Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
At one time, GPS was expected to supplant a wide range of navigation technologies in the world’s positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) portfolio. But an unexpected thing happened along the way.
By Inside GNSS
Figures and TablesThe current stage of GLONASS evolution is aimed at meeting future user requirements of which the most important is the improved accuracy of positioning.
During the implementation of the GLONASS Space Segment Modernization Program (2012–2015), the GLONASS team is facing the situation in which it is not feasible to launch new navigation satellites because the existing constellation is comprised of GLONASS-M satellites operating beyond their guaranteed design lifetime. Nine more GLONASS-M satellites are in ground storage.
By Inside GNSS
A GNSS single-antenna system can be compared to a single-pixel camera. Electromagnetic waves traveling 20,000 kilometers from every overhead direction can reach us. Yet once at the antenna, this diverse set of information is collapsed into a single magnitude and phase value, then sent off to the receiver so that value can be extracted.
By Inside GNSS
Most folks look to a new year as an opportunity for fresh starts and new projects. For the GPS community, however, the October 1 start of the 2016 federal fiscal year (FY16) will likely be more about the hangover — that is, the issues that are hanging over into the next 12 months, unresolved.
At the top of that list of unfinished business are two system decisions: a go/no-go determination on whether the United States will build eLoran as the U.S. backup to GPS and deciding whether or not to choose a new contractor for the GPS III program.
By Dee Ann Divis
LightSquared’s proposed GPS receiver tests are relying on an outdated standard of GPS accuracy, a choice some experts suggest is a maneuver aimed at dramatically lowering the bar the would-be wireless broadband company has to meet for showing noninterference to GPS signals.
By Inside GNSS
The Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications meeting is technical conference held each year for PTTI managers, system engineers and program planners. It will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey, California on January 25 through 28. It is sponsored by the Institute of Navigation (ION).
In 2016, for the first time, PTTI will be co-located with the ION International Technical Meeting. Registration for one event entitles attendees to attend all sessions of both events.
By Inside GNSS
A Federal Register notice published yesterday (August 18, 2015) seeking comment on plans to shut down a large portion of the Nationwide Differential GPS (NDGPS) network marks the effective end of a program that spurred a hard-fought controversy in the era of Selective Availability (SA).
By Inside GNSS
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is weighing a request to waive spectrum rules for a new ultra-wideband (UWB) device that would operate across a wide swath of frequencies including those used by satellite navigation. The proposal has prompted a call for a wider reconsideration of ultra-wideband limits, a suggestion opposed by the GPS community.
By Inside GNSS
The federal government is once again approaching the end of its fiscal year without the appropriations necessary to keep the doors open come October 1 — a reality that could undermine GPS modernization and related programs.
Congress, now in the midst of its August recess, will have just 12 days to sort things out when members return after Labor Day. Under the best of circumstances, lawmakers would almost certainly need to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to extend current spending levels and buy themselves time to hammer out budgetary deals.
By Inside GNSS
Only a small percentage of railroads are expected to obtain system certification and complete implementation of GPS-aided positive train control (PTC) systems by the current deadline at the end of this year, according to a recent report to Congress by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
By Inside GNSS
A “GPS market review” submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week diverges in methodology and results from a preliminary study of U.S. benefits of the Global Positioning System provided earlier this year to the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board.
By Inside GNSS
U.S. Representative John Garamendi. U.S. Publishing Office photoA quintet of well-placed lawmakers, tired of federal dawdling, are prepared to make the Pentagon responsible for building and maintaining eLoran as a backup system for GPS. The move could come by the end of the year, possibly through language attached to a must-pass bill.
Leading the bi-partisan charge are Duncan Hunter, R-California, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the subcommittee’s ranking member John Garamendi, D-California.
By Inside GNSS
In sharp contrast to the strong support given to the military’s satellite navigation programs in the next fiscal year, Congress is considering cutting every GPS-related programs supported by the Department of Transportation (DoT).
By Inside GNSS
