201611 November/December 2016

GNSS Hotspots | November 2016

GNSS Hotspots | November 2016

One of 12 magnetograms recorded at Greenwich Observatory during the Great Geomagnetic Storm of 1859
1996 soccer game in the Midwest, (Rick Dikeman image)
Nouméa ground station after the flood
A pencil and a coffee cup show the size of NASA’s teeny tiny PhoneSat
Bonus Hotspot: Naro Tartaruga AUV
Pacific lamprey spawning (photo by Jeremy Monroe, Fresh Waters Illustrated)
“Return of the Bucentaurn to the Molo on Ascension Day”, by (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Canaletto
The U.S. Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock at 2nd Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB in Colorado. This photo was taken in January, 2006 during the addition of a leap second. The USNO master clocks control GPS timing. They are accurate to within one second every 20 million years (Satellites are so picky! Humans, on the other hand, just want to know if we’re too late for lunch) USAF photo by A1C Jason Ridder.
Detail of Compass/ BeiDou2 system diagram
Hotspot 6: Beluga A300 600ST

Highest altitude fix for a GPS signal, GNSS timing signals and hacking the Grid, Eagles act as drone countermeasures and rumors of a GNSS-nano-chip contributes to cash crisis in India

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By Inside GNSS
Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Exit, Pursued by a Bear

American Election 2016 — now that was something, wasn’t it?

A national unpopularity contest. Sort of Commedia dell’arte meets Monty Python, directed by Todd Phillips, with a cameo appearance by Berlusconi.

Did we find it risible? Oh, yes, but were those tears of laughter, sorrow, or disbelief?

So, while we are collectively unpacking the meaning and nonsense from two years of political theater and telling each other our fortunes for the next four, what does it portend for GNSS?

Well, the tea leaves are a little unclear.

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By Dee Ann Divis
How Will GNSS Fare Under a Trump Administration?

How Will GNSS Fare Under a Trump Administration?

With the Republican Party now entirely in charge of Washington’s prime policy real estate the neighborhood is going to change. The current residents are warily watching the newcomers take measurements for a major remodel of agencies, lobbying rules, national priorities, and international relationships, and everyone is assessing the implications of the new landscape.

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By Dee Ann Divis
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GPS for Everyone
November 20, 2016

GPS for Everyone

GPS seems to have come out of nowhere. There was no progression like eight-track tape to cassette to CD to MP3 player. One day we were driving around clueless of where we were, struggling with roadmaps bought as gas stations that couldn’t be folded back neatly once opened and — suddenly — there was an amiable female voice coming out of the dashboard offering directions to our destination and showing no signs of impatience when we made wrong turns.
From the author’s introduction to GPS for Everyone

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By Inside GNSS
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GPS PNT Enhances GOES-R Space Weather Satellite Mission

GPS PNT Enhances GOES-R Space Weather Satellite Mission

GOES-R primary capabilities. NOAA image

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-series (GOES-R) for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, yesterday (November 19, 2016) headed for geosynchronous orbit.

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By Inside GNSS
Europe Launches Galileo Navigation Satellite Quadruplets
November 17, 2016

Europe Launches Galileo Navigation Satellite Quadruplets

Didier Faivre, director of the Guiana Space Center, overseeing launch of four Galileo satellites. Screen capture of launch video by European Space Agency/ArianeSpace.

A modified Ariane 5 rocket lifted four Galileo satellites into orbit today (November 17, 2016) following an 8:06 a.m. (EST) launch from the European Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.

The Galileo satellites reached their target altitude, after a "flawless release" from the new dispenser designed to handle four satellites, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). The dispenser released the first pair three hours and 25 minutes after liftoff, while the second separated 20 minutes later.

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By Inside GNSS
Congress Likely to Delay Action on Budget Items, Affecting GPS
November 16, 2016

Congress Likely to Delay Action on Budget Items, Affecting GPS

Congress is back in Washington with a December 9 deadline to pass the 2017 Fiscal Year (FY17) federal budget and avoid a government shutdown.

Lawmakers are widely expected to pass another continuing resolution, or CR, leaving the final decisions on the FY17 budget until after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January — an approach that could both help and hurt the Pentagon’s GPS modernization effort.

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By Dee Ann Divis
NASA to Launch Satellite-Based GNSS Hurricane Watch

NASA to Launch Satellite-Based GNSS Hurricane Watch

NASA plans to launch the Cyclone GNSS (CYGNSS) hurricane mission aboard a Pegasus XL rocket on December 12 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. CYGNSS, which is NASA’s first Earth science small-satellite constellation, will help improve hurricane intensity, tracking, and storm surge forecasts, the agency said.

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By Inside GNSS
NOAA Expands GNSS Data Sources for Weather Prediction

NOAA Expands GNSS Data Sources for Weather Prediction

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will purchase data from small commercial satellites to expand its GNSS radio occultation (RO) efforts to better predict weather.

In September NOAA, through the government’s Commercial Weather Data Pilot program, awarded contracts to San Francisco, California-based Spire Global ($370,000) and GeoOptics ($695,000), of Pasadena, California, to provide RO data. This data will be used to assess whether commercially provided information can be incorporated into the agency’s weather models.

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By Inside GNSS
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