Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
At the ESA/JRC International Summer School on GNSS in Austria last month, one of the participants asked us during the evening panel — where they can address any kind of question to the lecturers and experts — What does satellite navigation look like in 50 and in 100 years from now?
By Günter W. Hein
This article presents the authors’ experience in setting up an airborne pseudolite (UAVlite) with the needed ground-based infrastructure to perform code and phase ranging performance analysis. UAVlites transmit GNSS-like signals free from any local transmitter multipath (in contrast to ground-based transmitters) and can in principle be localized in real-time through a synchronized network of ground stations which may also broadcast the UAVlite positions in real-time.
By Günter W. Hein
One of the great engineering successes of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and its expert panels is the standardization of globally harmonized Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems. These standards, sometimes supported by more detailed industry standards, provide safe and interoperable services between aircraft and the ground and space systems supporting them.
By Gerhard (Gary) Berz
While threats to American defense satellites were climbing sharply, the costs and schedules of U.S. military space programs were on the same unsustainable trajectory — prompting lawmakers last year to begin trying to reorganize Air Force’s military space programs by creating a Space Corps. A move that, so far, has failed.
By Dee Ann Divis
Rightfully, the GNSS community almost universally considers reflected signals to be problematic (the field GNSS reflectometry being an obvious exception). Reflected or non-line-of-sight (NLOS) signals combine with line-of-sight (LOS) signals to produce multipath effects, or if the LOS signal is absent NLOS signals can produce large ranging biases. Both phenomena increase measurement error and decrease positioning accuracy, especially in areas with lots of reflecting surfaces such as deep urban canyons.
By Mark Petovello
From the Scandinavian farmlands to the hallowed halls of academia, Dr. Anna Jensen has traveled a remarkable road. She has now spent more than 20 years in GNSS research, development, teaching and consulting, focusing on GPS, Galileo, EGNOS, and GLONASS.
By Peter Gutierrez
GNSS technology plays an important role in an ever expanding range of safety, security, business and policy critical applications.
By Mark Petovello
There was a flurry of filings July 9 just as the window closed for public comment on Ligado Networks’ proposal to repurpose satellite frequencies for a terrestrial network — a plan with the potential to interfere with GPS receivers.
The comments emerged as speculation swirled around a July 3 bid by EchoStar for Ligado spectrum supplier INMARSAT. The bid was rejected and, as of press time, EchoStar will have to wait six months before trying again.
By Dee Ann Divis
With plenty of promise, the third launch of Europe’s Galileo constellation took place four years ago. What followed was not at all what was expected, as problems turned much of the promise into gloom.
By Inside GNSS
The UK seems well and truly on the path to leaving the European Union. The implications for the Galileo program are still unclear, and won’t be known until Brexit negotiations are completed, at the earliest.
By Peter Gutierrez
All applications of satellite navigation show a strong growth. They can now rely on four global systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou) and additional regional systems, sometimes aiming for future global extension (QZSS, NavIC). All these systems and their applications rely on very limited satellite orbit spectrum. This article is providing background and insights on the growing pressure on this limited resource, giving rise to proposals for “sharing” spectrum. How satellite navigation will survive and find the necessary spectrum resources to grow is reviewed in details in the following paragraphs.
By Ingo Baumann
The maritime sector drives the global economy, with ships transporting more than 80% of world trade. Ships and ports have come to rely on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) for a huge array of applications relating to position, velocity and precise universal and local time.
By Ingo Baumann
Figures 1 – 4Working 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.
By Günter W. Hein
