Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
The GPS Wing has authorized publication of three technical documents with updated specifications for the U.S. Global Positioning System, including the next-generation GPS Block IIIA satellites now in development, the L5 radio link, and the new L1 civil signal (L1C) that will be available with the GPS III spacecraft.
By Inside GNSS
GPS-related procurement and development items in President Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 are moving through Capitol Hill, but not without contention. At issue is Obama’s request for $40.9 million for the High-Integrity Global Position System (HIGPS, also known as iGPS).
By Inside GNSS
GPS IIF satellite on Boeing assembly lineThe first GPS IIF satellite (SVN62/PRN25) is on orbit and doing well, despite some well-publicized speculation about higher-the-expected range residuals detected by researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
By Inside GNSS
Rick Ambrose, Lockheed Martin vice-president and general manager, surveillance and navigation systems, introduces GPS Block III model for Permanent Space Exhibit at United Nations Committee on Pea, Vienna, Lockheed Martin has opened a GPS exhibit as a part of the Permanent Space Exhibit of the United Nations Office at Vienna, Austria, to emphasize the importance of satellite navigation technology serving millions of citizens around the globe.
By Inside GNSS
Lockheed Martin has announced successful completion of a key requirements review for the GPS IIIB satellite series under the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation GPS III Space Segment program.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Newtown, Pennsylvania, is working under a $3 billion development and production contract from the U.S. Air Force to produce up to 12 GPS IIIA satellites, with first launch projected for 2014. The contract includes a Capability Insertion Program (CIP) designed to mature technologies and perform rigorous systems engineering for the future IIIB and IIIC increments planned as follow-on procurements.
By Inside GNSS
With the launch of the Delta IV rocket on May 27 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station the first satellite (space vehicle number 62 or SVN62) of the latest GPS generation Block IIF (F, for “follow-on”) was carried into earth orbit — a major step with roots in the past.
Eight years ago in August 2002 the United States decided in coordination with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R) to transmit a new civil signal on a third frequency known as L5.
By Inside GNSS
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
