Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Prompted by suggestions from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), researchers at Septentrio have investigated and reported on what they describe as anomalies in the signal from the Compass (Beidou-2) M1 satellite, launched April 14, 2007.
By Inside GNSS
The European Space Agency (ESA) has invited proposals from the scientific community, private companies, and research organizations about ways to use signals from Galileo and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) in studies that provide guidance for design of Europe’s next-generation GNSS systems.
By Inside GNSS
Pedro PedreiraThe European Commission (EC) is recruiting for an executive director of the Galileo Supervisory Agency (GSA), the new designation of the European GNSS Supervisory Authority. Deadline for applications is May 21.
The GSA’s current mission is to assist in the further implementation of the European GNSS Programs, composed of Galileo and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS). Details for applying for the position can be found online at <www.gsa.europa.eu/go/gsa/careers>.
By Inside GNSS
A launch pad at Cape Canaveral (satellite image courtesy of GeoEye)Launch of the first GPS Block IIF (follow-on) satellite is currently scheduled for May 21 from Cape Canaveral aboard a Delta-IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), with a destination in the constellation’s B2 plane and slot.
The IIF-1 SV (space vehicle) is at the launch site and fueled. A final IIF launch mission dress rehearsal (MDR) was scheduled to take place during the weeks of April 26 to May 7.
By Inside GNSS
ISRO GSAT-4 satelliteIndia’s first GPS/SBAS payload, the GAGAN (GPS-Aided Geo-Augmented Navigation system) transmitter on the GSAT-4 geostationary satellite, disappeared into the Bay of Bengal on April 15 when its ill-fated GSLV-D3 launch vehicle veered off course.
The Indian Space Research Organization’s GSAT-4 satellite carried a communication payload of multi-beam Ka-band pipe and regenerative transponder and a navigation payload in C, L1 and L5 bands.
A key part of India’s GPS augmentation plan, the failure will further delay civil aviation modernization.
By Inside GNSS
Today’s (April 13) release of an updated “Galileo Open Service Signal-In-Space Interface Control Document” (OS SIS ICD) freed the key specification document in two senses of the word: receiver manufacturers, application developers and service providers may now use the ICD as an official — not draft — guide to their work, and they may do so at no cost
The t’s have been crossed and the i’s dotted to the satisfaction of lawyers and politicians — and the relief of designers and system integrators eager to begin work on Galileo-capable products without fear of having substantive changes in the specifications and legal or financial difficulties for moving ahead.
By Inside GNSS
Septentrio and FreeFlight Systems will develop new GPS/SBAS (Satellite Based Augmentation System) receivers for air traffic control as part of a new strategic partnership announced on April 13.
By Inside GNSS
Galaxy 15 satellite under construction. Orbital Sciences photo[updated April 13] Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials say that loss of control over an Intelsat geostationary (GEO) carrying a GPS Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) transponder could subject users in the National Air Space (NAS) to temporary outages for the rest of this year, beginning within the next two to four weeks as the GEO drifts out of a useable orbit.
Intelsat S.A. announced the anomaly in Galaxy 15 (G-15) on April 8. Although the communications services provided by G-15, located at 133 degrees west longitude (WL), have not been affected, according to Intelsat, the satellite apparently is not responding to commands by controllers. The anomalous condition began on April 3, according to the FAA.
The Luxembourg-based Intelsat is moving an older spacecraft (G-12) that serves as a backup for G-15 from its location at 123 degrees WL. However, G-12 does not have an L-band transponder, which is needed for WAAS transmissions.
By Inside GNSS
Averna has announced that its Universal Receiver Tester (URT) NAVigation Advanced SIMulator (NAVASIM) now includes the GeoBase toolkit from Telogis.
By Inside GNSS
The tenth GPS Partnership Council meeting will take place at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, on May 4 and 5, 2010.
The theme is "Advancing PNT Changes Today…Securing the World’s Needs Tomorrow." Conference sessions will take place at the Gordon Conference Center (Building 270).
By Inside GNSS
(This article first appeared in the March 31 Inside GNSS SIGNALS eNewsletter)
The GPS Wing is in the middle of a yearlong process designed to sort out the trade-offs among a set of at least nine options that may be undertaken to reduce the effects of a signal anomaly on the GPS satellite known as SVN49.
In a March 26 teleconference, the first of two scheduled to discuss the options, Lt. Col. James Lake, the wing’s deputy chief engineer, emphasized that some of the options could well improve the performance of some receivers while decreasing that of others.
He underlined the Air Force’s concern that receivers that don’t conform to the specification for GPS space segment/navigation user interfaces (IS-GPS-200) "greatly complicate the issue."
By Inside GNSS
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visits the Geospatial Building at the University of Nottingham. Photo courtesy of GRACE(This article first appeared in the March 31 Inside GNSS SIGNALS eNewsletter)
Driven in part by a prestigious Space Innovation and Growth Strategy (Space IGS) report suggesting that the nation has lost both the best industrial work and the ability to influence programs such as Galileo, the United Kingdom will establish a new national space agency on April 1.
By Inside GNSS
CDGPS coverage map. NRCan imageThe Canada-wide DGPS Service (CDGPS), a free GNSS augmentation system initiated by the Canadian Council on Geomatics (CCOG) in 2003, will be decommissioned by March 31, 2011, according to Gary Sawayama, the system’s general manager.
The CDGPS L-band broadcast has been carried by SkyTerra Communications Inc.’s MSAT communications satellites, which are expected to be replaced this year by the next-generation SkyTerra satellites. Significant new investment in infrastructural changes would be required to migrate to a new communication satellite.
By Inside GNSS
