A: System Categories

May 15, 2008

Overlook Names New President

Doug Taggart

Douglas S. Taggart has been named president of Overlook Systems Technologies, Inc., effective June 1, 2008.

A professional engineering and technical services firm headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, Overlook has extensive experience in GPS and Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) technologies, operations ,and applications, as well as electronic warfare, space and information operations, and space control.

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By Glen Gibbons

SMC’s Change of Command

Lt. Gen. Michael A. Hamel, commander of the Space & Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, will turn over responsibilities to Lt. Gen. John T. "Tom" Sheridan on May 16. General Sheridan was formerly the Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office.

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By Glen Gibbons
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May 12, 2008

Galileo’s GIOVE -B Spacecraft Transmits Signals

A screen in the Galileo control room displays the spectra of signals received from GIOVE-B shortly after the spacecraft began transmitting navigation signals. ESA photo.

Europe’s second Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element (GIOVE-B) satellite began transmitting navigation signals on May 7, including the common GPS-Galileo civil signal MBOC (multiplexed binary offset carrier).

Built under a cooperation between the European Space Agency (ESA) and European Union (EU), GIOVE-B was launched April 27 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The MBOC signal design will be used by the future GPS L1C broadcasts as well as the Galileo Open Service in accordance with an agreement drawn up in July 2007 between the EU and the United States.

Locked to an on-board passive hydrogen maser clock, the GIOVE-B signals will help improve positioning accuracy in challenging environments with multipath and interference as well as better penetration for indoor navigation.

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By Inside GNSS
May 7, 2008

Applanix Launches POS AV with Integrated Trimble GNSS, Upgraded DSS RapidOrtho

Applanix has announced the availability of a high altitude tactical mapping option for its DSS RapidOrtho system as well as the integration of the Trimble BD960 GNSS receiver module for its POS AV airborne position and orientation system.

With the GNSS module, POS AV products now support GPS L1/L2 and GLONASS L1/L2 processing, both in real-time and post-mission. The BD960 will also be able to receive and process the next-generation GPS L2C and L5 signals.

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By Inside GNSS
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May 1, 2008

Hemisphere GPS Reports Record Revenues, Profits in First Quarter

Hemisphere GPS has reported US$25.9 million in revenues for the first quarter of 2008, an increase of 56 percent from the year-earlier period (US$16.7 million) and a record for the company.

The company also reported record first quarter net income of $5.8 million, or $0.11, an increase of 169 percent compared to $2.2 million, or $0.05 per share, in the first quarter of 2007.

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By Glen Gibbons

Spectrum Control Offers Dual-Frequency Patch Antenna

Spectrum Control, Inc., of Fairview, Pennsylvania, has designed a new single-element patch antenna that can receive and/or transmit two frequency bands — GPS and satellite communications — in one package.

The new antennas were developed for GPS applications using either Globalstar, for telephone and low-speed data communications, or Iridium’s voice and data communications. The frequencies cover 1575MHz (GPS) to 1615MHz (Globalstar) and 1575MHz (GPS) to 1621MHz (Iridium).

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By Glen Gibbons
April 30, 2008

Lockheed Joins Northrop Grumman OCX Team

As speculated might occur, Lockheed Martin has joined the Northrop Grumman Corporation team competing for the GPS Next Generation Control Segment (OCX) Phase B contract. Lockheed had led its own team in the first round of competition that ended last November.

With Boeing as part of the other prospective OCX team headed by Raytheon Corporation, both companies with experience operating the GPS ground-based infrastructure are playing supporting roles for the contest to build the new control system.

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By Glen Gibbons

Galileo’s Drama: Different Set, Additional Actors, a New Play for Europe’s GNSS?

Passage of a new regulation on Galileo sets the stage for the next phase of the €3.4-billion satellite navigation system’s development under a public procurement but leaves many details to be worked out among the key players: the European Commission (EC), the European Council, the European Parliament, and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Meeting in Strasbourg, France, the parliament adopted the measure on April 22 with 607 votes in favor, 36 votes against, and 8 abstentions.

“Things are looking up, finally, for the European GNSS programs,” Paul Verhoef, head of the Galileo unit in the EC’s Directorate-General for Transport and Energy, told an April 23 plenary session of the European Navigation Conference 2008 in Toulouse, France.

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By Glen Gibbons

May 16: Deadline Extended for abstracts for NAVITEC 2008 – ESA workshop on satellite navigation user equipment technologies

The European Space Agency has extended until May 16 the deadline for paper abstracts for oral and poster presentations for NAVITEC 2008, ESA’s fourth workshop on satellite navigation user equipment technologies.

This year’s theme is "GNSS User Technologies in the Sensor Fusion Era." Galileo receiver technologies and experimentation are a special focus of this year’s event.

The workshop will take place from December 10-12 at the European Space and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.

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By Inside GNSS

Spirent Location Test System Adds W-CDMA, GSM Certification

Spirent Communications plc has announced that the Spirent UMTS Location Test System (ULTS) now supports full certification testing of 3G Partnership Project’s (3GPP) Assisted GPS (A-GPS) RF Minimum Performance test cases for both W-CDMA and GSM devices. With this latest capability, Spirent test equipment can support all A-GPS testing standards including RF performance, signaling conformance, and Secure User Plane (SUPL) Application Enabler, according to the company.

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By Glen Gibbons
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