Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
The U.S. Space Force, Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) and its mission partners successfully launched the Lockheed Martin-built fourth GPS III satellite at 6:24 p.m. Nov. 5 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The satellite was carried to orbit aboard a Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
By Inside GNSS
Dual-frequency GNSS and recent advances in inertial technology combine with advanced software algorithms to deliver high-performance real-time positioning in robotics, UAV survey, photogrammetry and intelligent vehicles — at a level only achievable previously with survey-grade equipment.
By Inside GNSS
Parsons Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Braxton Science & Technology Group (BSTG). Braxton Technologies‘ Launch, Anomaly Resolution, and Disposal Operations (LADO) system has been a key part of GPS satellite launches since 2007. LADO has performed all the mission planning, commanding and telemetry processing necessary to prepare all GPS satellites for operational use.
By Inside GNSS
Taoglas, a provider in antenna designs, unveiled its new active, multiband GNSS antennas, the MagmaX2 AA.200 and Colosseum X XAHP.50, engineered for applications that require critical high-accuracy positioning and timing, including autonomous driving and precision agriculture applications. The lightweight, cost-sensitive compact antennas can obtain similar levels of multipath rejection compared to conventional geodetic antenna, according to the company.
By Inside GNSS
Swift Navigation announced that its production-grade State Space Representation (SSR) GNSS corrections service is available in extensive coverage areas: across the continental United States and Europe and in Japan, South Korea and Australia, with plans underway to expand globally.
By Inside GNSS
The U.S. Space Force’s newest GPS satellite, Space Vehicle 04 (GPS III SV04), has been re-scheduled for launch this Thursday, November 5. A previous launch date of October 2 was scrubbed at T-2 because of a detected anomaly in two of the booster rocket’s nine engines.
By Inside GNSS
Septentrio, a provider of high-precision GNSS positioning solutions, expands its GNSS module portfolio with mosaic-H heading receiver.
By Inside GNSS
In September, the Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) started broadcasting a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) signal over Africa and the Indian Ocean. This marks the first SBAS open service in the region, modeled based on the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).
By Inside GNSS
NextNav, a provider of 3D geolocation, announced the availability of its vertical positioning service in sixteen major metropolitan areas in the US. The vertical positioning service helps first responders find people — via their cell phones or tablets — faster in multi-story buildings, opens up new urban markets for location-based applications, and unlocks a new ecosystem of 3D geolocation products.
By Inside GNSS
Six months ago, the FCC unanimously granted Ligado’s amended license modification applications to deploy a low-power terrestrial nationwide network in the L-Band. Petitions for reconsideration remain pending, interest groups continue to agitate for change, Congress awaits answers to conflict-of-interest questions—and Ligado presses forward as planned.
By Dawn M.K. Zoldi (Colonel, USAF, Ret.)
The GNSS User Technology Report 2020 from the European GNSS Agency (GSA) analyzes the latest GNSS trends and developments as the GNSS industry broadly adopts multifrequency receivers across market segments.
By Inside GNSS
A broad cross-industry coalition sent a strongly worded letter to the Senate Commerce Committee warning that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Ligado Order that impacts GPS, if left in place, “would upend decades of sound spectrum policy, negatively impact a significant cross-section of commercial, federal, and academic users who rely on the many different L-band satellite services, and threaten the safety of most Americans.”
By Inside GNSS
SBG Systems has released the Virtual Base Station feature in its in-house post-processing software called Qinertia. Geospatial professionals can benefit from an optimal centimeter-level position accuracy in all their projects, even for corridor mapping and in poorly covered RTK areas.
By Inside GNSS
