Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
The recently released White House budget request includes money to buy the first of the GPS III follow-on satellites (GPS IIIF) and a nearly 30 percent increase in the budget for M-code capable user equipment in fiscal year 2020 (FY20).
By Dee Ann Divis
The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center’s Global Positioning Systems Directorate achieved another major program milestone March 19, successfully delivering the second GPS III Space Vehicle to Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, to begin satellite launch processing.
By Inside GNSS
As part of its effort to stay ahead of expanding threats, the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) is looking for input from firms interested in supplying modular satellite buses to support a variety of missions including GPS, the Nuclear Detonation (NUDET) Detection System (NDS) and communications.
By Inside GNSS
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is introducing ADA-O, an additional development in the ADA lineup, which addresses GPS jammers to ensure GPS availability for land platforms. The land platform can be readily integrated in a range of platforms, providing a unique operational response to help telecom, navigation and C&C systems. Easily installed and integrated on the end-user platform, it serves end users on armored vehicles, artillery, C&C centers and communication carriers, according to IAI.
By Inside GNSS
While several smartphone models currently are fitted with chipsets from both Broadcom and Qualcomm Technologies and already have dual-frequency solutions that support Galileo E1/E5a signals, expectations are that we’ll soon see a significant increase in Galileo users coming from the United States.
By Inside GNSS
There are congressional caucuses dedicated to building support for everything from auto care and addiction treatment to chickens and Vietnam. Some caucuses become powerful voting blocks of lawmakers — the House Freedom Caucus played a role in the 2015 resignation of Speaker John Boehner. Others exercise influence by educating congressmembers and their staff about issues impacting their cause and quietly heading off ill-conceived proposals before they get too far along.
By Dee Ann Divis
On March 5, the 50th Space Wing Public Affairs office published an article discussing the GPS Week Number Rollover. While users should be aware of this rollover coming in April, there are plenty of resources available to answer questions and to report any potential issues.
By Inside GNSS
Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said Friday she would resign to become president of the University of Texas at El Paso.
“It has been a privilege to serve alongside our Airmen over the last two years and I am proud of the progress that we have made restoring our nation’s defense,” Wilson said in a statement. “We have improved the readiness of the force; we have cut years out of acquisition schedules and gotten better prices through competition; we have repealed hundreds of superfluous regulations; and we have strengthened our ability to deter and dominate in space.”
By Dee Ann Divis
Exyn recently introduced the Advanced Autonomous Aerial Robot, or A3R, a solution the company is describing as the first fully autonomous aerial system for data collection in GPS-denied environments.
By Inside GNSS
The House passed legislation February 26 promoting the use of drones and other advanced technology to improve government response to wildfires.
By Dee Ann Divis
According to a news report,“Sprut-N1 [a] new-generation precision navigation radio system (RNS) has been created for the Russian Navy. It will determine geographic location, speed and altitude with a precision superior to that of GLONASS and GPS. The coordinates are determined by ground stations of the system which transmit coded signals to warships and aircraft. The main advantage against satellite navigation is that the signal of the high-tech system cannot be jammed, the Izvestia daily writes.”
By Dana A. Goward
A dozen geospatial organizationswith a total of more than 170,000 members have registered their opposition to plans by Ligado Networks to use frequencies neighboring the satellite navigation band for terrestrial services.
By Dee Ann Divis
In a recently published patent, electric car maker Tesla outlines plans to develop a software that aims to use other vehicles on the road as Earth-based GPS satellites. Such a system would allow Tesla to improve its fleet’s positioning accuracy, even in areas where GPS signals are usually compromised, according to the company.
By Inside GNSS
