Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
The U.S. Air Force GPS Directorate at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Califorinia, has awarded Lockheed Martin Space System Company a $62-million firm-fixed-price contract for GPS III Space Vehicles (SVs) 5 and 6 to be completed by June 30, 2017.
Funded under the federal Fiscal Year 2013 budget and announced February 8, construction will take place at the company’s facilities in Newtown, Pennsylvnia.
By Inside GNSS
A recently announced deal between the United States and the United Kingdom to revoke the UK’s surprise patents on a key GPS technology has a glaring omission: Intentionally left out of the agreement are patents on the European Union’s version of the technology, a signal structure important to enabling Europe’s Galileo system to work seamlessly with America’s GPS constellation.
By Inside GNSS
Navigation users may benefit from GPS modernization sooner than expected thanks to an apparent shift in the schedule of the modernized GPS ground control segment still under development.
The change means that full operational implementation of the new signals will come earlier in the delayed modernization of the operational control Segment (OCS).
By Dee Ann Divis
The world’s four GNSS programs aren’t exactly a classical quartet, weaving Mozart stanzas in disciplined execution.
By Inside GNSS
GPS contractors are scrambling to assess new Pentagon budget-cutting directives that have the potential to slow GPS modernization.
The belt-tightening is in response to a three-way fiscal vise created by the failure of Congress and the White House to agree on a budget for this year, on a new limit for the nation’s debt, and on a plan to implement future budget cuts.
By Inside GNSS
Col. William “Bill” CooleyThe U.S. Air Force appears to have identified a future leader of the GPS Directorate.
At a time yet to be determined, Col. William T. "Bill" Cooley will take up the role of Senior Materiel Leader at the Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition office for developing and producing GPS satellites, ground systems, and military user equipment.
By Inside GNSS
Conceptual design of ULTRA (ultra low-cost PRS receiver)When European leaders first took up the idea of creating their own GNSS system nearly 20 years ago, they held up the concept of civilian control as a crucial differentiator from existing services operated by national military establishments.
As Galileo nears its operational phase, that principle may manifest itself in a surprising form: the opportunity to offer a range of security-oriented positioning and timing solutions in place of the all-or-nothing alternatives on encrypted services maintained by defense agencies.
By Inside GNSS
The GPS program has taken a fiscal hit that will delay critical plans to begin multi-satellite launches and could ultimately hamper the Air Force’s ability to keep the constellation at its current level of service.
The shortfall is just one of the challenges facing the program over the next four months as the current six-month budget extension winds down, the government’s ability to borrow runs out, and, barring a fast political deal, the onerous budget cuts set up under sequestration kick in.
By Dee Ann Divis
Javier Ventura-Traveset introduces Navipedia at the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit on March 14, 2012. He is responsible for managing Navipedia’s development as well as GNSS education activities for ESA.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.
In the last 30 years, satellite navigation applications have grown in number and kind, entire new systems have emerged, and existing systems have modernized.
By Inside GNSS
Legal filings suggest the U.S and the United Kingdom may be well on their way to working through a heated dispute over patents that, if left unresolved, could scuttle efforts to make GPS and Galileo interoperable.
By Dee Ann Divis
A combined conference and trade fair, European Space Solutions — scheduled for December 3–5 in Central Hall, Westminster Storey’s Gate, London, England — will bring businesses and the public sectors together with users and developers to explore how space technologies and applications, including satellite navigation, can make a difference in the lives and livelihoods of people across Europe.
By Inside GNSS
Dr. Todd Walter, Stanford UniversityContrary to a widely held public impression, the elimination of GPS Selective Availability in 2000 did not take care of the needs that many users have for enhanced GNSS capabilities.
Indeed, various “augmentations” have been developed to meet the requirements of some applications for better accuracy, availability, or integrity (the assurance of the quality of a signal) than are available from GNSS signals in space.
By Inside GNSS
QZSS satellite (JAXA image)The Japanese Cabinet Office issued an official announcement on Friday (September 21, 2012) approving plans to procure and finance construction of the ground control system and the operation of the next phase of the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS). Procurement is going to be carried out using PFI (private finance initiative) scheme.
By Inside GNSS
