

GPS llF spacecraft will bring new capabilities to the GPS constellation, such as a new encrypted military code, a new civil signal, crosslink enhancements, increased signal power, and longer design life. Boeing is building 12 GPS Block IIF satellites under contract from the GPS Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base.

By Glen Gibbons

October 4, 2007

Trimble Launches Embedded OEM GNSS Receiver

Trimble has introduced a new, real-time kinematic (RTK) compact GNSS card — the Trimble BD960 — for high-precision guidance and control applications, such as unmanned vehicles and port and terminal equipment automation.

By Glen Gibbons

September 20, 2007

Selective Availability: Completely Dead

Selective Availability (SA), the contentious issue of degrading the open GPS civil to advantage military signals, is going away for good under the terms of a presidential decision announced September 18.

By Glen Gibbons

September 19, 2007

NovAtel Inc. Buys Antenna Company

NovAtel Inc. has acquired privately held antenna manufacturer Antcom Corporation (Antcom) for $5 million in cash and an additional $1 million in cash subject to Antcom’s achievement of certain financial targets for the calendar year ended December 31, 2007.

By Glen Gibbons

September 15, 2007

USAF evolves GPS architecture with $800 million upgrade to ground control segment

On September 14, Air Force crews at Schriever AFB, Colorado, completed the initial phase of an $800 million upgrade to the GPS operational control segment.

Operators in the 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2SOPS) of the USAF 50th Space Wing migrated control of the GPS satellite constellation and ground monitoring facilities from a 1970s-era mainframe computer to a distributed IT infrastructure with advanced automated features. The 50th Space Wing, through the 2nd SOPS, performs the satellite command and control mission for the Global Positioning System.

By Inside GNSS

September 9, 2007

It’s MBOC for common Galileo-GPS civil signal

The United States and the European Union (EU) have agreed to use the multiplexed binary offset carrier (MBOC) for a common GPS-Galileo signal for civilian use. In the future, this will enable combined GNSS receivers to track the GPS and Galileo signals with higher accuracy, even in challenging environments that include multipath, noise, and interference.

These signals will be implemented on the Galileo Open Service and the GPS IIIA new L1 civil signal known as L1C.

By Inside GNSS

July 2, 2007

U.S. Air Force Releases GPS Block IIIA Satellite RFP

After several false starts in the previous months and a multi-year delay in the overall GPS III architecture development, the GPS Wing (formerly the GPS Joint Program Office) announced on July 12 the release of a request for proposal for the development and production of the GPS Block IIIA satellites.

By Inside GNSS

April 1, 2007

USAF Lets L5 Demo Contract; GPS III RFPs

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin Company a $6 million contract to develop and integrate a demonstration payload that will temporarily transmit an L5 civil signal on a modernized GPS Block IIR (GPS IIR-M) satellite.

By Inside GNSS

PNT Executive Group Gains New Co-Chair, Advisory Board

President Bush’s appointment of retired U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thomas Barrett as Acting Deputy Secretary of Transportation has brought a new co-chairman to the U.S. Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Executive Committee (PNT EXCOM).

By Inside GNSS

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CAST Navigation Introduces Commercial Simulator...

Successful GPS Block IIR-M Spacecraft Launch

Nottingham (UK) Establishes GNSS Center

Hexagon Launches Acquisition of NovAtel Shares

Cornering the Market on Navigable Maps? Nokia/NAVTEQ, TomTom/Tele Atlas Deals

Block IIF Satellite Heads for Key Tests

Trimble Launches Embedded OEM GNSS Receiver

Selective Availability: Completely Dead

NovAtel Inc. Buys Antenna Company

USAF evolves GPS architecture with $800 million upgrade to ground control segment

It’s MBOC for common Galileo-GPS civil signal

U.S. Air Force Releases GPS Block IIIA Satellite RFP

USAF Lets L5 Demo Contract; GPS III RFPs

PNT Executive Group Gains New Co-Chair, Advisory Board