Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
U.S. aviation officials on Monday (December 30, 2013) named the winners of a high-stakes contest to operate one of six new research and test sites for unmanned aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will now work to help the sites set up safe operations and create the structures needed within the agency to help it use the sites’ research results.
By Inside GNSS
Approval by the European Parliament of the new 2014-2020 European Union (EU) budget last November was widely seen as a step in the right direction for the 28-nation union, after more than a year of sometimes bitter monetary wrangling.
The Parliament quickly followed the move by voting to approve the financing and governance of Europe’s satellite navigation program over the same period. The measure passed the Parliamentary ballot by an impressive margin, with 603 votes in favor, 29 against, and 59 abstentions.
By Inside GNSS
The 8th annual conference on the Croatian Adriatic aims at GNSS experts and and focuses on GNSS resilience and GNSS applications development. It will take place at Baška on the resort island of Krk in Croatia from May 7 to May 9, 2014.
The deadline for abstracts is March 1, 2014.
Topics include:
The Royal Institute of Navigation, London, UK, Faculty of Maritime Studies, University of Rijeka, Croatia and Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia, and is technically co-sponsored by Beihang University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing, China.
For more information, contact Ms. Sally-Anne Cooke, the RIN conference and events manager at conference@rin.org.uk
By Inside GNSS
Federal efforts to protect positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) signals came under sharp criticism during the December meeting of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) getting a bureaucratic ear boxing for having done little so far to specifically protect GPS.
By Inside GNSS
Ismael ColominaSIDEBAR: Ismael Colomina’s Compass Points
Ismael Colomina began his career in 1982. “So, in a way,” he says, “I grew up as a professional at the same time GPS was growing up and maturing. GNSS has always been present in my working life; so, I never experienced the ‘GNSS, aha!’ moment. Rather, I never stopped thinking ‘GNSS, of course!’"
By Inside GNSS
NASA satellite photo shows northward drift of smoke from wildfires near Yosemite National Park.Better known for supporting U.S. troops in firefights in Afghanistan firefights, a Predator drone has been deployed to help California National Guard firefighters battle wildfires raging around Yosemite National Park.
U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel approved the use of a GPS-guided MQ-1 Predator to support firefighters battling the Rim Fire that has expanded to more than 160,000 acres, accordeing to Air Force Lt. Col. Thomas Keegan, California National Guard public affairs officer.
By Inside GNSS
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon be taking new applications for its unmanned aircraft assessment program — a project that gives potential government customers at local, state, and federal levels an impartial evaluation of the strengths and costs of different systems.
By Inside GNSS
Two British companies, QinetiQ and Nottingham Scientific Ltd (NSL), have partnered to demonstrate an Internet “cloud”-based technology that enables a wide range of high-volume, low-cost satellite navigation applications using Galileo’s Public Regulated Service (PRS).
The NSL-QinetiQ application allows a service provider to host secure navigation on one server in a back office, capture data from multiple locations and units, and subsequently verify the location of a remote user.
By Inside GNSS
USAF Col. Bernie Gruber, GPS Directorate. Air Force photoLast month, USAF Col. Bernard Gruber stepped down after three years of running the Global Positioning Systems Directorate at Los Angeles Air Force Base.
The GPS Directorate, originally established in 1974 as the NAVSTAR GPS Joint Program Office, is responsible for development, acquisition, fielding and sustainment of all GPS space segments: the modernized operational control segment (OCX), the next-generation GPS III satellites, and modernized GPS user equipment (MGUE).
By Inside GNSS
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has released an abbreviated fact sheet and a summary report on its evaluation of the risks to U.S. critical infrastructure from GPS disruptions.
The unsurprising “bottom line,” as the public summary put it: “U.S. critical infrastructure sectors are increasingly at risk from a growing dependency on GPS for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services. Such dependencies are not always apparent.”
By Inside GNSS
Gian Gherardo Calini. GSA photoAccording to European Union (EU) figures, there should be €90 billion in benefits to be reaped by industry as a result of Europe’s €11 billion investment in Galileo. But what that really means is that there will be €90 billion in new income out there for someone to take.
By Inside GNSS
Di Qiu at the site of her current employerSIDEBAR: Di Qiu’s Compass Points
Landing all-weather aircraft safely in storms. Protecting sensitive data not only through encryption but based on the location at which it is being accessed. Ensuring that accurate and timely information reaches first responders responding to emergencies.
Although still in the early part of her career, Di Qiu has already made significant contributions to these crucial applications of navigation technology.
By Inside GNSS
The October entry in this EU-sponsored series of free GNSS training workshops concerns GNSS vulnerability. It will take place at the University of Nottingham on October 8, 9 and 10.
The instructors will be Terry Moore, Alan Dodson and Marcio Aquino, all faculty at University of Nottingham Geospatial Institute.
The topics:
GNSS Overview: Position fixing, dead reckoning, space segment and SV blocks, ground control and improvement programs,user segment and applications
By Inside GNSS
