Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Chuck Johnson, NASAFew domestic issues have evoked such excitement — and controversy — in recent years as a 2012 congressional mandate to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to expand civil use of unmanned aerial systems in the National Airspace System (NAS).
By Dee Ann Divis
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. LATE LAUNCHES
Cape Canaveral and Plesetsk
√ [updated April 1] After three delays, a single GLONASS-M satellite will go up from Plesetsk space center on April 26. The United States will send up SVN66, the fourth GPSIIF satellite— on an Atlas V launcher for the first time—during the early evening of May 15. It had been delayed from March.
SASGI 2013 will take place at the Emperors Palace in Gauteng, South Africa on July 22, 23 and 24. The theme is Geospatial Solutions for National Development Planning.
This is the annual South African conference of surveying, geo-informatics, GIS, mapping, remote sensing and location-based business.
The conference is wide-ranging and will cover:
By Inside GNSS
A number of user conferences for customers of Hexagon AB’s precise measurement brands and products will be combined in the Swedish corporation’s third international conference this summer.
The event’s new name is HxGN Live, or Hexagon Global Network
It will take place at MGM Grand Hotel and Casino from June 3 through June 6, 2013.
The theme is "Great Stories Start Here" and will include 200 technical and training sessions and an industry exhibition.
Congress is moving to limit the sharing of geolocation information.
The Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act (HR 983), introduced on March 6, addresses a privacy loophole created by services like Gmail and social networking sites. Though law enforcement must get a warrant to access an archive of e-mail stored on your computer, the same protections do not exist for information voluntarily given to a third party.
By Dee Ann Divis
NTS-2 on display at the Smithsonian
The Smithsonian’s new exhibit on Time and Navigation will open at the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall
in Washington D.C. on April 12, 2013.
The National Museum of American History is co-producer.
It explains the relationship between precise time and the art and science of navigation, from sailing by the stars to GNSS. Its full title is "Time and Navigation: The untold story of getting from here to there."
By Inside GNSS
Cast members get ready to film the video for “Time and Navigation,” which will explain concepts from the point of view of five characters from different historical periods(Smithsonian image)"GPS for Humanity-The Stealth Utility" is the title of a lecture by GPS pioneer Brad Parkinson that will be webcast live at 8 p.m. EST on Thursday, March 21 from the Lockheed Martin Imax Theater at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on the Mall in Washington D.C.
By Inside GNSS
The U.S. Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) invited comments today (March 20, 2013) on its proposed plans to test CNAV message capabilities on the GPS L2C and L5 signals June 15–29.
The signals are part of the GPS modernization program and will provide, among other things, greater capability for civilian users. The notice was posted in the official government Federal Register.
By Inside GNSS
It’s spring and privacy proposals are popping up in abundance, threatening to complicate the lives of law enforcement officers, spoil the landscape for some location-based businesses, and choke off the U.S. market for commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) before it gets off the ground.
By Dee Ann Divis
IFEN has announced the opening of its U.S. subsidiary, IFEN Inc., to address the American market for GNSS test equipment.
The Poing, Germany–based company has named Mark Wilson as vice-president of sales at IFEN Inc. Wilson, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the GNSS market, said he was "very excited to join the IFEN team. . . . Our exceptional products offer unrivalled flexibility and capability, at realistic prices providing huge advantages to our customers.”
By Inside GNSS
L-3 Interstate Electronics Corporation (L-3 IEC) announced today (March 12, 2013) that it successfully performed GPS Military Code (M-Code) testing during a “live sky broadcast event” last month.
The IEC M-Code receiver is designed to provide improved accuracy, positioning, navigation and timing in conditions where the performance of current receivers might be compromised or unavailable.
By Inside GNSS
In a March 11 announcement, Institute of Navigation director Lisa Beaty said it was with "sincere regret" that this year’s Joint Navigation Conference will not take place in June as planned. She said all All JNC 2013 registered attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors will receive a full refund of any fees they have already paid.
By Inside GNSS
