Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
After a yearslong wait the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is asking for comments on whether it should allow signals from Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system to be used for non-federal applications in the United States. The call for public feedback is part of a process to grant a waiver so that Galileo-capable receivers don’t have to be licensed in the United States.
By Inside GNSS
Securities regulators recently approved a plan to improve the tracking of financial trades by creating a single, comprehensive database that, among other things, incorporates tightened clock synchronization standards.
By Inside GNSS
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James. (Photo source: DoD).Though the schedule is still uncertain, progress is being made on completing the new GPS ground system, said Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, who credited a crack group of private-sector computer wizards with helping get the program back on course.
Calling the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX), a "terribly, terribly important program," James said, however, she still did not consider the software-focused effort to be "out of the woods."
By Dee Ann Divis
8835 GPS Clock. Photo Source: TRAK Microwave.TRAK Microwave, a brand of London, England– and Stuart, Florida–based Smiths Interconnect, has released its 8835 GPS Clock, a GPS time and frequency instrument. The 8835 GPS Clock is designed to deliver optimal power and interoperability options while maintaining GPS accuracy and reliability.
By Inside GNSS
Professor Vidal Ashkenazi OBENottingham Scientific Ltd (NSL) has announced that the company’s founder and CEO, Professor Vidal Ashkenazi, has been named an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE ) in the 2017 New Year’s Honors List for “Services to Science.”
The OBE was created by King George V in 1917 and is awarded by the ruling monarch of the United Kingdom, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The honor recognizes distinguished service to the arts and sciences, public services outside the civil service, and work with charitable and welfare organizations.
By Inside GNSS
GPS III satellites in production. Image Source: Lockheed Martin.The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) says it continues to work on GPS III ceramic capacitor testing and plans to have an updated launch schedule published late next month.
As Inside GNSS reported, the first GPS III satellite’s delivery, originally scheduled for August, was delayed by four months because of a Lockheed Martin subcontractor’s failure to test a ceramic capacitor.
By Inside GNSS
Yesterday (December 23, 2016) President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017, a $619-billion bill with a number of provisions affecting satellite navigation.
The legislation (S. 2943) fully authorizes the administration’s requests for all the elements of the GPS program — and signals indirectly that appropriators eventually will provide comparable support — although the NDAA does put additional requirements on those developing the new GPS ground system.
By Dee Ann Divis
This week’s Navitec Conference, entitled “Navigating the Future of Transportation,” delivered good news to an appreciative crowd at the European Space Agency’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA/ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
By Inside GNSS
Today (December 15, 2016) the European Commission (EC), owner of Europe’s GNSS system, Galileo, formally announced the start of Galileo Initial Services, the first step towards full operational capability.
Further launches will continue to build the satellite constellation, which will gradually improve the system performance and availability worldwide.
By Inside GNSS
Following a complex tendering process that began in January 2015, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) awarded the Galileo Service Operator (GSOp) contract, with a value of up to €1.5 billion (US$1.56 billion), to Spaceopal at a special event in Brussels today (December 15, 2016).
The ceremony was featured in an event organized on the occasion of the European Commission’s declaration of Galileo Initial Services.
By Inside GNSS
NASA successfully launched eight Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) microsatellites this morning (December 15, 2016) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The CYGNSS spacecraft rode into orbit onboard an Orbital ATK air-launched Pegasus XL rocket. Orbital ATK’s modified L-1011 aircraft deployed the Pegasus XL and its CYNGSS payload at 39,000 feet, the agency said.
By Inside GNSS
GPS III satellites in production. Image Source: Lockheed Martin.The U.S. Air Force has approved Lockheed Martin’s current GPS satellite ground control system upgrade to enable it to operate with more powerful and accurate GPS III satellites, the company said.
The Air Force’s Critical Design Review (CDR) for the Contingency Operations (COps) contract, completed on November 17, allows Lockheed Martin to proceed with the modification of the existing Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) Operational Control Segment. The AEP, maintained by Lockheed Martin, controls the 31 GPS IIR, IIR-M and IIF satellites in orbit.
By Inside GNSS
Europe’s satellite navigation system, Galileo, is about to go operational on December 15 when the European Commission makes a Declaration of Initial Services at a special event in Brussels. With that, European satellites will provide users with global positioning, navigation and timing information for the first time.
By Inside GNSS
