Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Brig. Gen. Stephen Whiting
The 56th meeting of the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC) will convene at the Portland Convention Center in Portland, Oregon in conjunction with the Institute of Navigation’s GNSS+ conference. The annual meeting is always free and open to the public.
The Senate Armed Services Committee zeroed out the Pentagon’s $393 funding request for the new GPS ground control system during its May 11 markup, asserting that the program’s cost overruns — with a total cost that may reach $5.3 billion, up from an original $1.5 billion — had breached the Nunn-McCurdy Act.
Under the act, such a breach could result in termination of the Next Generation Operational Control System or OCX unless the Secretary of Defense goes through an in-depth review of the program and personally certifies its critical importance.
By Inside GNSS
The seeming efficiency of having unmanned aircraft carry the same GNSS-based collision avoidance transmitters required for manned aircraft has generated a lot of interest as a possibly safe way to easily integrate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the nation’s air traffic control system.
By Inside GNSS
Mayflower NavAssure 125Mayflower Communications Company, Inc., has been awarded a Phase III SGUE (small GPS user equipment) contract with the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), sponsored by the Space and Missile Systems Center/GPS Directorate (SMC/GPSD), to develop a small SWaP (size, weight, and power) security certifiable Common GPS Module (CGM) for the Air Force’s Modernized GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Program.
By Inside GNSS
Gaylord National Resort and Convention CenterThe National Space-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board is comprised of experts from outside government that are tasked with developing recommendations for the PNT EXCOM to consider in making GPS services more effective and accessible to users in all domains and sectors. Attendance is open to the public.
By Inside GNSS
The USAF Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) announced today (May 5, 2016) the award of three contracts to support companies in preparing for the competition to build additional GPS Block III space vehicles (SVs).
The SMC’s GPS Directorate at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, will award one GPS III Phase 1 Production Readiness Feasibility Assessment contract to each of the following companies: Boeing Network and Space Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, and Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.
By Inside GNSS
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is officially asking for feedback on a proposal by Ligado Networks to repurpose frequencies near the GPS band for a terrestrial broadband network. The long-delayed public notice and comment period is a step in the approval process, although there is no assurance that Ligado’s plan for a new wireless service — which may still cause interference to GPS receivers — will get the go-ahead.
By Dee Ann Divis
The Air Force announced today (April 27, 2016) the award to Space Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) of an $82.7-million contract for GPS III Launch Services.
The Air Force characterized the contract as “the first competitively sourced National Security Space (NSS) launch services contract in more than a decade.” However, a decision last November by the United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed, not to compete for this GPS III launch effectively left SpaceX as the only bidder.
By Inside GNSS
John Garamendi[Updated April 29, 2016] A key lawmaker is pressing the Department of Defense (DoD) about its lack of support for a plan it helped devised to protect the US from the consequences of losing GPS service.
By Inside GNSS
Kai Borre, now a professor and senior researcher at Russia’s Samara State Aerospace University, has released a new version of Easy Suite, a collection of Matlab-based scripts and explanatory text that illustrated a variety of common GPS issues.
The first Easy Suite files (easy1–easy10) were published in the periodical GPS Solutions in 2003. Those were augmented by a continuation (easy11–easy18) in Inside GNSS in the years 2009–2010.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced today (April 20, 2016) the successful demonstration of Enhanced Loran (eLoran) for precision timing of financial transactions at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The demonstration at the NYSE was hosted by Juniper Networks on April 19 and presented to technical representatives from the financial services, energy, and communication sectors.
By Inside GNSS
The European Union (EU) has reached a deal with the British Ministry of Defense resolving a patent issue that could have limited the adoption of signals from the EU’s Galileo satellite navigation constellation.
"The European Commission [EC] has secured access to UK-owned patents related to Galileo signal in space technologies which will allow for their use by chipset and receiver manufacturers on a royalty free basis," according to a joint UL/EC statement supplied by a spokesperson for the UK’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory.
By Inside GNSS
Stephen Welby, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Department of Defense photoThe Pentagon is executing a technology offset strategy designed to recapture some of the military advantage conveyed by America’s innovation edge.
By Inside GNSS
