Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Successful launch of three Compass (Beidou-2) satellites so far this year and reports of another two planned later in 2010 have elevated awareness of China’s accelerating GNSS program.
Added to the two spacecraft placed in orbit in 2007 and 2009, that would bring the modernized Beidou constellation up to seven — halfway to the 13 or 14 satellites planned for the regional system scheduled to be available by 2012.
By Inside GNSS
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
1. WHO WON?
Portland, Oregon and Munich, Germany
√ Judges all over the world are poring over 357 GNSS app innovations submitted to the 2010 European Satellite Navigation Contest from Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Taiwan and North America. Inside GNSS’s USA Challenge will announce our five finalists at ION GNSS 2010 in Portland, Oregon. The winners will celebrate on October 18 in Munich.
In recent years, researchers have explored possible new allocations for Radio Determination Satellite Service (RDSS) and Radio Navigation Satellite Service (RNSS) spectrum from a regulatory point of view. These studies have mainly discussed S-band and C-band in addition to L-band.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Radio Regulations define RNSS as a subset of RDSS. Although the allocations are differentiated — RDSS usually has a paired uplink — both can actually be used for satellite navigation.
By Inside GNSS
Q: Is it possible to define a fully digital state model for Kalman filtering?
A: The Kalman filter is a mathematical method, purpose of which is to process noisy measurements in order to obtain an estimate of some relevant parameters of a system. It represents a valuable tool in the GNSS area, with some of its main applications related to the computation of the user position/velocity/time (PVT) solution and to the integration of GNSS receivers with an inertial navigation system (INS) or other sensors.
By Inside GNSS
FIGURE 1: Geographical overview of the 170 IGS stations tracking SVN62/PRN25 during its current 90-day checkout period. The blue curve illustrates the ground track of the spacecraft on August 9, 2010.For the complete story, including figures, graphs, and images, please download the PDF of the article, above.
On May 27, 2010, the U.S. Air Force successfully launched the first satellite of the Block II “follow-on” (Block IIF) series, the fourth generation of GPS spacecraft that features more precise and powerful signals, an extended design life, and several other technical advances.
By Inside GNSS
FIGURE 1: GNSS multi-channel signal simulator 10 years ago on its own (left) and with its ever-growing family (right)For the complete story, including figures, graphs, and images, please download the PDF of the article, above.
In this article we describe the design and operation of a generic GNSS RF simulator. We also will look at the main types of GNSS RF simulators, their designs and specifics, their advantages and disadvantages.
By Inside GNSS
GINA On-Board Unit (OBU)For at least the past two decades, managing traffic on Europe’s road networks has been a growing concern for European policy makers and citizens alike. While demand for transport has consistently increased over the years, Europe’s road network capacity has failed to keep pace, leading to increasing levels of congestion and pollution.
By Inside GNSS
During flight testing, Boeing technical personnel have historically used a differential GPS (DGPS) system as the position truth reference for validating various production systems on the airplane. The majority of those tests occur on or near remote runways to capture specific environmental conditions.
By Inside GNSS
One of 12 magnetograms recorded at Greenwich Observatory during the Great Geomagnetic Storm of 18591996 soccer game in the Midwest, (Rick Dikeman image)Nouméa ground station after the floodA pencil and a coffee cup show the size of NASA’s teeny tiny PhoneSatBonus Hotspot: Naro Tartaruga AUVPacific lamprey spawning (photo by Jeremy Monroe, Fresh Waters Illustrated)“Return of the Bucentaurn to the Molo on Ascension Day”, by (Giovanni Antonio Canal) CanalettoThe 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 diagramHotspot 6: Beluga A300 600ST1. EARTHQUAKE!
Seattle, Washington USA
√ Want to know where an earthquake will occur and how big it will be? The Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array (PANGA) geodesy lab can tell you. They use 350 continuously operating high-precision GPS receivers and can analyze and share quake data in less than a minute. (Fact: A megaquake is likely 50 miles from Seattle).
PANGA’s website
By Inside GNSS
In the world of GNSS we usually think of more as better. More systems, more satellites, more signals — all contribute to greater availability of robust positioning, navigation, and timing.
Certainly that was the mood at the June meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation — GNSS Implementation Team (APEC-GIT) in Seattle, Washington.
By Inside GNSS
