Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Raytheon Company a two-year contract extension to continue to provide services for the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The $30.1 million contract extends the period of performance through Sept. 24, 2013.
By Inside GNSS
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
1. DEAD IN THE WATER
San Francisco, California and Washington D.C., USA
The navigation message has always been considered an inherent and essential feature of a global satellite navigation system. Its primary objective is to provide receivers with information on the errors of satellite clocks and parameters to compute the positions of satellites, as well as other parameters that help generate more accurate measurements.
By Inside GNSS
A United States Army specialist explains GPS system to a Croation soldier in their mine-resistant, hardened vehicle, Afghanistan (2011 Photo: Brian Henriksen, US Army)[Update November 9 2011] In an ex parte filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on November 8, a leading GPS advocacy group has asked that the agency “promptly rule” that LightSquared not be permitted to pursue high-powered terrestrial operations in the upper Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) band adjacent to the GPS L1 band.
By Inside GNSS
Following a difficult 2009, the precision GNSS market is moving into a new period of sustained growth, resulting in a near doubling of shipments and revenues by 2016, according to recently completed study by ABI Research.
By Inside GNSS
[Updated September 2, 2011] Amid White House efforts to keep a lid on the process and congressional hearings on the subject, the controversy surrounding LightSquared’s interference to GPS could compel the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to require another round of testing — this time of the wireless broadband company’s lower L-band frequencies.
By Inside GNSS
The gloves have come off now that test results show clearly the probable effects on GPS of LightSquared’s proposed wireless broadband network: widespread, debilitating interference to GPS receivers.
By Dee Ann Divis
Anechoic chamber test site at U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) facility in Patuxent River, MarylandInterference can pose a threat to the reception of GNSS signals in a variety of ways. Even low-level signals have the potential to interfere with GNSS receivers, which require very high sensitivity for acceptable performance due to the extremely low received GPS signal power at the Earth’s surface.
By Inside GNSS
The report concerns economic effects on high precision commercial uses of GPS, such as precision agriculture. (U Calif. photo)Research released yesterday (June 22, 2011) indicates that interference from LightSquared cellular broadband transmitters could cost manufacturers and users of commercial GPS technology up to $96 billion in annual losses.
By Inside GNSS
Steve Koles, president & CEO, Hemisphere GPSHemisphere GPS, Inc., has reported revenue growth of 41 percent and a return to profitability in the first quarter of 2011 for the three months ending March 31.
For the quarter, the Calgary, Alberta, Canada–based company generated $21.2 million in total revenues, compared to US$15.1 million in the first quarter of 2010. Revenues from all market segments increased in the first quarter of this year.
By Inside GNSS
Geneq SXBlue IIILGeneq Inc., a Montreal, Quebec, Canada, manufacturer, has introduced two new GPS products.
The SXBlue III-L is a compact GPS L1/L2 receiver in the world designed for use with OmniSTAR’s HP service to attain decimeter accuracy worldwide. Targeted at GIS mapping/surveying applications, the receiver measures 14 x 8 x 5.6 centimeters (5.57 x 3.15 x 2.22 inches) and weighs 517 grams (1.14 pounds) including battery.
By Inside GNSS
