Aerospace and Defense

1PRISMA_formation_flying_satellites
March 6, 2019

Stanford, ESA Challenging AI to Pinpoint State of Drifting Satellites

With a collection of some of the best researchers in space and aeronautics involved, the sky may indeed just be the limit.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Stanford University are challenging global artificial intelligence (AI) specialists to train software to judge the position and orientation of a drifting satellite with a single glance. Such a skill could be used in the future for servicing or salvaging spacecraft, according to the ESA.

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By Stan Goff
spaceForce
March 1, 2019

Pentagon Releases Space Force Proposal to Congress

The Pentagon Friday released its proposal for enabling legislation to create a Space Force, a new military branch expected to eventually comprise some 15,000 personnel.

“Establishing a Space Force is a strategic priority to facilitate the DOD’s preparation for the character of warfare in the twenty-first century,” the Department of Defense (DOD) wrote in an overview. “A sixth branch of the Armed Forces dedicated to space will catalyze a fundamental transformation of our approach to space from a combat support function to a domain of competition and potential conflict.”

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By Dee Ann Divis
Loran Rainbow
February 28, 2019

Report: Russian Navy Gets New Precision Terrestrial System to Backup GPS/GLONASS

According to a news report,“Sprut-N1 [a] new-generation precision navigation radio system (RNS) has been created for the Russian Navy. It will determine geographic location, speed and altitude with a precision superior to that of GLONASS and GPS. The coordinates are determined by ground stations of the system which transmit coded signals to warships and aircraft. The main advantage against satellite navigation is that the signal of the high-tech system cannot be jammed, the Izvestia daily writes.”

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By Dana A. Goward
BigBen_Peter
February 19, 2019

GNSS Workaround for a Galileo-less Britain

A recent paper published in The Journal of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, by Lasisi Salami Lawal of Nigeria’s Federal University of Technology, and Chris Reginald Chatwin of the University of Sussex, argues that the United Kingdom could launch a payload on a national military communications satellite to provide navigation overlay services for the United Kingdom territory, surrounding waters and neighboring ally countries.

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By Peter Gutierrez
Screen Shot 2019-02-18 at 3.07.16 PM
February 18, 2019

USGIF’s Small Sats Workshop: The Speed of Innovation

USGIF and its Small Sats Working Group are collaborating to host a two-day workshop on Feb. 19-20 at NGA Campus East, Allder Auditorium in Springfield, Virginia.

The workshop features an unclassified and classified day with networking, exhibits, demos, panels and keynotes, states the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF).

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By Inside GNSS
NTS-3 History
February 14, 2019

Government Researchers Working to Address GPS Vulnerabilities

Two recent reports have underscored the threats to the GPS system from space-capable adversaries. Both the Worldwide Threat Assessment, released Jan. 30 by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and theDefense Intelligence Agency’s newly released Challenges to Security in Spacedetail the potential for China, Russia and others to damage the constellation or disrupt its signals.

With worries mounting about these risks, and the more mundane but still harmful prospect of regional jamming or spoofing, organizations throughout the U.S. government are working on ways to address vulnerabilities and find ways to operate without GPS.

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By Dee Ann Divis
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