Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
A Department of Transportation (DoT) plan that would establish limits on the power of transmissions from bands adjacent to GPS and other GNSS services will get its first hearing at a September 18 meeting in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
By Inside GNSS
Europe’s fifth and sixth satellites on top of their Soyuz launcher at the top of its mobile gantry before their errant August 22, 2014, launch. ESA/CNES/ArianespaceAn independent inquiry commission chaired by Peter Dubock, began its work on August 28, 2014, its task: establish the circumstances of the so-called “major anomaly” that resulted in two Galileo satellites being placed into incorrect orbits last week.
The inquiry commission will identify root causes and associated aggravating factors, offering recommendations to correct the problem(s) and to allow for a safe return to flight for Soyuz launchers from the Guiana Space Center.
By Inside GNSS
Techniques to avoid aircraft collisions took center stage as aviation experts met in Washington this week to continue hammering out the standards essential to integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the nation’s skies.
The standards are being developed by RTCA Special Committee 228 (SC-228), one of the family of committees operating through RTCA, Inc., which develops consensus standard for aviation, which are then adopted and put into real-world practice by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
By Inside GNSS
The contract for Arianespace’s three Ariane 5 launches to orbit a total of 12 Galileo FOC (Full Operational Capability) satellites was signed at the French Guiana spaceport by Chairman and CEO Stéphane Israël (seated, at left) and Didier Faivre, ESA Director of the Galileo Program and Navigation-related Activities. Joining them were ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain, and Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director General for Enterprise and Industry, European Commission. ESA/CNES/Arianespace photo by P. Baudon.[Updated Ausut 26, 2014) Sources in Brussels say that the two Galileo satellites launched on Friday (August 22, 2014) will likely never reach their proper orbits, and the failure will mean new delays for the Galileo program, as Soyuz launches will be frozen until an investigation is performed and causes identified. Meanwhile, the European Commission (EC), European Space Agency (ESA), and launch contractor Arianespace will take part in a board of inquiry into the flawed launch.
By Inside GNSS
Precise GNSS measurements have revealed that the severe drought gripping the western United States in recent years is changing the landscape well beyond localized effects of water restrictions and browning lawns, according to scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California at San Diego.
By Inside GNSS
European Space Agency (ESA) and industry officials said today (August 23, 2014) that they are investigating Arianespace’s announcements about anomalies in the orbit injection of the Galileo full operational capability (FOC) satellites launched Friday.
“Complementary observations gathered after separation of the Galileo FOC M1 satellites on Soyuz Flight VS09 have highlighted a discrepancy between targeted and reached orbit,” according to a Friday statement by Arianespace, which leads the industry team handline the launch of the first Galileo FOCs.
By Inside GNSS
NovAtel IMU-ISA-100CNovAtel Inc. has announced the addition of the IMU-ISA-100C as an inertial measurement Unit (IMU) option for its SPAN GNSS+INS line of positioning products.
According to the company, the IMU-ISA-100C is a high-performance, near–navigation-grade IMU that provides a solution for platform stabilization, general purpose navigation, photogrammetry, remote sensing, and ground mobile mapping applications.
By Inside GNSS
After 20 years of discussion, conceptualization, political struggle, and technical reverses, Europe has placed its first two fully operational capability (FOC) Galileo satellites into orbit today (August 22, 2014).
The Galileo 5 and 6 satellites were carried aloft on a Soyuz rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 12:27 GMT (14:27 CEST, 09:27 a.m. local time). They join the Galileo in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites 1–4, one of which has been offline since May.
By Inside GNSS
Due to unfavorable weather conditions of the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana, Arianespace decided to postpone the launch scheduled for today (August 21, 2014) of Soyuz flight VS09 carrying Europe’s fifth and sixth Galileo satellites — and the first of the fully operational capability (FOC) spacecraft.
A tropical disturbance in the Atlantic Ocean nearing the Lesser Antilles (see NOAA satellite image) could potentially developed into a tropical depression or tropical storm.
By Inside GNSS
Members of Congress mapped out some rare common ground with both House and the Senate appropriators agreeing to not only fully fund nearly all elements of the GPS program next fiscal year but to add tens of millions to restore cutbacks in the procurement schedule for GPS III.
By Inside GNSS
The advantages of a digital navigation payload, a technology singled out by both the House and Senate for $20 million worth of research support, appears to be a key factor in the Air Force’s search for a new GPS III contractor.
The digital payload “is a direct complement to the Production Readiness Alternate Sources Sought released in June,” Air Force officials said in an emailed response to questions about the technology and how it fits into the ongoing search for new GPS III suppliers.
By Inside GNSS
Gen. John Hyten. USAF photoGeneral John E. Hyten became the 16th commander of Air Force Space Command, in a change-of-command ceremony at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado today (August 15, 2014), replacing General William L. Shelton.
General Mark A. Welsh III, Air Force Chief of Staff, presided over the ceremony.
By Inside GNSS
Installation of Galileo FOC satellite “Doresa” on the payload dispenser system. The first of two Galileo navigation satellites has been integrated on its payload dispenser system at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The second satellite “Milena” was then installed in a side-by-side arrangement and will be mated atop a Soyuz Fregat upper stage. ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Vidéo du CSG photo by P. BaudonThe European Commission (EC) has opened a public consultation on a newly revised version of the Galileo Open Service Signal in Space Interface Control Document (OS SIS ICD).
The consultation will take place through September 22, overlapping the scheduled first launch of fully operational capability (FOC) Galileo satellites on August 21. Details of the consultation process can be found on the EC Directorate-General for Enterprise website.
