Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
In sharp contrast to the strong support given to the military’s satellite navigation programs in the next fiscal year, Congress is considering cutting every GPS-related programs supported by the Department of Transportation (DoT).
By Inside GNSS
With just weeks to go before Congress disperses for a month-long break lawmakers have yet to finalize either a defense funding bill or legislation authorizing military spending for fiscal year 2016. The way forward looks particularly rocky as enacting both bills will require resolving a yearslong fight over spending caps.
By Inside GNSS
The U.S. stance on satellite navigation has long supported international cooperation and a degree of interoperability. In 2010 the Obama administration even adopted a space policy that said foreign satnav services could be used “to augment and strengthen the resiliency of GPS.”
That was easier in the abstract, however, when the only fully functional GNSS was GPS. Now, with other GNSS services coming online, American officials want to think things through again.
By Dee Ann Divis
At the European Economic and Social Committee’s Space & Society Conference, from left, Daniel Calleja Crespo, director general of European Commission’s DG Growth; EESC Space and Society Project Coordinator Edgardo Maria Iozia, and Giulio Bartolani di Montauto, European Space Agency’s Brussels office.Reporting from Brussels last year, we explained that the then–brand new EU GNSS Regulation had effectively put to bed years of wrangling over who does what in Europe’s GNSS programs. But the issue reared its head again in Brussels recently, in a highly charged discussion hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).
By Peter Gutierrez
The U.S. Air Force and its mission partners successfully launched the 10th Boeing-built GPS IIF satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Air Force Stations today (July 15, 2015).
The spacecraft is destined for plane C/slot 3 of the GPS constellation
The launch almost coincided with Friday’s 20th anniversary of the declaration of full operational capability (FOC) for the GPS constellation, which occurred on July 17, 1995.
Just two GPS IIF satellites remain to be launched — Atlas V rockets will be used to launch both.
By Inside GNSS
New QinetiQ PRS-capable receiverBritish manufacturer QinetiQ has today (July 14, 2015) announced its progress in developing a GNSS navigation receiver that can process encrypted Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) signals.
The multi‑constellation, multi‑frequency receiver is a significant step in the company’s GNSS technology development, says QinetiQ, which expects to bring to market by 2020 end-user products for navigation, tracking, and timing based on the new receiver design. That timeline parallel’s the Galileo program’s current schedule for completing its satellite constellation.
Col. Steve Whitney now heads GPS DirectorateColonel Steve Whitney was sworn in Wednesday (July 8, 2015) as the director of the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.
By Inside GNSS
The 2015 symposium of the Asia-Pacific Space Geodynamics (ASPG) project will focus on Geodesic Datum and Regional and Terrestrial Reference Frame Realizations. It will take place at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia from August 24 through August 28.
The conference language will be English. Scientific representatives from China and Russia comprise the organizing and program committees.
Themes of particular interest to Inside GNSS readers include presentations on:
Theme 1 Space geodesy
By Inside GNSS
This one-day event about Russia’s national accident emergency response system will take place on October 1, 2015 at the Moscow World Trade Center.
By Inside GNSS
Gregory D. WinfreeRegistration is now open for the 55th meeting of the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC). It will take place on Monday and Tuesday, September 14 and 15 just before the opening of the ION GNSS conference at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida.
This year, the keynote speaker will be Assistant Secretary for Research
and Technology Gregory Winfree of the U.S. Transportation Department.
The EGNOS Service Provision Workshop, the annual meeting for EGNOS policymakers, users and application developers, will take place on September 29 and 30 at the AC Hotel Bella Sky in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The event includes presentations, debates, updates and analyses from companies and agencies who use EGNOS in real applications, focusing on safety of life and other services in aviation.
The event is organized by the European Satellite Services Provider SAS (ESSP) and the European GNSS Agency (GSA).
By Inside GNSS
GAJT-AENovAtel, Inc., has announced that Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) has selected its GAJT-AE antenna electronics for testing on Canadian Army platforms.
The GAJT-AE, developed in Calgary at NovAtel’s global headquarters, is a GPS anti-jam solution designed for small and weight-constrained applications. The testing is being conducted through PWGSC’s Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP).
PWGSC will procure a number of GAJT-AE’s on behalf of the Department of National Defence (DND).
Forsberg Services Ltd., which acquired the StarLink product line from Raven Industries in April, has announced its decision to partner with NavtechGPS to distribute the StarLink line, which includes in-line amplifiers, coaxial down/up converters, splitters, and fiber-optic link systems.
