Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
The new GPS Military-Code (M-Code) Early Use (MCEU) hardware and software upgrade successfully took place on July 27 at the GPS Operational Control System (OCS) at the Master Control Station at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado and Alternate Master Control Stations at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
By Inside GNSS
Spirent Communications has released SimIQ, a new software that enables earlier and more efficient GNSS testing during product development. It accomplishes this by extending multi-frequency, multi-constellation simulation capabilities to cover software-only testing needs.
By Inside GNSS
The third next-generation GLONASS-K navigation satellite, postponed several times, will now take place in late August or early September, according to reported statements by Russian space industry sources. This marks a long-delayed step along a road towards interoperability with other GNSS. The first GLONASS-K satellite was launched in 2011 and a second one in 2014.
By Inside GNSS
Microchip Technology’s new time and frequency server with an embedded M-Code GPS receiver gives protection to military communication systems, radar and networks from the threats associated with intentional GPS jamming and spoofing, as well as cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure.
By Inside GNSS
As the final BeiDou satellite reaches geostationary orbit, experts in the satnav community worry about security implications of the now officially operational Chinese system. As a two-way rather than a one-way communication system, BeiDou differs in two key aspects from other GNSS:
By Inside GNSS
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced that he has placed a hold on the nomination of Mike O’Rielly to a third term as Federal Communications Commision (FCC) Commissioner until O’Rielly publicly commits to vote to overturn the current Ligado Order.
By Inside GNSS
Raytheon Missiles & Defense selected Orolia’s rugged time and frequency system to support its Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) radar program, an advanced air and missile defense system.
By Inside GNSS
In a feelgood two-and-a-half minute video cartoon aimed well below its audience’s head, the XinhuaNet.com news service explains BeiDou advantages over GPS and other GNSS. Principally, the script stresses the satnav system’s two-way short message service (SMS) texting capability that can stand in for cellular communications in remote areas and in case of natural disasters that may disable cellular base stations.
Set to a loping synthesized country rock soundtrack, the entertainment-with-a-message follows a passenger bus through a remote desert. When Buzz the Driver, spooked by a snake, deviates from his planned course, a BeiDou monitoring station quickly detects the error, generates an alarm and sends a message: “Hey, keep yourself focused!”
The animation gives a nod to other GNSS by stating that “Me and other family members are compatible and interoperable at the user level, which allows us to work together.”
Ramjack Technology Solutions and Syntony GNSS have partnered to deliver underground GNSS positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) solutions, using Syntony’s SubWave technology.
By Inside GNSS
The UK Ministry of Defence Equipment and Support office tasked Raytheon to develop a prototype system to exploit assured and resilient position navigation and timing information derived from GNSS, according to a statement.
By Inside GNSS
Hackers exposed another vulnerable chink in U.S. national infrastructure over the weekend, in an attack on GPS manufacturer Garmin that began late Thursday, July 23. Although the cybersecurity strike, apparently aimed at extorting a ransom, did not explicitly include the GPS signal, it disabled two large GPS user communities: general aviation (private pilots and some larger commercial flight operators) and fitness enthusiasts. Both found their Garmin devices and apps unresponsive.
By Inside GNSS
The European GNSS Agency (GSA) has published a White Paper on “Power-efficient positioning for the Internet of Things,” providing an overview of GNSS technologies that are relevant for low-power IoT applications, including those that require hybridization with other connectivity solutions.
By Inside GNSS
Britain has signed a £900 million ($1.135 billion) deal to buy a part share of satellite operator OneWeb, a low-Earth orbit constellation in-the-making, designed to provide global high-speed broadband services. There had been speculation that the government intended thereby to generate its own satellite-based navigation signals, as it has been shut out of Galileo security signals by its Brexit move. Some satnav experts quickly dashed that notion, but others demonstrated that it just may be possible.
By Inside GNSS
