Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Cumbria, UK – Wikimedia Commons imageEven as the United States tries to decide whether to make good on a commitment last February to implement enhanced Loran (eLoran), agencies and private companies in the United Kingdom are demonstrating leadership in the field of modernized positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services.
By Glen Gibbons
QZS-1 SatelliteEncouraged by continuing progress on Japan’s Quasi Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), Spirent Communications has announced that its GSS8000 simulation system now supports QZSS in addition to GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) — reportedly the first RF constellation simulator to do so.
By Glen Gibbons
The GPS Wing has completed an integrated baseline review of the GPS IIIA program, the first major milestone for the $1.4 billion development and production contract for which Lockheed Martin serves as the prime contractor.
The IIIA contract, awarded earlier this year, provides for development and production of the first two GPS IIIA satellites with an initial launch set for 2014. The IBR paves the way for the establishment of an integrated cost, schedule, and technical baseline for the program.
By Glen Gibbons
Elizabeth Rooney, SSTL, receives ESA award from Didier Faivre for the company’s work on GIOVE-ABritish small satellite manufacturer, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), has received an award from the European Space Agency (ESA) acknowledging the successful GIOVE A mission and the company’s contribution to the success of the Galileo program.
By Glen Gibbons
Neuchâtel, Switzerland–based SpectraTime, a member of the Orolia group, has received a €2.5-million research contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop critical technologies for future space-qualified active maser, a critical component of the ACES (Atomic Clocks Ensemble in Space) scientific program.
By Glen Gibbons
u-blox AG has selected the NavX-NCS, a multi-constellation and multi-frequency GNSS RF navigation constellation simulator from IFEN GmbH, as the Galileo reference for its receiver development and testing.
By Glen Gibbons
Abstracts for the Institute of Navigation’s 2009 International Technical Meeting (ITM) are due on October 3, 2008. Final manuscripts are due by January 5, 2009. Find out more online at the ION website, or email abstracts@ion.org.
The theme of this winter’s meeting is "GNSS Technology: A Path to Sustainable Economic and Social Benefits for Developing Countries."
By Inside GNSS
GMV Aerospace and Defense S.A. has announced its new magicGNSS, a set of software tools that supports a wide variety of GNSS projects and objectives, including service volume simulations, core operational functions (such as orbit, clock, and ionosphere determination and prediction), receiver performance analysis, added-value services including integrity, local augmentation developments, and all related performance and accuracy analyses.
By Glen Gibbons
Phi Ward with ION 2008 Kepler AwardPhillip W. Ward, a pioneer designer and developer of GPS receivers, received the lifetime achievement award from the Institute of Navigation at its annual GNSS conference on September 19 in Savannah, Georgia USA.
Ward was senior technical staff member at Texas Instruments Defense Systems and Electronics Group for more than 20 years, where he developed five generations of GPS receivers including, in 1982, the first to enter the commercial market: the TI 4100 NAVSTAR Navigator.
By Inside GNSS
The Raytheon Company has been awarded a $232.8 million contract for the system development and demonstration phase of the GPS-based Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) program for shipboard applications.
JPALS provides all-weather shipboard landing capability to assist the Navy with pinpoint landing accuracy on aircraft carriers. The team, led by Raytheon Network Centric Systems, includes Rockwell Collins, Northrop Grumman, and SAIC.
By Glen Gibbons
Cambridge, UK–based CSR and Rx Networks, Inc., headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, have announced a solution that combines their respective eGPS and GPStream technologies.
By Glen Gibbons
Spirent Federal Systems, a leading provider of GPS/GNSS test and simulation systems, has announced its 2009 GPS Training Conference schedule, which will include identical events on two coasts.
An East Cost Conference will be held in Washington, D.C., March 18–19, and a West Coast Conference will follow in Anaheim, California, on March 24–25. Seats are limited to maintain the intimacy of the instruction and equipment usage.
By Glen Gibbons
A recently announced partnership between GNSS technology innovator NovAtel, Inc., and Brilliant Telecommunications underscores the profound changes taking place in the precise timing markets.
By Glen Gibbons
