Aerospace and Defense

As Galileo FOCs Near Launch, EC Holds Public Consultation on Open Service ICD
August 15, 2014

As Galileo FOCs Near Launch, EC Holds Public Consultation on Open Service ICD

Installation of Galileo FOC satellite “Doresa” on the payload dispenser system. The first of two Galileo navigation satellites has been integrated on its payload dispenser system at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The second satellite “Milena” was then installed in a side-by-side arrangement and will be mated atop a Soyuz Fregat upper stage. ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Vidéo du CSG photo by P. Baudon

The European Commission (EC) has opened a public consultation on a newly revised version of the Galileo Open Service Signal in Space Interface Control Document (OS SIS ICD).
 
The consultation will take place through September 22, overlapping the scheduled first launch of fully operational capability (FOC) Galileo satellites on August 21. Details of the consultation process can be found on the EC Directorate-General for Enterprise website.
 

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By Inside GNSS
GPS Directorate to Hold Public Forum for Feedback on GPS Technical Specifications
July 31, 2014

GPS Directorate to Hold Public Forum for Feedback on GPS Technical Specifications

The Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Directorate will host an open public forum on August 22 for the following NAVSTAR GPS public documents: IS-GPS-200 (Navigation User Interfaces), IS-GPS-705 (User Segment L5 Interfaces), IS-GPS-800 (User Segment L1C Interface), and ICD-GPS-870 (Navstar Next Generation GPS Operational Control Segment [OCX] to User Support Community Interfaces).

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By Inside GNSS
GNSS Hotspots | July 2014
July 24, 2014

GNSS Hotspots | July 2014

One of 12 magnetograms recorded at Greenwich Observatory during the Great Geomagnetic Storm of 1859
1996 soccer game in the Midwest, (Rick Dikeman image)
Nouméa ground station after the flood
A pencil and a coffee cup show the size of NASA’s teeny tiny PhoneSat
Bonus Hotspot: Naro Tartaruga AUV
Pacific lamprey spawning (photo by Jeremy Monroe, Fresh Waters Illustrated)
“Return of the Bucentaurn to the Molo on Ascension Day”, by (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Canaletto
The U.S. Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock at 2nd Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB in Colorado. This photo was taken in January, 2006 during the addition of a leap second. The USNO master clocks control GPS timing. They are accurate to within one second every 20 million years (Satellites are so picky! Humans, on the other hand, just want to know if we’re too late for lunch) USAF photo by A1C Jason Ridder.
Detail of Compass/ BeiDou2 system diagram
Hotspot 6: Beluga A300 600ST

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By Inside GNSS
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New Leaders at the GPS Helm
July 21, 2014

New Leaders at the GPS Helm

Washington, D.C., has a peculiarity of seasons. While most of the world marks the shifts between winter and spring, summer and autumn, the politicos on the streets of the U.S. capital count the passage of time in two-year increments.

New operatives and appointees flock to the centers of power in the early days of each administration and the opening of each Congress, then migrate to friendlier climes as congressional elections loom and the administration winds down — as it is now.

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By Dee Ann Divis
GPS OCX Program Being Restructured as Budget Pressures Mount
June 30, 2014

GPS OCX Program Being Restructured as Budget Pressures Mount

In response to the ongoing federal budget squeeze, the U.S. Air Force is restructuring the contract for developing its new GPS ground system, a move that could further delay its completion.

The Air Force has asked Raytheon, its contractor for the Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX), to develop an alternative plan in light of fiscal limitations.

“The current baseline approach is unaffordable” given the funding constraints and “appears to be a much higher risk,” said Steve Moran, the director of GPS Mission Solutions at Raytheon.

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By Inside GNSS
GPS IRT Shuffled, Shrunk in Budget Squeeze
May 30, 2014

GPS IRT Shuffled, Shrunk in Budget Squeeze

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Robert A. Rosenberg, former GPS IRT chair

The GPS Independent Review Team (IRT), a key player in GPS policy for nearly 20 years, has been disbanded by the Air Force in what several sources say is an effort to save money.

Created in 1997 for a temporary three-month assignment, the IRT has been instrumental in shaping the current GPS constellation including designing military’s M-code — giving the signal its distinctive two humps — and pushing to get that signal into the constellation earlier than initially planned.

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By Inside GNSS
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China Plans to Complete BeiDou Ahead of Schedule
May 21, 2014

China Plans to Complete BeiDou Ahead of Schedule

China’s BeiDou will accelerate the pace of its development, even as the world’s other three GNSS systems are experiencing delays and difficulties, according to speakers in the opening session of the China Satellite Navigation Conference (CSNC 2014) today (May 21) in Nanjing.

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By Inside GNSS
Collective Detection of Multi-GNSS Signals
May 6, 2014

Collective Detection of Multi-GNSS Signals

Clockwise from left: (a) article equations, (b) the probablility of acquiring a single satellite to the power of the nyumber of satellites in view, (c) Indoor scenario of signal collection at ISAE navigation lab, Toulouse

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.

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By Inside GNSS
Key GPS/PNT Official Teri Takai Leaving DoD
April 30, 2014

Key GPS/PNT Official Teri Takai Leaving DoD

Teresa Takei, DoD CIO. DoD photo

Teri Takai, the Department of Defense’s chief information officer (DoD CIO) announced April 28 that she would be leaving at the end of this week. She is the top advisor to the secretary of defense on navigation and timing plus a host of other subjects including telecommunications, satellite communications, and spectrum issues.

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By Inside GNSS
GLONASS Suffers Temporary Systemwide Outage; Multi-GNSS Receiver Overcomes Problem (updated)
April 3, 2014

GLONASS Suffers Temporary Systemwide Outage; Multi-GNSS Receiver Overcomes Problem (updated)

Smartphone tracking results from two smartphones. Yellow dotted line, GPS/GLONASS only; green dotted line, GPS/GLONASS/QZSS/BeiDou. Broadcom Corporation image.

Just when they thought it was safe to go back into space . . . .

The Russian GLONASS system, which had appeared to be recovering from a series of organizational and technical problems in recent years, appears to have suffered a systemic disruption during the past 24 hours — beginning just past 1 a.m. Moscow time on April 2 (UTC+4) — 6 p.m. EDT on Tuesday (April 1, 2014).

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By Inside GNSS
U.S. Air Force Authorizes Lockheed to Finish GPS III SVs 7 & 8

U.S. Air Force Authorizes Lockheed to Finish GPS III SVs 7 & 8

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin more than $245 million in contract options to complete production of its seventh and eighth GPS Block III satellites.

The two space vehicles (SVs 07–08) received initial funding under a February 2013 long-lead material contract for the Air Force’s second set of four satellites, GPS III SV 05–08. Similar to this current award announced yesterday (April 1, 2014), the Air Force exercised an option to complete production of SVs 05–06 in December 2013.

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By Inside GNSS
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