Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
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.
Q. What are the fundamentals of an effective GNSS test plan?
A. One aspect of GNSS development that engineers often find challenging is the lack of common testing standards and procedures. This can make life difficult for the engineer tasked with constructing a test plan for a new GNSS-enabled system. How much testing is proportionate, at which stages of development? What are the key performance parameters to measure? What apparatus is best suited to the application, and what are the appropriate pass/fail criteria?
By Inside GNSS
Southampton’s Town WallsThe Royal Institute of Navigation will host a one-day event on The Future of GNSS with speaker Prof. Terry Moore on April 21, 2016 at the Warsash Maritime Academy in Southampton, England.
The speaker will outline the future of GNNS and its systems, anticipated changes and the impact of these developments.
This meeting which is joint with the NI and UK Hydro Society will be followed by the RIN Solent branch AGM.
This event is free. Prior booking not required, guests are welcome.
By Inside GNSS
As the contractor for the new GPS ground system works its way through a make-or-break 90-day evaluation period, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) is weighing whether it should look at leapfrogging past that program and shifting control of the newest GPS satellites to a new common ground system for Air Force space assets.
The Next-Generation Operational Control System or OCX, currently under development by Raytheon, is essential to integrating the GPS III satellites into the U.S. GNSS constellation and operating them at their full potential.
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
The Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture (ARMA), a government organization responsible for the supervision and control of European Union agricultural subsidies in Poland, has purchased 118 Spectra Precision MobileMapper 300 smart antennas.
By Inside GNSS
Federal testing is about to begin to determine how much interference GPS receivers can tolerate from their spectrum neighbors.
By Inside GNSS
The civil GPS community is facing a significant federal funding cut in the midst of programmatic shifts and political squalls that make the long-term outlook murkier than usual.
President Obama’s recently released 2017 budget proposal calls for $847.362 million in Department of Defense (DoD) funds but only $10 million in Department of Transportation (DoT) funds to sustain and modernize the civil GPS services, including monitoring of civil GPS signals.
By Inside GNSS
The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a new initiative to support space-based enhancements to Europe’s railway network.
Space4Rail will highlight ESA funding programs that could support the use of GNSS in rail applications while raising awareness of the added value that space systems can deliver.
By Inside GNSSNEO-M8P.jpg)
u-blox continues to roll out variations on its new generation of GNSS technology, launching the NEO-M8P receiver modules targeted at such applications as unmanned vehicles and robotic guidance systems
By Inside GNSS
Under Secretary of Defense Frank Kendall, U.S. Air Force photo/Michael J. PausicA decision on cancelling at least some of the modernized GPS ground control system contract could be made within a matter of months and certainly before President Obama leaves office, the Pentagon’s senior acquisition official said today (February 23, 2016).
By Inside GNSS
With a stopgap fix under contract and a bump-up in next year’s budget request on the table the Air Force appears intent on sticking with its plan to continue work on a new GPS ground system despite dismay over repeated delays.
The White House has asked for $393.3 million for the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) for fiscal year 2017 (FY17). Though that number is a 12 percent increase over the $350.2 million approved for FY16, it is effectively a placeholder and may grow.
By Inside GNSS
