Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
NovAtel graphicNovAtel Inc. has announced significant performance improvements to its PPP positioning solution.
TraceME with LoRa moduleKCS BV, based in Dordrecht, Netherlands, has extended its TraceME product line with an advanced module, targeted for worldwide mobility in the Internet of Things (IoT) era.
The latest development of the TraceME GPS/GPRS Track and Trace module will incorporate an RF location–based positioning solution with LoRa technology. According to the company, this combination enables “smart objects” to become even smarter, because LoRa enables long-range, battery-friendly communication in a wide variety of machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.
By Inside GNSS
Thalwil, Switzerland–based u-blox reported revenue and profit growth in its most recent annual report, driven by strong sales in its GNSS and wireless chipset and module business.
Consolidated revenue was CHF270 million (US$276.7 million) in 2014, a growth of nearly 23 percent compared to 2013 while net profit increased by 39.6 percent to CHF34.4 million (US$35.2 million), representing a 12.7 percent net profit margin for the year.
United Launch Alliance graphicFour GNSS satellites will be launched during the coming week: a GPS Block IIF, two full operational capability (FOC) Galileo spacecraft, and an Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) satellite.
By Inside GNSS
The Federal Register will publish on Monday (March 23, 2015) a solicitation for public comment regarding “potential plans” by the U.S. government to implement an enhanced Long Range Navigation (eLoran) system as a complementary positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) capability to GPS.
By Dee Ann DivisIt’s 10 p.m. somewhere over the vast oceans that comprise three-quarters of the Earth’s surface. Do you know where your airplane is?
Well, you could, but maybe you don’t.
The anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 came and went in March with the fate of the Boeing 777 still unknown.
It didn’t have to happen.
By Inside GNSS
New delays and higher costs should be expected for both the GPS III satellite program and GPS-OCX, the new GPS ground system, federal watchdogs warned in a new report.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said both programs are in the process of rebaselining, that is, resetting their estimated schedules and costs. In the case of the Next Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX), which is essential for full operation of the new GPS III satellites, the changes could be significant.
By Inside GNSS
A roof antenna for a GPS timing system. Photo by David Monniaux, Wikimedia CommonsTwo agencies charged with helping protect America’s critical infrastructure are working on ways to safeguard GPS receivers, particularly those used to tap the signal for essential timing data.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is building on its more recent, technically focused research to identify and mitigate risks.
By Inside GNSS
Spectrum-related tensions reemerged during a workshop on Thursday (March 12, 2015) organized to gather feedback on a testing plan to help protect GPS receivers.
The plan is part of the GPS Adjacent-Band Compatibility (ABC) assessment — a wide-ranging effort to determine the power levels at which services operating in frequencies next those used by GPS and other GNSS systems can broadcast signals without causing interference to GPS signals.
By Inside GNSS
One of 12 magnetograms recorded at Greenwich Observatory during the Great Geomagnetic Storm of 1859
1996 soccer game in the Midwest, (Rick Dikeman image)
Nouméa ground station after the flood
A pencil and a coffee cup show the size of NASA’s teeny tiny PhoneSat
Bonus Hotspot: Naro Tartaruga AUV
Pacific lamprey spawning (photo by Jeremy Monroe, Fresh Waters Illustrated)
“Return of the Bucentaurn to the Molo on Ascension Day”, by (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Canaletto
The U.S. Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock at 2nd Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB in Colorado. This photo was taken in January, 2006 during the addition of a leap second. The USNO master clocks control GPS timing. They are accurate to within one second every 20 million years (Satellites are so picky! Humans, on the other hand, just want to know if we’re too late for lunch) USAF photo by A1C Jason Ridder. 
Detail of Compass/ BeiDou2 system diagram
Hotspot 6: Beluga A300 600ST
1. NAVSTAR GETS THE AX
Seal Beach, California
Equations 1 – 4Working Papers explore the technical and scientific themes that underpin GNSS programs and applications. This regular column is coordinated by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günter Hein, head of Europe’s Galileo Operations and Evolution.
By Inside GNSS
Dr. John Fulton, Ohio State UniversityNowhere has the fact that GNSS can guide things besides military weapons and transport manifested itself more profoundly than in agriculture.
While Google and automotive manufacturers struggle to figure out how to put autonomous vehicles on the highway, farmers have been using GNSS for well over a decade to guide equipment through their fields — along with a host of other ag-related, site-specific applications.
Indeed, GNSS — along with an array of other high-tech resources — is transforming agriculture at an accelerating rate.
By Inside GNSS
Equations 1 – 11Q: How does a GNSS receiver estimate velocity?
A: Stand-alone single-frequency GNSS receivers represent the largest slice of the commercial positioning market. Such receivers operate mainly in single point position (SPP) mode and estimate velocity either by differencing two consecutive positions (i.e., approximating the derivative of user position) or by using Doppler measurements related to user-satellite motion.
By Inside GNSS
