Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
The Galileo satellite navigation system has been in the news a lot this week, and now comes word from the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) that Galileo Satellites GSAT0215, GSAT0216, GSAT0217, and GSAT0218, launched in December 2017, have been commissioned for operational use.
By Inside GNSS
After a four-year delay the Federal Communications Commission is set to vote on whether signals from Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system can officially be used in the United States.
By Dee Ann Divis
A proposed frequency change that could create interference with GPS receivers has picked up a new and powerful group of opponents. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents the country’s largest automobile makers and 70 percent of all the car and light truck sales in the U.S., filed a letter opposing a request by Ligado Networks (formerly LightSquared) to allow satellite-only frequencies near the satellite navigation band to also be used for terrestrial broadband services.
By Dee Ann Divis
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States, has chosen Thales to develop and build an operational ground station in the southwest part of the country, at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, to track Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites operating in medium Earth orbit (MEO).
The ground station will receive and process 406 megahertz distress beacon signals from the MEO satellites being tracked, and relay them to the US SARSAT (Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking) program’s Mission Control Center (USMCC), via U.S. government communication links, for validation and distribution to rescue authorities, according to a Thales Alenia Space press release issued on Monday. This ground station will be designated the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest USA Medium-Earth Orbit Local User Terminal (SUSA MEOLUT), and will be an integral part of the MEO-based ground system operated by the USMCC.
SUSA MEOLUT will be working in conjunction with NOAA’s two operational MEOLUTs, located at the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) COMMSTA stations in Honolulu and Miami. It is expected to be an operational part of the NOAA SARSAT system on a 24/7 basis. The MEO system, which provides distress alert and location data for search and rescue (SAR) authorities in near real-time, uses spacecraft and ground facilities to detect and locate signals from the 406 megahertz distress beacons.
By deploying Thales Alenia Space’s powerful and compact MEOLUT Next phased array solution, the United States will benefit from the world’s first spaceborne search and rescue system of this type. Thales Alenia Space, a Joint Venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %), designs, operates and delivers satellite-based systems for governments and institutions, helping them position and connect anyone or anything, everywhere. Since being commissioned in 2016, MEOLUT Next has delivered unrivaled performance, detecting distress signals from more than 5,000 kilometers away, according to Thales. Both France, Europe, Canada and Togo have already ordered Thales Alenia Space’s MEOLUT Next, and several more potential international customers are expected to announce their decisions shortly.
Related Reading: The Cospas-Sarsat MEOSAR System: A Solution to Support ICAO GADSS Autonomous Distress Tracking Recommendation
“We are confident that our solution will meet and exceed NOAA SARSAT’s expectations, and provide decisive help to the UASA region,” said Philippe Blatt, Vice President, Navigation France at Thales Alenia Space, in the press release. “Today, MEOLUT Next is the only solution in the world capable of processing second-generation beacons in real time. Its operational efficiency was recently recognized by Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) for its humanitarian contributions and the European Commission as well as governments of Togo and Canada have already selected this technology.”
This new capability saves lives. On July 2, 2017 at 6:30 a.m., 70 kilometers off the coast of Sardinia, a 12-meter sailboat with three people aboard triggered its Cospas-Sarsat beacon when its rudder broke and its engine failed. Its VHF radio out of range, the sailors quickly realized they were in a critical situation with waves over four meters high and the wind blowing at 40 knots. MEOLUT Next was able to receive and process their distress signals in less than five minutes, providing accurate positioning to authorities. An airplane identified the boat less than two hours after the beacon was triggered and a helicopter airlifted the crew to safety, saving all three lives.
MEOLUT Next
Conventional MEOLUT (Medium Earth Orbit Local User Terminal) systems use large parabolic antennas and are limited by how many satellite signals they can receive. Thales Alenia Space’s MEOLUT Next solution is compact, measuring less than six square meters, with the ability to track up to 30 satellites, significantly enhancing the distress beacon detection rate while expanding the coverage zone. Since there are no mechanical components, hardware maintenance costs are low, according to Thales.
China sent twin BeiDou-3 navigation satellites into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 12:23 p.m. Monday.
By Inside GNSS
The European Commission (EC) is on track to mandate that smart phones in the European Union (EU) be capable of using signals from the Galileo satellite navigation system as well as other systems including GPS.
The move is part of a broad space strategy launched in October 2016 to strengthen the EU’s space program and maximize its benefits.
By Dee Ann Divis
The new Cybersecurity Solarium Commission should consider addressing GPS vulnerabilities as it develops a strategy to protect the U.S. against attacks on its computer systems and infrastructure, experts agreed.
Inspired by an analysis that guided officials during the Cold War, the U.S. is about to launch a yearlong assessment of its cybersecurity situation with the goal of devising a long-term strategy
By Dee Ann Divis
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
The years-long fight over a proposal to recast satellite spectrum near the GPS frequencies for a terrestrial network is now being raised as an issue that could impact efforts to support competitiveness in satellite communications and other sectors of the growing commercial space industry.
By Dee Ann Divis
Precision agriculture is just one of many sectors taking advantage of advancements in GNSS technology in recent years, but few have the potential to make such a big impact.
By Stan Goff
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla.– The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Directorate achieved a major program milestone Aug. 21, successfully delivering the first GPS III satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida to begin launch processing.
By Inside GNSS
The deck of a tall ship rolled heavily beneath me as a freshening wind whistled through the rigging. A sextant in one hand and a stop watch in the other, I carefully listened. “Tock, Tock, Tock, Tock… the time is now fourteen hours, fifty-eight minutes, Coordinated Universal Time… Dong.” I clicked the stop watch in preparation for checking and winding the ship’s chronometers and measuring the height of the sun at local apparent noon.
By Inside GNSS
The newly signed Defense Authorization Act incorporates a number of GPS-related provisions though a measure ordering the creation of a GPS timing back-up was pulled by conferees as they hammered out their final deal.
By Dee Ann Divis
