Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Citing the position accuracy of new GNSS constellations, Australia’s Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) is moving to modernize the country’s current datum system.
By Inside GNSS
The European GNSS program added two more spacecraft to its constellation this morning (May 24, 2016) with the launch of Galileo satellites 13 and 14. They lifted off together at 08:48 GMT (10:48 CEST, 05:48 local time) atop a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana.
This seventh Galileo launch went by the book: the first three Soyuz stages placed the satellites safely into low orbit, after which their Fregat upper stage hauled them the rest of the way into their target medium-altitude orbit in plane A, slots 2 and 6.
By Inside GNSS
Carlo des Dorides, GSA Executive DirectorLast October, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) Administrative Board reelected Carlo des Dorides as executive director of the GSA, giving him a second — and final — four-year term in charge of this key agency responsible for supporting the effective operation, maintenance, and security of Europe’s satellite navigation systems. We met with him recently at the GSA office in Prague to learn how he plans to see out his mandate.
By Peter Gutierrez
Trends for marine accidents show rising numbers and costs that are mainly associated with collisions and groundings. Research indicates that about 60 percent of these accidents are caused by human error. The majority of them could have been avoided by providing suitable input to the navigation decision-making process, according to a 2008 report by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Safety Committee. (See IMO 2008 in Additional Resources section near the end of this article.).
By Günter W. Hein
The USAF Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) announced today (May 5, 2016) the award of three contracts to support companies in preparing for the competition to build additional GPS Block III space vehicles (SVs).
The SMC’s GPS Directorate at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, will award one GPS III Phase 1 Production Readiness Feasibility Assessment contract to each of the following companies: Boeing Network and Space Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, and Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.
By Inside GNSS
For the first time, a GLONASS-K next-generation satellite has begun providing on-orbit services for Russia’s GNSS system.
By Inside GNSS
Representatives of the world’s GNSS providers outlined the current plans and progress of their systems at the 2016 Munich Satellite Navigation Summit in Germany.
BeiDou has entered its transition period from Phase II to Phase III, with test and validation of the next phase with its new signal structures and frequencies taking place through the second half of 2017, said Jun Shen, deputy director for International Research at the China Satellite Navigation Office. In the meantime, “there will be a coexisting of Phase II/III BeiDou signals.
By Inside GNSS
Europe’s space community rang in the New Year with two of its brightest annual fixtures: the European Union (EU) Space Policy conference in Brussels and the European Space Agency (ESA) media briefing in Paris.
The events brought out all of the relevant voices and served to illustrate not only the disposition of materiel and troops but also their intent and even the level of morale.
By Peter Gutierrez
Small GPS jammers, particularly the “personal privacy devices” readily available on the Internet, pose one of the greatest risks to the nation’s critical infrastructure, according to a now-public Homeland Security assessment.
By Dee Ann Divis
The GPS Directorate at the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) released a request for proposals today (January 8, 2016) seeking proposals for the GPS III Space Vehicles 11+ Phase 1 Production Readiness Feasibility Assessment contract.
By Inside GNSS
Late yesterday (December 22, 2015) the Pentagon announced the imminent release of a new solicitation in its two-year search for a contractor to build the next tranche of GPS III satellites.
Air Force Space Command announced on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website that it would publish a request for proposals (RFP) for a phase 1 production readiness feasibility assessment for the new GPS III spacecraft on or around January 8.
By Inside GNSS
Another pair of Galileo satellites is now fully operational, broadcasting navigation signals and, since Tuesday (December 1, 2015), transmitting search and rescue messages worldwide.
Galileos 7 and 8 were launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on March 27. Their navigation payloads underwent a lengthy test campaign confirming their performance and integration into the worldwide Galileo ground network.
By Inside GNSS
Speakers at the low-in-profile but high-in-content International Association of Institutes of Navigation (IAIN) conference in Prague this year threw into stark relief some of the big GNSS programs and even bigger GNSS questions.
By Peter Gutierrez
