Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Peter Luff, UK Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology (Image from Peter Luff’s MP website)The U.S. visit of a high-level official from the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) is spurring efforts to settle a dispute over a patent that could drive up prices on satellite navigation receivers for users around the world.
By Dee Ann Divis
Galileo IOV’s Composite Binary Offset Carrier (CBOC) modulation on E1 Open Service signal, courtesy of ESA Off-line Analysis SIS SoftwareThe first two Galileo in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites in space have achieved a new milestone, transmitting dummy signals in a modulation scheme designed to allow full interoperability with GPS once operational services start.
“This is an advanced modulation technique that offers robust protection against signal interference and the misleading signal reflections known as ‘multipath’,” said Marco Falcone, Head of Galileo System Services.
By Inside GNSS
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) signed a €80 million (US$98 million) contract today (July 11, 2012) with OHB System AG to build a further eight navigation payloads for full operational capability (FOC) Galileo satellites.
Under the contract, SSTL will deliver the second batch of FOC space vehicles (SVs), continuing a successful cooperation between the two companies to build the first 14 satellites under the supervision of the European Space Agency (ESA).
By Inside GNSS
Concorde El Salam HotelThe biennial International Association of Insitutes of Navigation (IAIN) World Congress will take place in Cairo, Egypt from October 1 to October 3, 2012, in conjunction with MELAHA 2012, the 6th Arab Institute of Navigation conference and exhibition.
The conference venue is the Concorde El Salam hotel in the tranquil Helipolis suburb, a 10 minute drive from the airport
The theme is "Seamless Navigation: Challenges and Opportunities."
By Inside GNSS
Q: What are the tradeoffs between using L1-only and L1+L2 for PPP?
A: Precise point positioning (PPP) is a technique that can compute positions with a high accuracy anywhere on the globe using a single GNSS receiver. It relies on highly accurate satellite position and clock data that can be downloaded from the International GNSS Service (IGS) or obtained in real-time from a number of service providers, using either the Internet or satellite links.
By Inside GNSS
August 1994, early morning. Spain’s Central Pyrenees Mountains still in darkness.
At the outset of an ascent to a 3,000-meter peak along the international border, one of the co-authors encounters a group of tourist hikers who have begun searching for a colleague who had left the camp the previous evening. In the pre-sunrise gloom, helicopters cannot yet operate.
A week later, the body of the hiker is found. The rescue efforts came, unfortunately, too late.
By Inside GNSS
[Updated July 4] The world’s dominant mode of timekeeping, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), took on another leap second on Saturday, June 30 at 23:59:60 UTC.
And then the fun began: the addition caused software handling Internet services such as LinkedIn, Pinterest, Mozilla, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Yelp, FourSquare and Gawker to behave unpredictably or even crash over the weekend.
By Inside GNSS
ESA expert inspecting GIOVE-A in clean room in Baikonur Space Center, Kazakhstan. ESA photoWith the first two Galileo in-orbit validation (IOV) spacecraft working well, the European Space Agency (ESA) has decided to end the mission of its pioneering GIOVE-A satellite that had long exceeded it original purpose and design life.
Meanwhile, with the next Galileo launch approaching, ESA has expanded its Radio Navigation Laboratory (RNL) to meet the testing needs of Europe’s GNSS program.
By Inside GNSS
[Updated July 2] Appropriators in both the U.S. House and Senate have slashed next year’s funding for support of the civil portion of the GPS program. Lawmakers halved the portion of the Federal Aviation Administration budget dedicated to supporting the civil signals as well as the ground network monitoring of those signals.
By Inside GNSS
Would-be operators of the European satellite-based augmentation system have until July 16 to submit requests to be able to compete for an eight-year contract through 2021.
By Inside GNSS
Independent truck operators and a general fear of government surveillance led to passage of an amendment today (June 29, 2012) that would prohibit U.S. agencies from implementing any rule requiring GPS tracking or other devices to be installed in passenger or commercial vehicles.
In a voice vote on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, congressmen approved the amendment to H.R. 5972, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2013.
By Inside GNSS
Time is short — the European Satellite Navigation Competition, aka Galileo Masters — is seeking the best GPS and GNSS applications ideas for this year’s contest. The deadline has been extended one week to Sunday, July 8.
By Inside GNSS
Central area, Emperors Palace convention center and resortThe Geo-Information Society of South Africa will hold its 2012 conference and exhibition, GISSA Ukubuzana*, on October 2, 3 and 4 at the Emperors Palace Convention Centre, Jones Road, Kempton Park in Gauteng. A free shuttle bus is available every 20 minutes from Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo (ORTIA) airport to the convention center.
The theme is "An African Dialogue: Geomatics for Infrastructure Development and Service Delivery."The keynote speaker will be Dean Angelides, ESRI’s corporate director for international operations.
By Inside GNSS
