Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
A next-generation “truth” reference system for the U.S. Air Force (USAF) — the Ultra High Accuracy Reference System (UHARS) — is currently under development by the 746th Test Squadron (746 TS) at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.
By Inside GNSS
The 10th TRANSNAV symposium will be held June 19-21, 2013 at Gdynia, Poland, a seaport and resort city on the south coast of the Baltic.
The biennial event is an opportunity for scientists and professionals in navigation, transport, ocean engineering and maritime technology to share knowledge and research on all aspects of maritime navigation and safety of sea transportation. The symposium is held in English.
The organizers expect 300 participants from 50 countries or more.
By Inside GNSS
(Updated May 21) U.S. warfighters could be affected and European navigation users could end up paying more if the British are able to enforce a patent on technology at the heart of the new GPS and Galileo civil signals.
By Inside GNSS
The launch of the first GPS III satellite has slipped to 2015 and completion of the ground control system is now delayed by up to two years, according to the chief of the Air Force’s space operations
“We’ll be ready to launch the first GPS III in 2015, but it now appears the next generation GPS Operational Control System, or OCX, won’t be ready for about a year or two after that,” General William L. Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command told attendees at the 28th Annual National Space Symposium.
By Inside GNSS
UK-based Racelogic has been singled out as a double winner in the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, receiving both Innovation and International Trade awards.
Announced on April 21 to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday, the 2012 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise listings contained 209 companies, with Racelogic being one of only four to be honored with the award for both Innovation and International Trade.
By Inside GNSS
Legislation moving through Congress could reshape efforts to counter GPS interference as the government steps up its efforts to fight cybercrime and protect critical systems like the power grid and communications networks.
Though cybersecurity generally focuses on protecting information systems the broad definitions in some legislation now on the Hill appear to encompass GPS support systems, some user communities, and even the constellation itself.
By Inside GNSS
The U.S. government is so unhappy about a British patent claim on the new civil GPS signal that, if things cannot be worked out, officals might consider abandoning the countries’ interoperable signal structure, sources told Inside GNSS.
By Inside GNSS
Trimble announced plans today (April 26, 2012) to acquire SketchUp, a popular 3D modeling tools, from its Silicon Valley neighbor, Google, Inc.
Sunnyvale, California–based Trimble signed a definitive agreement with Google, headquartered in Mountain View, with the transaction expected to close in the second quarter of 2012. Although the companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal, a Trimble news release said the transaction “is not expected to be material to 2012 earnings per share.”
By Inside GNSS
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
An emphasis on quality assurance in system engineering and components in the first GPS III satellite now under development has driven projected costs up in the program above the budgeted amount, leading the U.S. Air Force to deny a $70 million incentive fee to prime contractor Lockheed Martin.
By Inside GNSS
Raytheon Company and Lockheed Martin have successfully completed the first significant integration milestone between Raytheon’s Next Generation GPS Operational Control System (OCX) and Lockheed Martin’s GPS III satellite development.
By Inside GNSS
In the beginning, there was just the Global Positioning System. But it provided an astounding start to the world of GNSS.
Since the United States declared full operational capability (FOC) for GPS in 1995, two major things have occurred:
By Inside GNSS
Perhaps for the first time in the nearly 40 years of satellite navigation, all four GNSS programs and regional systems appear to have firm — if not always unencumbered — development paths ahead of them.
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Compass/Bei- Dou, Japan’s MSAS and QZSS, and India’s GAGAN and IRNSS systems are bringing new or modernizing elements into the world. Key program enablers — such things as budgets, satellite construction, launches and launch vehicles, new signal designs — all appear favorably aligned.
By Inside GNSS
