Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Prof. Jingnan LiuA draft interface control document for China’s Compass (Beidou-2) GNSS system may be available by next year, according to remarks made at a September 30 presentation at the University of Nottingham (United Kingdom) by Jingnan Liu, principal scientist at the National GNSS Research Center of Wuhan University.
By Inside GNSS
Antonio Tajani, EC Vice-President for Transport Policy, announces EGNOS Open Service. During a press conference today (October 1, 2009), Antonio Tajani, European Commission vice-president for transport policy, announced the official start of operations for EGNOS, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service. This is a major milestone for EGNOS, a satellite-based augmentation system that improves the accuracy of satellite navigation signals over Europe.
The EGNOS Open Service is now available free of charge for non-safety-of-live applications to all users equipped with suitable receivers – and most mass-market satellite navigation receivers being sold today are EGNOS-ready.
By Inside GNSS
NovAtel OEMStarNovAtel Inc. rolled out a series of new products and a firmware upgrade at the Institute of Navigation’s ION GNSS 2009 conference held September 22-25 in Savannah, Georgia, USA.
The Calgary, Alberta, Canada–based GNSS manufacturer announced the launch of their new single-frequency GNSS receiver, OEMStar. The low-cost, 14-channel, L1 receiver measures 46 x 71 millimeters and consumes just 750 milliwatts of power when tracking both GPS and GLONASS signals.
By Inside GNSS
Anritsu Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of test and measurement equipment, has selected IFEN’s NavX-NCS Standard GNSS simulator as its assisted-GPS (A-GPS) test system for use in developing mobile terminals.
The NavX-NCS is a GNSS RF navigation constellation simulator capable of simulataneously simulating signals from up to nine L-band frequencies in the GPS, Galileo, GLONASS (including its new G1 frequency), and QZSS systems.
By Inside GNSS
The European Commission (EC) expects to declare in October that the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) — which provides satellite-based augmentation signals for GPS and Galileo — is operationally ready as an open and free service for non-safety-of-life (non-SoL) applications, according to a press release from the GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA).
By Inside GNSS
PCTEL’s WAAS antennaPCTEL, Inc., of Bloomingdale, Illinois USA, announced that its high-precision Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) ground station GPS antennas will be deployed in India’s GPS-Aided Geosynchronous Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system.
By Inside GNSS
Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have unveiled a new ground station in Guam that will track spacecraft from JAXA’s upcoming Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS).
Designed to work seamlessly with the U.S. Global Positioning System, QZSS is a space-based augmentation system (SBAS) being developed by JAXA to improve navigation satellite coverage over Japan and surrounding areas. The first QZSS satellite is expected to launch in 2010.
By Inside GNSS
GLONASS-K spacecraft (artist’s illustration)With a nearly restored and modernizing GLONASS system beginning to make inroads into mass market products and services, Russia has revealed plans to build out a space-based augmentation system (SBAS) and establish its first ground monitoring stations outside the Russian territory.
In a July 30 presentation at an International Committee on GNSS (ICG) working group on interoperability, Dmitry Marareskul, head of the onboard satellite navigation sector of Information Satellite System Reshetnev Corporation in Zheleznogorsk, revealed Russia’s plans to expand its network of GLONASS monitoring and measuring stations to include sites in Australia, Cuba, and South America.
By Inside GNSS
Spirent Communications plc has launched the GSS6300 Multi-GNSS Signal Generator, intended for high-volume production test applications for devices that use commercial GPS/SBAS, GLONASS, and/or Galileo receivers.
The GSSS6300 provides a comprehensive remote control interface, designed to facilitate integration into automated test equipment (ATE) environments.
By Inside GNSS
NavCom SF-3050
NavCom Technology, Inc., has announced the release of the SF-3050 multi-frequency GNSS receiver that incorporates the company’s new Sapphire GNSS OEM board.
Offering integrated StarFire/RTK GNSS capabilities, the SF-3050 and Sapphire feature 66-channel tracking, including multi-constellation support for GPS, GLONASS and Galileo.
By Inside GNSS
Enhanced Loran (eLoran) has survived through multiple generations of official ambivalence about the proposed backup for the U.S. Global Positioning System. Currently, the program is in (almost) on-again status.
The latest chapter began with President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10) budget proposal, which called for termination of Loran in the coming year. At a May 7 press conference, the president described Loran as a system that’s been eclipsed by the rise of GPS.
By Inside GNSS
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has awarded a new $82 million contract to Raytheon Company to modernize the Indian air navigation system.
Raytheon will build the ground stations for the GPS-Aided Geosynchronous Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), and the Indian Space Research Organization will provide the space segment and additional ground equipment. GAGAN will provide satellite-based navigation for civil aviation over Indian airspace and adjoining areas in south and east Asia.
By Inside GNSS
Spirent Communications has launched its GSS6700 Multi-GNSS Constellation Simulator with test test capability GPS, GLONASS, and the planned European Galileo system.
By Inside GNSS
