Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Christine Edwards and Peter Hall of Sci-Tech Systems, Ltd.A UK start-up company, Sci-Tech Systems Ltd., gathered three prizes in the 2008 European Satellite Navigation Competition — including the overall Galileo Master Award — with a tracking system designed to help rescue persons who have fallen overboard from ships at sea.
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
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
One is tempted to paraphrase Julius Caesar, “Galileo est omnis divisa in partes tres,” because, as with any global navigation satellite system, Galileo as a whole is divided into three main parts: the political, the infrastructural, and the user application marketplace.
By Inside GNSS
Eleven contenders have been selected to build elements of the Galileo system — the so-called fully operational capability (FOC) infrastructure.
In a September 19 announcement, the European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA) said they had chosen the candidates out of 21 applicants in the initial phase of the procurement procedure.
Following an invitation issued July 1, interested parties submitted a “Request to participate.” Candidates were short-listed on the basis of pre-defined selection and exclusion criteria.
By Glen Gibbons
The European GNSS Supervisory Authority has awarded Logica, a UK-based IT and business services company, a framework contract for the provision of security for the Galileo program.
The framework contract will run for up to four years and will enable the GSA to procure specialist support for the analysis and definition of security aspects related to Galileo with a shortened procurement cycle. It was awarded after a competitive tender and positions Logica as the preferred supplier for Galileo security, according to the company.
By Inside GNSS
Standard deviation of code multipath for Galileo signals transmitted by GIOVE-B. The two thicker lines show the L1BC modulations: BOC(1,1), light green, and CBOC (dark green).Initial results from observations of the Galileo GIOVE-B satellite conducted by researchers at the European Space Agency (ESA) and Septentrio Satellite Navigation indicate that the multiplex binary offset carrier (MBOC) modulation outperforms the BOC(1,1) modulation on the L1 (data + pilot channels) frequency in mitigating the effects of multipath or reflected signals.
By Glen Gibbons
GIOVE-A/B Double Difference Ambiguity Measurements, TU DelftResearchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the Netherlands, succeeded this week in simultaneously tracking the GIOVE-A and GIOVE-B L1 Open Service signals in space, producing the first reported computation of a double-difference carrier phase integer ambiguity resolution on the first two experimental Galileo satellites in orbit.
By Glen Gibbons
Giuseppe Viriglio, ESA’s Director of Telecommunication and Navigation. ESA photo, A. Le Floc’hToday (July 1), the European Commission (EC) — with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA) — launched the procurement process for Galileo with an invitation to companies to submit requests for participation as prime contractors for six work packages (WPs) valued at €2.145 billion (US$3.39 billion).
By Glen Gibbons
The European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Energy and Transport (DG-TREN) has issued an invitation to tender (ITT) for an advisor on the European GNSS program.
With a one-year term renewable up to three times, the contract will be designed to provide a pool of experts and organizations for review and counsel on administrative, financial, strategic and technical matters. The services are outlined in two “workpackages,” one for a fixed set of activities and the other for variable services performed according to specific work orders.
By Glen Gibbons
Tanker refueling. Northrop Grumman imageA U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessment that the U.S. Air Force made “significant errors” in awarding a $35 billion contract for refueling tankers to a consortium including the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) may affect the prospects of foreign participation in development of the Galileo system.
By Glen Gibbons
A European initiative is seeking to link small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia and Europe through a series of one-on-one encounters between businesses operating in the aerospace and information and communication technology (ICT) sectors, with a special focus on Galileo-based satellite navigation applications.
By Glen Gibbons
A screen in the Galileo control room displays the spectra of signals received from GIOVE-B shortly after the spacecraft began transmitting navigation signals. ESA photo.Europe’s second Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element (GIOVE-B) satellite began transmitting navigation signals on May 7, including the common GPS-Galileo civil signal MBOC (multiplexed binary offset carrier).
Built under a cooperation between the European Space Agency (ESA) and European Union (EU), GIOVE-B was launched April 27 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The MBOC signal design will be used by the future GPS L1C broadcasts as well as the Galileo Open Service in accordance with an agreement drawn up in July 2007 between the EU and the United States.
Locked to an on-board passive hydrogen maser clock, the GIOVE-B signals will help improve positioning accuracy in challenging environments with multipath and interference as well as better penetration for indoor navigation.
By Inside GNSS
