Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Günter HeinThe European Space Agency (ESA) has appointed Prof. Dr. Günter Hein to serve as Head of Galileo Operations and Evolution with duties in Noordwijk, Netherlands, and Paris, France.
With an initial four-year term beginning December 1, Hein will report directly to René Oosterlinck, ESA’s director of the Galileo program and navigation-related activities (D/GAL).
By Glen Gibbons
NovAtel has announced its new SMART-AG antenna, an L1 GPS + GLONASS receiver plus antenna system housed in a single, low profile, rugged enclosure, designed for manual guidance and auto steer installations.
SMART-AG features 14 GPS L1 channels, 12 GLONASS L1 channels, and two additional channels for satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) as well as two NMEA 0183 compatible RS-232 serial ports, an NMEA2000 compatible CAN port, plus built-in mounting magnets.
By Inside GNSS
OnPOZ Precision Positioning, a VGI Solutions division, has announced its new EZSurv GNSS Post-Processing version that offers full compatibility with GLONASS satellite signals.
According to the Montreal, Quebec, Canada–based company, EZSurv is compatible with most of the raw GNSS data formats on the market. The software computes high-accuracy geodetic results, enabling seamless data postprocessing among different brands of GNSS receivers and as a companion software for high-precision GNSS OEM receivers.
By Glen Gibbons
Cumbria, UK – Wikimedia Commons imageEven as the United States tries to decide whether to make good on a commitment last February to implement enhanced Loran (eLoran), agencies and private companies in the United Kingdom are demonstrating leadership in the field of modernized positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services.
By Glen Gibbons
QZS-1 SatelliteEncouraged by continuing progress on Japan’s Quasi Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), Spirent Communications has announced that its GSS8000 simulation system now supports QZSS in addition to GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) — reportedly the first RF constellation simulator to do so.
By Glen Gibbons
Compass Constellation in 2010(updated 12/8/08) China plans to launch 10 Compass satellites during the next two years in order to create a regional positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) capability in the Asia-Pacific region by 2010.
By Glen Gibbons
The GPS Wing has completed an integrated baseline review of the GPS IIIA program, the first major milestone for the $1.4 billion development and production contract for which Lockheed Martin serves as the prime contractor.
The IIIA contract, awarded earlier this year, provides for development and production of the first two GPS IIIA satellites with an initial launch set for 2014. The IBR paves the way for the establishment of an integrated cost, schedule, and technical baseline for the program.
By Glen Gibbons
Blaupunkt, a leading supplier of automotive systems, has signed a “frame” agreement with u-blox to supply GPS and Galileo receiver technology for navigation, driver-assistance, and related in-vehicle systems.
By Glen Gibbons
Russian Proton Launcher Carrying Latest GLONASS Satellites at Baikonur Space CenterThe latest trio of modernized GLONASS satellites (GLONASS-M) have begun transmitting healthy navigation messages, bringing the total of operational satellites to 17 — a milestone for the Russian GNSS constellation.
The third GLONASS-M space vehicle (SV) — SVN 726 launched September 25 began transmitting a healthy navigation message on November 13, giving the rebuilt GLONASS constellation the highest number in more than a decade. GLONASS SVN 110 (724) began transmitting on October 26, and SVN 111 (725), on November 5, according to the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) GLONASS Information-Analytical Center.
By Glen Gibbons
Following in the footsteps of the recent update of the GPS SPS Performance Standard, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a performance standard for the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).
By Glen Gibbons
In fall of 2009, the U.S. Air Force will begin broadcasting a transitional civil navigation (CNAV) message on the GPS L2 civil signal (L2C) now being transmitted on the modernized Block IIR (IIR-M) satellites. Currently, L2C is being broadcast as a dataless sequence without modulation.
By Glen Gibbons
Two new GPS modules based on the award-winning u-blox 5 engine and the NEO form factor — the NEO5D and NEO5G — have been announced by the Thalwil, Switzerland–based company.
By Glen Gibbons
Combined GPS + Galileo constellation. Image source: Nottingham Scientific Ltd., UKRepresentatives of the United States and the European Community (EC) meeting October 23 in Washington, D.C., reaffirmed their commitment to the 2004 cooperation agreement on Galileo and GPS in the first plenary session convened under the agreement.
By Glen Gibbons
