Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
On Wednesday (December 17, 2014) Raytheon Company announced successful completion of the fourth of five planned launch and early orbit exercises being undertaken together with Lockheed Martin to demonstrate new automation capabilities, information assurance, and launch readiness of the U.S. Air Force’s next generation GPS III satellite and Operational Control System (OCX).
By Inside GNSS
With final passage of the Omnibus spending bill on December 13 Congress deepened by $17 million the fiscal ditch in which the new GPS ground system finds itself, possibly further delaying the completion of a modernized operational control segment (OCX) and increasing costs just as the Department of Defense’s top acquisition official steps in to take a closer look at budget overruns.
By Inside GNSS
Working 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.
SIDEBAR: Locating a Distress Beacon Activated in Flight
By Inside GNSS
GPS III core structure at Lockheed Martin facility. Lockheed Martin photoThe launch of the first GPS III satellite could slip to as late as March 2017, further delaying a modernization program that already has been pushed back repeatedly by budget cuts and technical problems.
“The first GPS III launch is tentatively considered for the first half of FY17, based on booster availability and Air Force launch priorities,” a spokesman for the Space and Missile Systems Center told Inside GNSS.
By Inside GNSS
ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C26, successfully launched IRNSS-1C, the third satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), from Satish Dhawan Space Center last Thursday (October 16, 2014 local time).
By Inside GNSS
IRNSS-1B satellite in clean room. ISRO photoA signal-in-space (SIS) interface control document (ICD) for the standard positioning service (SPS) of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is available for download from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) website.
By Inside GNSS
Editor’s Note: An exclusive interview with Gen. Hyten is available here with more details.
Details are emerging about another restructuring of the contract for the new GPS ground system, a deal that pushes completion of the project back another two years and recasts the remaining work to fit within the Air Force’s strained financial profile.
By Dee Ann Divis
IFEN SX3IFEN introduced its new SX3 GNSS software receiver, a major upgrade of the company’s SX-NSR, last week at the ION GNSS+ conference in Tampa, Florida. Redesigned hardware frontends feature four wideband RF frequency bands that can be split into a maximum of eight sub-bands per unit. At the same time the bandwidth has been expanded to a full 55 megahertz, offering additional signal power especially in the Galileo E5 band.
By Inside GNSS
Working 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
Orbits of the fifth and sixth Galileo satellites launched together on August 22, 2014, in red, compared to their intended position, in dashed green, and the position of the four IOV satellites launched in 2011 and 2012 in solid green. This view looks down over Earth’s South Pole, helping to illustrate how the two satellites’ orbital inclination relative to the equator is less than was intended ESA illustration.The European Space Agency (ESA) released dramatic illustrations today (September 16, 2014) of the orbital locations of the two errant Galileo spacecraft launched on August 22, the intended orbit, and the locations of four In-Orbit Validation (IOV) satellites.
By Inside GNSS
Gen. John Hyten. USAF photoAs the new commander of Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) Gen. John E. Hyten is responsible for all the service’s space programs including the Global Positioning System.
By Inside GNSS
The Antiquarium in the Residenz MünchenThe Munich Satellite Navigation Summit will take place at the Residenz Muenchen in Munich, Germany on March 24 – 26, 2015.
The theme for this year’s summit is “Future of PNT – A Glance into the Crystal Ball”.
The technical program includes plenary discussions and updates on the main activities in worldwide satellite navigation systems, including:
By Inside GNSS
The Air Force says it might ask Congress for permission to implement bigger buys of GPS satellites beginning in fiscal year 2016 (FY16) once it sorts out whether to drop Lockheed Martin as the GPS III prime contractor and switch to a different manufacturer for the navigation payload.
The department told Congress in a recent report on multiyear procurement (MYP) that while its current approach “allows the government the flexibility to adapt to a changing budget profile and constellation needs, it prevents the program from realizing savings that MYP could provide.”
By Inside GNSS
