A: System Categories Archives - Page 119 of 227 - Inside GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design

Successful Galileo FOC Launch Brings Relief to Europe’s GNSS Program

European space officials and engineering teams heaved a collective sigh of relief as the second attempt to launch a pair of full operational capability (FOC) Galileo satellites appears to have succeeded yesterday (March 27, 2015).

The EU’s Galileo satellite navigation system now has eight satellites in orbit, including four in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites launched in 2011 and 2012 and the first two FOC spacecraft placed into an anomalous orbit last August.

By Inside GNSS

March 25, 2015

GSA’s GNSS Market Report #4: The Most Thorough Yet

The European GNSS Agency (GSA) unveiled its latest GNSS Market Report today (March 25, 2015) at the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit in Germany.

The fourth and most comprehensive in a series of GSA studies, the 80-page report describes current and projected GNSS receiver sales by volume and value and highlights market opportunities, technology trends, and future developments of GNSS.

By Inside GNSS

U.S. Air Force Gets Another GPS Satellite into Space

The United Launch Alliance successfully launched another U.S. Air Force GPS Block IIF satellite at 2:36 p.m. EDT today (March 25, 2015) from Cape Canaveral on board a Delta IV rocket.

The Air Force Second Space Operations Squadron (2 SOPS) indicates that IIF-9 (identified by space vehicle and pseudorandom noise code, respectively, as SVN-71/PRN-26) will replace SVN-35 (currently being operated in Launch, Anomaly Resolution and Disposal Operations or LADO status) in the B plane slot 1F.

By Inside GNSS

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March 23, 2015

Enhanced NovAtel PPP Solution Uses TerraStar-C Corrections to Yield Sub-Decimeter Positioning

NovAtel graphic

NovAtel Inc. has announced significant performance improvements to its PPP positioning solution.

By Inside GNSS

KCS TraceME RF Positioning Enhancement Targets IoT Apps

TraceME with LoRa module

KCS BV, based in Dordrecht, Netherlands, has extended its TraceME product line with an advanced module, targeted for worldwide mobility in the Internet of Things (IoT) era.

The latest development of the TraceME GPS/GPRS Track and Trace module will incorporate an RF location–based positioning solution with LoRa technology. According to the company, this combination enables “smart objects” to become even smarter, because LoRa enables long-range, battery-friendly communication in a wide variety of machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.

By Inside GNSS

March 22, 2015

u-blox Announces Profit, Revenue Advances in 2014

Thalwil, Switzerland–based u-blox reported revenue and profit growth in its most recent annual report, driven by strong sales in its GNSS and wireless chipset and module business.

Consolidated revenue was CHF270 million (US$276.7 million) in 2014, a growth of nearly 23 percent compared to 2013 while net profit increased by 39.6 percent to CHF34.4 million (US$35.2 million), representing a 12.7 percent net profit margin for the year.

By Inside GNSS

Three GNSS Satellite Launches Coming Up

United Launch Alliance graphic

Four GNSS satellites will be launched during the coming week: a GPS Block IIF, two full operational capability (FOC) Galileo spacecraft, and an Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) satellite.

By Inside GNSS

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U.S. DoT Seeks Comments on eLoran Backup to GPS

The Federal Register will publish on Monday (March 23, 2015) a solicitation for public comment regarding “potential plans” by the U.S. government to implement an enhanced Long Range Navigation (eLoran) system as a complementary positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) capability to GPS.

By Dee Ann Divis

March 20, 2015

Flying Blind

It’s 10 p.m. somewhere over the vast oceans that comprise three-quarters of the Earth’s surface. Do you know where your airplane is?

Well, you could, but maybe you don’t.

The anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 came and went in March with the fate of the Boeing 777 still unknown.

It didn’t have to happen.

By Inside GNSS

March 18, 2015

GAO Report: More Delays, Cost Increases for OCX, GPS III

New delays and higher costs should be expected for both the GPS III satellite program and GPS-OCX, the new GPS ground system, federal watchdogs warned in a new report.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said both programs are in the process of rebaselining, that is, resetting their estimated schedules and costs. In the case of the Next Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX), which is essential for full operation of the new GPS III satellites, the changes could be significant.

By Inside GNSS

March 16, 2015

DHS, NIST Make Progress on Protecting GPS

A roof antenna for a GPS timing system. Photo by David Monniaux, Wikimedia Commons

Two agencies charged with helping protect America’s critical infrastructure are working on ways to safeguard GPS receivers, particularly those used to tap the signal for essential timing data.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is building on its more recent, technically focused research to identify and mitigate risks.

By Inside GNSS

March 14, 2015

Renewed Spectrum Fight Emerges between GPS, LightSquared at ABC Workshop

Spectrum-related tensions reemerged during a workshop on Thursday (March 12, 2015) organized to gather feedback on a testing plan to help protect GPS receivers.

The plan is part of the GPS Adjacent-Band Compatibility (ABC) assessment — a wide-ranging effort to determine the power levels at which services operating in frequencies next those used by GPS and other GNSS systems can broadcast signals without causing interference to GPS signals.

By Inside GNSS

GNSS Hotspots | March 2015

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.