Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
GPS contractors are scrambling to assess new Pentagon budget-cutting directives that have the potential to slow GPS modernization.
The belt-tightening is in response to a three-way fiscal vise created by the failure of Congress and the White House to agree on a budget for this year, on a new limit for the nation’s debt, and on a plan to implement future budget cuts.
By Inside GNSS
Philip Dunne, UK Defense Minister for Equipment, Support, and Technology. Wikimedia Commons photoThe United States and United Kingdom announced today (January 17, 2013) that the British government would end its efforts to obtain patent or intellectual property (IP) rights related to GPS.
By Inside GNSS
GNSS positioning, navigation and timing applications are vulnerable to malicious, accidental and space weather threats – but what can be done?
Rear Admiral Nick Lambert will keynote this one-day seminar on threat detection and mitigation techniques for civil use at the National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington on February 13.
By Inside GNSS
NovAtel has announced support for the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System on its OEM6 family and selected OEMStar GNSS receivers.
The long-anticipated BeiDou Interface Control Document (ICD) release is a
significant milestone that facilitates global acceptance of the Chinese
GNSS system into the growing range of satellite-based positioning
applications, the company says.
Zhenglin Feng, China vice-minister of transport. International Transport Forum photoChina’s transport authorities have announced that certain commerical vehicles in parts of the nation are now required to use the homegrown BeiDou GNSS system, Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, reported on Monday (January 14, 2013).
By Inside GNSS
The U.S. Air Force Space Command has awarded Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions–Defense a $100 million contract to upport the GPS ground control segment. The contract’s period of performance is from January 2013 through June 2019.
By Inside GNSS
Col. William “Bill” CooleyThe U.S. Air Force appears to have identified a future leader of the GPS Directorate.
At a time yet to be determined, Col. William T. "Bill" Cooley will take up the role of Senior Materiel Leader at the Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition office for developing and producing GPS satellites, ground systems, and military user equipment.
By Inside GNSS
Russia will build and launch 13 GLONASS-M and 22 GLONASS –K satellites between now and 2020, according to an outline of the nation’s space program published on the Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) website http://www.roscosmos.ru/main.php?id=24today (January 12, 2013).
By Inside GNSS
Brad Parkinson accepts Eduard-Rhein Foundation award in Munich, Germany. (Photo, SbphotodesigN – München)The Global Positioning System and its founders continue to collect honors for the world’s original GNSS enterprise.
Last month, the Space and Missiles Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles Air Force Base accepted the donation of the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy from Brad Parkinson, the original director of the GPS Joint Program Office (JPO) established in 1973.
By Inside GNSS
Spirent Communications has announced the availability of test systems with support for China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System in addition to GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo.
Spirent’s positioning and navigation group based in Paignton, United Kingdom, started shipping BeiDou-ready test systems to customers in 2012. The company’s equipment will now be upgraded to full BeiDou capability using the information from the recently released first full issue of the BeiDou-2 Signal-In-Space Interface Control Document (ICD).
In 2013, the annual European Navigation Conference and industry exhibition will be organized by the Austrian Institute of Navigation (OVN) and will take place at the Austria Center Vienna from April 23 through April 25. The lectures and sessions will be held in English.
The theme is Navigation – Expanding Our Horizons
By Inside GNSS
[Updated January 8, 2012] China released today (December 27, 2012 in Beijing; December 26 in the United States) an official version of the complete interface control document (ICD) for the nation’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) Open Service signal-in-space (SIS).
By Inside GNSS
Do we need performance specs for GNSS user equipment design? For a long time, the signal-in-space interface guidelines provided enough technical guidance. But times have changed.
Over the past two years, the effort by LightSquared to persuade the FCC to allow it to operate high-powered terrestrial transmitters in frequencies adjacent to GPS focused attention on potential vulnerabilities of GNSS user equipment.
By Inside GNSS
