Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Spectracom GSG-62Spectracom has announced its new dual-frequency, 32-channel multi-GNSS simulator, the GSG-62.
The GSG-62 offers multiple frequency band operation, multiple-GNSS constellation simulation, and expansion capability for more frequency bands and channels, including support for upgrades to GPS L2C and L5, as well as future GNSS systems.
By Inside GNSS
UK-based Racelogic has been singled out as a double winner in the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, receiving both Innovation and International Trade awards.
Announced on April 21 to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday, the 2012 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise listings contained 209 companies, with Racelogic being one of only four to be honored with the award for both Innovation and International Trade.
By Inside GNSS
IFEN GmbH has announced that the company has enhanced its NavX-NCS multi-GNSS RF constellation simulator product line to support China’s Compass/BeiDou-2 GNSS system.
Together with its WORK Microwave partner, IFEN has added the BeiDou B1 civil signal to its current suite of GNSS signal generation capabilities, which include GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and SBAS. The companies used the modulation scheme and signal specifications outlined in accordance with the latest version of the Compass/BeiDou Signal in Space Interface Control Document.
By Inside GNSS
The first Galileo Full Operational Capability satellite out of 22 so far contracted was assembled in May 2012 for testing. OHB System photo[Updated May 4, 2012] The launch date for the next pair of In-Orbit Validation (IOV) Galileo satellites will be September 28.
By Inside GNSS
Legislation moving through Congress could reshape efforts to counter GPS interference as the government steps up its efforts to fight cybercrime and protect critical systems like the power grid and communications networks.
Though cybersecurity generally focuses on protecting information systems the broad definitions in some legislation now on the Hill appear to encompass GPS support systems, some user communities, and even the constellation itself.
By Inside GNSS
Variations on the common GPS/Galileo MBOC signalThe U.S. government is so unhappy about a British patent claim on the new civil GPS signal that, if things cannot be worked out, officals might consider abandoning the countries’ interoperable signal structure, sources told Inside GNSS.
By Inside GNSS
New York’s 450 Park Avenue, home of Harbinger CapitalHarbinger Capital Management LLC fund manager Philip Falcone has reportedly agreed to eventually withdraw from his leadership position with LightSquared Inc., the would-be wireless broadband that ran into problems because its proposed terrestrial transmitters would have caused interference to GPS receivers.
By Inside GNSS
Two Beidou-2 MEO satellites go up on a Long March rocketChina successfully launched two Compass satellites into space at 4:50 a.m. Beijing Time on Monday, April 30 (20:50 UTC, April 29).
Designated Compass M3 and M4, these are the 12th and 13th of its second-generation Beidou-2 spacecraft to reach orbit and the second and third middle-Earth-orbiting (MEO) spacecraft launched by China’s GNSS program.
By Inside GNSS
Variations on the common GPS/Galileo MBOC signalThe British military establishment is seeking royalties from GPS receiver manufacturers, asserting it holds a patent on the technology at the heart of the new GPS and Galileo civil signals.
Should U.S. manufacturers have to pay royalties, American GPS users, who have already paid for the GPS constellation and made it available to the world free of charge, could find themselves spending more to use its location capabilities. Sources said the development could undermine relations between the U.S. and the European Union (EU), which have cooperated for years to develop a common signal at the L1/E1 frequency centered at 1575.42 MHz.
By Inside GNSS
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched a search for an atomic inertial sensor to measure orientation in GPS-denied environments.
The Chip-Scale Combinatorial Atomic Navigator (C-SCAN) initiative seeks to create a sensor that integrates small size, low power consumption, high resolution of motion detection, and a fast startup time into a single package.
By Inside GNSS
Location of real-time GPS monitoring stations in the western United States that make up part of the Real-Time Earthquake Analysis for Disaster Mitigation Network. The networks stations are overlain on a U.S. Geological Survey seismic hazard map showing areas forecast to have a 10-percent probability of exceeding a certain level of ground shaking within the next 50 years. (Areas in shades of red have the strongest shaking, while areas in green shades have the weakest shaking.) Image credit: USGS/UC Berkeley/Scripps Institution of OceanographyEvolution of real-time GNSS reference networks and data processing has evolved to the point that NASA-backed researchers believe they can soon implement large-scale demonstration tests to provide earthquake and tsunami alerts to the general public and emergency responders.
By Inside GNSS
The 11th GPS Partnership Council meeting will take place on May 1 and 2,
2012 at the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles Air
Force Base in El Segundo, California. It is located about four miles
south of the Los Angeles Airport.
As of April 27, the meeting is full, however registration is open for the golf tournament on Wednesday and social evening on Tuesday.
By Inside GNSS
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Raytheon Company a two-year contract extension to continue to provide services for the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The $30.1 million contract extends the period of performance through Sept. 24, 2013.
By Inside GNSS
