Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Martyn Thomas, RAE GNSS Study Group ChairmanRelease of a British Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) report today (March 8, 2011) adds another chapter to the growing chronicle of GNSS vulnerability — concluding that the integrity of GNSS is insufficient for safety-of-life applications.
By Inside GNSS
Once this week’s Munich Satellite Navigation Summit got rolling, the information began flowing — sometimes in bits and pieces, sometimes in a flood.
Russia’s GLONASS program raised the curtain a few inches more on its plans to add CDMA signals to its FDMA satellite, beginning with the GLONASS-K launched last week and continuing on to a full set in orbit by 2020.
By Inside GNSS
Listening to today’s panel discussion on GNSS spectrum issues — with the hopeful subtitle, “A Place Where Competitors Become Colleagues?” — brought to mind a metaphorical description of the GPS signal environment that I heard recently.
The Munich Satnav Summit discussion revolved around the growing pressure on GNSS from other RF users, such as LightSquared, desiring to set up in radionavigation satellite system (RNSS bands).
Somewhat embellished, the description was this:
By Inside GNSS
One of the delights of Munich.Perhaps it was Bavaria’s famous, free-floating Gemütlichkeit or just the excellent jazz ensemble from a nearby town, but the opening plenary at the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit this evening (March 1) was awash in benign goodwill but little new insight into the condition of the world’s GNSS systems.
By Inside GNSS
Reprising its role as probably the premiere European conference for high-level discussions of positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) policy, the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit set March 1–3 in Germany will highlight the Russian GLONASS system in a special session and address the plenary theme of “GNSS in the Balance.”
By Inside GNSS
The makers of LabSat GNSS simulators, in cooperation with NavTech GPS, will host an interactive webinar in March on "How to use GNSS Record and Replay to make your testing faster and more effective." Two sessions will be held.
The US session takes place at 12:30 p.m. EST (9:30 a.m. PST, 17:30 GMT) on Wednesday, March 2 2011.
The UK/European session takes place at 14:00 GMT on Thursday, March 3 2011.
By Inside GNSS
In his State of the Union address on January 25, President Obama held up the Global Positioning System as a prime example of government providing “cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need” to create world-leading, job-creating innovation.
The following day, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) International Bureau approved a conditional waiver allowing LightSquared Subsidiary LLC to build tens of thousands of terrestrial transmitters for wireless communications in frequencies on either side of the GPS L1 band.
By Inside GNSS
Most people probably don’t associate engineers and linguistic virtuosity.
The attitude is unfair, of course, as with so many stereotypes.
And also untrue.
For example, as the number of existing or planned GNSS systems grew during the past few years, the expression “Your signal is my noise” has recurred in the engineering community with increasing frequency.
I consider that an elegant, if ominous, turn of phrase. A simple declarative sentence, pithy, with an ironic edge, yet almost lyrical.
By Inside GNSS
FIGURE 1 (a, b, c) & FIGURE 2For the complete story, including figures, graphs, and images, please download the PDF of the article, above.
In the early stages of developing space-based radionavigation, the spectrum compactness of ranging signals was not proclaimed among the material priorities. Conventional bi-phase shift keying (BPSK) modulations, although they consume a rather large amount of spectrum, were adopted as the basis for both GPS and GLONASS signals.
By Inside GNSS
Forecasters at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA photo)The annual Space Weather Workshop will take place on April 26-29 2011 in Boulder, Colorado.
Program organizers call it the "meeting of science, research, applications, operations and users." The program highlights space weather impacts in several areas, including
communications, navigation, spacecraft operations, aviation, and
electric power.
Recent progress in large-scale modeling efforts will
be featured; while new developments in Sun-to-Earth coupled modeling systems
will also be a highlight.
Nuremberg Pilatushaus and castleThe 2011 InterGeo conference and trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation and land managment will take place at the CNN CongressCenter Nürnberg in Nuremberg, Germany from September 27 to 29, 2011.
It is organized by DVW e.V. – German Society for Geodesy, Geoinformation and Land Management.
The conference language is German.
By Inside GNSS
View from the MCECThe 2011 International Association of Geodesy (IAG) General Assembly will be part of the International Union for Geodesy and Geophysics international conference, to be held at the new Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, Australia from June 28 to July 7, 2011.
By Inside GNSS
Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), DubaiThe United Nations International Committee on GNSS (ICG) and the U.S. State Department has organized a workshop on GNSS applications from Sunday, January 16 to Thursday, January 20, 2011, at the campus of the Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai Academic City.
By Inside GNSS
