Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
After a couple of changes in direction and spending some $18 million to verify the technical chops of their most likely suppliers, defense officials appear ready to buy up to 22 new GPS III spacecraft. Although three firms are now well positioned to bid on the potentially lucrative contract, the Defense Department continues to leave the contracting door ajar for newcomers, just in case.
By Inside GNSS
At 25 years old, Global Positioning System Satellite Vehicle Number 27 completed its time in orbit on April 18, and the 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2 SOPS) said goodbye via final command after disposal operations were complete. SVN 27 was launched in 1992, meaning it lasted more than triple its design life of 7.5 years.
By Inside GNSS
Test results from the long-running Adjacent Band Compatibility (ABC) Assessment show interference from wireless signals in nearby bands could negatively impact GPS receivers kilometers away from Long-Term Evolution (LTE) ground stations and render some more closely located GPS receivers useless.
By Inside GNSS
GPS III satellites undergoing testing at Lockheed Martin plant in Colorado. Photo source: Lockheed Martin.A Raytheon executive said that the company expects to deliver the Block O Launch and Checkout System to the U.S. Air Force this fall as part of the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX).
In addition, the company completed a baseline procedure to recertify the troubled OCX program, which was approved by the U.S. Air Force, at the end of March, said Bill Sullivan, Raytheon vice president and program manager for GPS OCX, at the recent 33rd annual Space Symposium meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
By Inside GNSS
Asia is booming, and China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system seems prepped to boom right along with the growing region.
By Inside GNSS
Don’t miss next week’s exciting webinar on direct georeferencing (DG) and LiDAR when moderator James Poss, Maj Gen (Ret), and an expert panel will address how combining DG with LiDAR technology small and light enough to fit onto a UAS is a breakthrough that brings with it many benefits.
By Inside GNSS
Michibiki launch control room during the first launch in 2010. (JAXA photo)Officials at the Tsukuba Space Center of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that the second satellite in the Japanese Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) is scheduled for launch in June.
Designed to boost the accuracy and reception of the existing GPS system for Japan, a new version of a satellite that will orbit directly over the Japanese archipelago was unveiled last week. It will improve the existing GPS and provide a better positioning reading for the people in Japan.
By Inside GNSS
Discussions continue on the pros and cons surrounding the possible privatization of the nation’s Air Traffic Control (ATC), with opponents sharing concerns and a proposal by President Trump aimed at looking into taking the air operations duties away from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
By Inside GNSS
One of 12 magnetograms recorded at Greenwich Observatory during the Great Geomagnetic Storm of 1859
1996 soccer game in the Midwest, (Rick Dikeman image)
Nouméa ground station after the flood
A pencil and a coffee cup show the size of NASA’s teeny tiny PhoneSat
Bonus Hotspot: Naro Tartaruga AUV
Pacific lamprey spawning (photo by Jeremy Monroe, Fresh Waters Illustrated)
“Return of the Bucentaurn to the Molo on Ascension Day”, by (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Canaletto
The U.S. Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock at 2nd Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB in Colorado. This photo was taken in January, 2006 during the addition of a leap second. The USNO master clocks control GPS timing. They are accurate to within one second every 20 million years (Satellites are so picky! Humans, on the other hand, just want to know if we’re too late for lunch) USAF photo by A1C Jason Ridder. 
Detail of Compass/ BeiDou2 system diagram
Hotspot 6: Beluga A300 600ST
1. ANTARCTIC OASIS
Antarctic Peninsula
A view of San Francisco from the Municipal Pier. Wikimedia Commons photo by Blake Everett.The Automated Vehicles Symposium 2017 convenes industry, government, and academia from around the world to address complex technology, operations, and policy issues. With a mission to inform and engage, to support progress towards safe, automated mobility, the symposium will take place from July 11-13 in San Francisco, with Ancillary Meetings July 10 and 14. Abstracts for the poster sessions are due by Friday, April 7, 2017.
By Inside GNSS
The annual Joint Navigation Conference (JNC) is a military positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) event hosted by the Institute of Navigation (ION) on behalf of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The ION 2017 JNC advance conference program is now available online.
By Inside GNSS
NovAtel today unveiled its Oceanix Nearshore correction service at Ocean Business 2017 in Southampton, UK.
Oceanix Nearshore, a subscription-based GNSS correction service for Precise Point Positioning (PPP), provides exceptionally reliable sub-decimeter positioning for marine applications such as dredging, hydrographic survey, mapping and coastal patrolling, according to NovAtel.
With a robust infrastructure, Oceanix precise corrections data is generated utilizing a network of more than 80 strategically located GNSS reference stations globally.
By Inside GNSS
Qinertia INS/GNSS post-processing software. Photo source: SBG Systems. Rueil-Malmaison, France-based SBG Systems will unveil Qinertia, its in-house post-processing software, at the Ocean Business show, April 4-6 at Southampton, U.K.
After the survey, this full-feature software is designed to give access to offline real-time kinematic (RTK) corrections, and process inertial and GNSS raw data to further enhance accuracy and secure the survey.
By Inside GNSS
