Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
ITT Corporation has announced that it passed a key milestone last month with successful completion of the critical design review (CDR) for the Mission Data Unit (MDU) the company is developing as part of the navigation payload for the U.S. Air Force’s GPS III program.
By Inside GNSS
GPS Block IIF Satellite (Boeing photo)Last week’s launch of the first GPS Block IIF illustrates the changes that have occurred not only with the pioneering U.S. GNSS program but also with the nation’s aerospace industry since the Global Positioning System initiative was launched 36 years ago.
By Inside GNSS
Only a decade ago, but a world away: 2000.
The last year of the old century that everyone thought was the first of the new.
When flying was still a delight, rather than a worrisome bother.
When the expected — a global Y2K bug–bitten IT meltdown — didn’t happen, and the much-anticipated but still-unexpected did: the United States turned off GPS selective availability.
By Inside GNSS
For the complete story, including figures, graphs, and images, please download the PDF of the article, above.
What will GNSS receivers look like five years from now?
The answer, of course, depends on the application. Mass-market receivers used in applications that do not require precision positioning and timing (hand-held units for hikers, for example) will likely remain simple, single-frequency L1 C/A-code–based GPS devices.
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(This article first appeared in the March 31 Inside GNSS SIGNALS eNewsletter)
The GPS Wing is in the middle of a yearlong process designed to sort out the trade-offs among a set of at least nine options that may be undertaken to reduce the effects of a signal anomaly on the GPS satellite known as SVN49.
In a March 26 teleconference, the first of two scheduled to discuss the options, Lt. Col. James Lake, the wing’s deputy chief engineer, emphasized that some of the options could well improve the performance of some receivers while decreasing that of others.
He underlined the Air Force’s concern that receivers that don’t conform to the specification for GPS space segment/navigation user interfaces (IS-GPS-200) "greatly complicate the issue."
By Inside GNSS
The GPS Wing is in the middle of a yearlong process designed to sort out the trade-offs among a set of at least nine options that may be undertaken to reduce the effects of a signal anomaly on the GPS satellite known as SVN49.
In a March 26 teleconference, the first of two scheduled to discuss the options, Lt. Col. James Lake, the wing’s deputy chief engineer, emphasized that some of the options could well improve the performance of some receivers while decreasing that of others.
By Inside GNSS
The UK Institution of Engineering and Technology will sponsor a one-day seminar on Galileo and GNSS on Thursday, April 29 at the IET headquarters on the Thames Embankment, Savoy Place, London.The event runs from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M.
Speakers include GNSS experts EADS Astrium, Helios, Roke Manor Research Ltd, SSTL, Logica and University College London.
By Inside GNSS
[Updated March 27] The first of two teleconferences hosted by the GPS Wing underlined the U.S. Air Force’s desire to gain greater participation by manufacturers of user equipment in sorting out the options for mitigating the effects of a signal anomaly on the GPS satellite known as SVN49.
The March 26 teleconference, held on the same day as publication of a notice in the Federal Register inviting public comment on nine possible options for dealing with the anomaly, drew only a handful of participants. But the U.S. Department of Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), which issued the invitation, and the GPS Wing, which has the lead in implementing an eventual decision, hope to see further industry participation in written comments and a second teleconference planned for April 30.
By Inside GNSS
Bob Canty – Raytheon GPS OCX vice-president and program managerBy now, the news is out: Raytheon Corporation’s Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS) business, has won the contract to build the Next Generation GPS Control Segment (OCX).
Raytheon Corporation graphicOfficials from the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Global Positioning Systems Wing announced today (February 25) the award of the Next Generation GPS Control Segment (OCX) contract to Raytheon Company, Intelligence & Information Systems, Aurora, Colorado.
With a baseline duration of 73 months, the OCX development contract has option years for sustainment worth a potential total of $1,535,147,916. Raytheon teammates include Boeing, ITT, Braxton Technologies, Infinity Systems Engineering, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
By Inside GNSS
President Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 (FY11) would allocate $1.057 billion for Department of Defense (DoD) GPS-related procurement and development activities and nearly $180 million to the Department of Transportation (DoT) for civil GPS programs.
By Inside GNSS
After three decades of increasingly widespread use, satellite navigation-based services have changed significantly, especially for general users in the mass market. New technology enablers such as assisted GPS (A-GPS), the use of massively parallel correlation, and the application of advanced positioning techniques have significantly enhanced the time-to-first-fix (TTFF) and sensitivity of today’s receivers.
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First Block IIF Satellite (Boeing)[updated Februaary 16] The first Block IIF satellite is undergoing final launch preparations after arriving at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a Boeing-built C-17 Globemaster III airlifter.
Space Vehicle 1 (SV-1), the first of 12 GPS IIF satellites for the U.S. Air Force, will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV vehicle later this year, with the first launch window in mid-May.
By Inside GNSS
