Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Photo courtesy of Russian Presidential Press and Information Office Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has fired two space officials and reprimanded the head of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, in connection with the loss of three GLONASS satellites earlier this month.
By Inside GNSS
GMV will launch the SRX-10, a software GPS receiver for mass-market applications, at this year’s GSMA Mobile World Congress, scheduled February 14–17 in Barcelona, Spain.
As a fully hosted solution, all SRX-10 receiver functions — even signal acquisition and tracking — can be hosted on a general purpose CPU with only the requirement of adding on a low cost RF front-end, according to the company.
The company cites other benefits offered by its new software receiver, particularly its substantial flexibility and upgradeability.
Proton rocketThe recent loss of three GLONASS-M satellites in space resulted from a series of mistakes made by the Russian Energia rocket corporation, the head of the Russian state commission probing the incident said today (December 17), according to the state news agency RIA-Novosti.
By Inside GNSS
China successfully launched the seventh BeiDou-2 satellite — the second inclined geostationary orbit (IGSO) — today (4 a.m., December 18 local time) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province.
In 2010 China added five spacecraft to its constellation.
By Inside GNSS
Workers place the satellite fairing for the seventh BeiDou-2 satellite atop a Long March IIIA rocket at Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in southwest China’s Sichuan ProvinceChina is preparing for launch of another satellite in its Compass/BeiDou-2 GNSS system in the "coming days," according to an unnamed spokesperson at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
According to earlier news reports, this will be the second of five inclined geosynchronous orbiting (IGSO) spacecraft planned for the regional version of the system that China hopes to complete by 2012. The full (Phase III) constellation will contain only three IGSOs.
By Inside GNSS
Portland waterfront walk, west sideION GNSS 2011 will take place at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon from September 20-23. Tutorials will be held on September 19 and 20.
This will be the 24th international technical meeting of the Satellite Division of the Institute of Navigation. It is the world’s largest and oldest GNSS conference,
founded in 1987 as the ION GPS conference.
The headquarters hotel is Portland’s downtown Hilton and Executive Tower.
By Inside GNSS
NavCom Technology, Inc., has announced new capabilities for the SF-3050 multi-frequency GNSS receiver and Sapphire GNSS OEM board.
In addition to the integrated StarFire/real-time kinematic (RTK) GNSS capabilities, the SF-3050 and Sapphire now support single-frequency, multi-constellation operation, heading, and moving base station RTK operation that enables coordinated vehicle applications.
By Inside GNSS
A Proton rocket carrying three modernized GLONASS (GLONASS-M) satellites failed to reach orbit following its launch Sunday (December 5, 2010), falling into the Pacific Ocean.
The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said that a special board had been established to investigate the event — rare for the GLONASS program — and "define next steps."
By Inside GNSS
SpectraTime passive hydrogen physics packageSpectraTime has announced that it signed an €11 million contract with Selex Galileo S.p.A to supply the core element of the passive hydrogen masers (PHMs) for the first 14 full operational capability (FOC) Galileo satellites.
A second contract to supply the secondary atomic clocks (Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standards) should be signed in early 2011, according to the Neuchâtel, Switzerland–based member company of the Orolia Group.
By Inside GNSS
GLONASS Tracks Father FrostAs GLONASS approaches completion, it’s no surprise that the Russian counterpart to GPS has gotten into more popular applications of GNSS technology — even Santa-tracking.
For more than 50 years, the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) has followed the travels of the Christmas gift-bearer from his North Pole headquarters. The Santa-tracking operation can be viewed online.
By Inside GNSS
ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and European Space Council co-chair Sabine Laruelle, Belgian science minister. Photo: ESA – S. CorvajaWhile funding and technical issues continue to roil the waters at the program and operational level, Galileo and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) have received a strong reaffirmation of support from the highest levels of the European Union (EU) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
By Inside GNSS
(From top) GPS Block I, Block IA, Block II, Block IIAA 20-year-old GPS Block IIA satellite designated as space vehicle number 23 (SVN23) is setting new records in longevity among the durable spacecraft of the Global Positioning System.
Built by Boeing (formerly Rockwell Corporation) and launched on November 26, 1990, SVN23 has operated longer than any other GPS satellites — far exceeding its design life of 7.5 years. Set healthy shortly after launch for navigation and timing use, the GPS Directorate (formerly GPS Wing) at Los Angeles Air Force Base predicts that the satellite will last another 12–18 months.
By Inside GNSS
District of Columbia Court of Appeals in Washington D.C., USASecret tracking using GPS may be simple, undetectable and cheap — but appeals courts can’t decide if it’s constitutional.
In 1791, when the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, it certainly seemed specific enough for the needs of the time. The new Americans were tired of colonial powers freely searching and seizing, with general warrants that were as full of holes as Swiss cheese.
By Inside GNSS
