Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
NovAtel Inc. today (April 23, 2015) launched the GPS-704-WB antenna, a wideband antenna that supports L-band as well as the frequencies of all current GNSS constellations (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou), including B3 and E6 signals. Customers can use this antenna for GPS-only or multi-constellation applications, providing excellent flexibility for application developers, according to the company.
By Inside GNSS
The 2015 edition of the European Navigation Conference (ENC) in Bordeaux last week found the continent’s GNSS community leaving troubles behind and looking to the future, where the world’s dependence on GNSS is greater, the risks higher, and the potential profits ever more tantalizing.
Speaking at the opening session dedicated to “the impact of GNSS on the economic sector,” Topos Cluster President Florence Ghiron answered the question in the simplest of terms: “We expect the GNSS market to grow and to include more and more industrial sectors.”
Four leading lawmakers, apparently impatient with the Obama Administration’s less-than-urgent approach to assuring availability of critical navigation and timing resources, have sponsored a bill mandating the Department of Defense institute a backup for the Global Positioning System.
If approved, the National Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Resilience and Security Act of 2015 (H.R. 1678) would give the U.S. secretary of defense three years to establish, an alternative, land-based source for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) data.
By Inside GNSS
The fourth satellite of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, IRNSS-1D, was launched toward its intended geosynchronous orbit (GSO) today (Saturday, March 28, 2015) onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C27).
Seven satellites will comprise the IRNSS constellation being developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to provide navigational services. IRNSS will help augment the satellite-based navigation system of India, which is currently under development and will provide navigation, tracking, and mapping services to the South Asia region.
By Inside GNSS
The European GNSS Agency (GSA) unveiled its latest GNSS Market Report today (March 25, 2015) at the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit in Germany.
The fourth and most comprehensive in a series of GSA studies, the 80-page report describes current and projected GNSS receiver sales by volume and value and highlights market opportunities, technology trends, and future developments of GNSS.
By Inside GNSS
NovAtel Inc. has announced significant performance improvements to its PPP positioning solution.
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.
Four 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
1. NAVSTAR GETS THE AX
Seal Beach, California
The U.S. government appears to be closing in on a decision about whether to revive plans for an enhanced Loran (eLoran) system, as a backup for the position, navigation, and timing (PNT) information provided by GPS signals.
By Dee Ann Divis
The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) has a European regional coverage that could be extended quite easily to areas adjacent to the European Union. Backed by the European Commission, a public/private consortium is operating programs of technical assistance to prepare nations in the Mediterranean region to adopt and exploit European GNSS services in their priority market segments, namely aviation and road freight transport/logistics.
By Inside GNSS
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has postponed launch of the fourth Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System spacecraft (IRNSS-1D), originally scheduled for March 9, due to an anomaly. During integrated electrical checks of the PSLV-C27 launch vehicle and IRNSS-1D after the closure of heat shield on March 3, an anomaly was observed in one of the telemetry transmitters of the satellite.
By Inside GNSS
New rules recently adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help emergency responders better locate wireless 911 callers highlight the role of GPS and GNSS technologies while boosting the use of alternative positioning technologies in indoor locations.
However, the new enhanced (11 (E911) rules, adopted January 29 and published on February 4, explicitly avoided a decision on the use of GNSS systems other than GPS.
By Inside GNSS
