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GPS III Satellite Contract: An Undeclared Winner?
April 19, 2008

GPS III Satellite Contract: An Undeclared Winner?

GPS III conceptual drawing, The Aerospace Corporation

The Air Force has further delayed the announcement of its decision on who will be the prime contractor for the next block of GPS satellites, IIIA. Earlier reports had set the contract award announcement for early April.

On Wednesday (April 23), Anthony Russo, deputy director of the National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT), told a European Navigation Conference 2008 in Toulouse, France, that "source selection" has been identified. He added, "I had hoped to announce [the results] at this conference, but the process is not complete yet."

Source selection means that the GPS Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) has completed its
evaluation of the bids on the contract and the preferred provider for the new generation of satellites. The Wing — responsible for overseeing the acquisition of GPS space, ground, and military user equipment — has a presentation ready on the IIIA contract award but is waiting to brief the Air Force decision maker, in this case, apparently Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne.

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By Glen Gibbons
Satellite Launch Will Aid DoD GNSS Users to Anticipate Space Weather Effects
April 17, 2008

Satellite Launch Will Aid DoD GNSS Users to Anticipate Space Weather Effects

Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite, General Dynamics

On Wednesday (April 16), a U.S. Air Force team successfully launched the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS), an experimental satellite designed to monitor the ionosphere and predict conditions that would disturb radio communications, including GNSS signals.

The satellite was ultimately deployed from a Pegasus rocket following an air launch from a Lockheed L-1011 that had taken off from Kwajalein Atoll in the mid-Pacific Ocean. First transmissions from the spacecraft were acquired shortly after it reached orbit.

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By Glen Gibbons
ESA Creates Galileo Directorate, Appoints Oosterlinck
April 16, 2008

ESA Creates Galileo Directorate, Appoints Oosterlinck

René Oosterlinck, ESA Galileo Director

In an April 15 meeting, the Council of the European Space Agency (ESA) has created a Galileo Directorate to accommodate the agency’s newly enhanced role in Europe’s GNSS program.

Acting on recommendations of ESA’s Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain, the council agreed to bring back René Oosterlinck, former head of the Navigation Department, to serve as the director of the Galileo program and navigation-related activities (D/GAL) through the end of 2010.

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By Glen Gibbons
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NovAtel Offers GL1DE Technology for Precision Ag Guidance

NovAtel Offers GL1DE Technology for Precision Ag Guidance

NovAtel Inc. has launched its new GL1DE technology, the latest enhancement to the Calgary, Alberta, Canada–based company’s high-precision OEMV GNSS product line.

GL1DE is a relative pseudorange/delta-phase filter enhancement available in the coompany’s OEMV 3.400 firmware. The new technology is targeted for agricultural guidance applications in which pass-to-pass repeatability and elimination of position “jumps” is critical.

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By Glen Gibbons
Hemisphere GPS Announces Eclipse Developer Kit
April 14, 2008

Hemisphere GPS Announces Eclipse Developer Kit

Hemisphere GPS has released an OEM development kit for its Eclipse dual-frequency GPS receiver technology.

Development kits allow product designers and system integrators to more easily access and test all of the available features on an Eclipse board, simplifying the effort needed to reach a proof of concept and shortening the time required to bring a product to market.

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By Glen Gibbons
IfEN Receives ESA EGNOS-Related Contract
April 11, 2008

IfEN Receives ESA EGNOS-Related Contract

The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a contract to IfEN GmbH to develop a “New Generation” receiver breadboard for use at the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) Ranging and Integrity Monitoring Stations (RIMS).

The RIMS New Generation breadboard will be capable of receiving the new L2C and L5 signals, the Galileo E1, E5ab, and E6 signals and the GLONASS L1 signal in addition to GPS L1 and L2P signals.

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By Glen Gibbons
GSA Releases Second Galileo SIS ICD
April 8, 2008

GSA Releases Second Galileo SIS ICD

The European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA) has released a new version of the provisional Galileo Open Service Signal-In-Space Interface Control Document (SIS ICD).

The new SIS ICD will enable developers to create products and applications that employ the Galileo system and signals. The new document is open for public consultation.

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By Glen Gibbons
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EADS Astrium Buys Surrey Satellite
April 7, 2008

EADS Astrium Buys Surrey Satellite

SSTL Engineering Team with GIOVE-A at ESA Test Facility

EADS Astrium has signed an agreement to acquire Guildford, United Kingdom–based Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) from the University of Surrey.

SSTL designed and built the first Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element (GIOVE-A), the only European GNSS satellite currently on orbit. The company also is building a second GIOVE-A spacecraft under contract to the European Space Agency (ESA).

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By Glen Gibbons
Europe’s Transport Ministers, Parliamentary Committee Okay New Galileo Deal
April 6, 2008

Europe’s Transport Ministers, Parliamentary Committee Okay New Galileo Deal

The European Transport Council and the European Parliament’s industry committee have approved new institutional arrangements for the €3.4-billion Galileo program that help pave the way for the European Space Agency to start a tender for contracts.

The regulation would also continue operation of the European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA) while setting up a new Galileo Inter-Institutional Panel (GIP), with three members each from the parliament and the transport council and one from the European Commission (EC).

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By Glen Gibbons
U.S. Officials Encourage Industry Participation in APEC GNSS Events

U.S. Officials Encourage Industry Participation in APEC GNSS Events

The U.S. State Department and the National Coordination Office (NCO) for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) are soliciting participation from the GPS industry in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization’s GNSS Innovation Summit and the 12th GNSS Implementation Team (GIT) Meeting to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, in May.

The Innovation Summit takes place May 26–27, followed by the GIT meeting May 28–30.

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By Glen Gibbons
DoT Rescues NDGPS Project
April 4, 2008

DoT Rescues NDGPS Project

The Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS) program has been salvaged from the political limbo in which it has resided for more than a year.

Following completion of an assessment by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT), the agency has decided to continue full NDGPS operations. Currently, 86 stations are operating with support from three federal agencies: the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG, 39 sites), the Army Corps of Engineers (9 site), and the DoT (38 sites operated and maintained by the USCG under contract).

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By Glen Gibbons
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