Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Anthony RussoAnthony Russo took up duties this week (January 19, 2010) as the director of the National Coordination Office (NCO) for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT). The NCO provides the working staff for the National Space-Based PNT Executive Committee, drawing on representatives assigned from various federal agencies and departments.
By Inside GNSS
Gen. Norton Schwartz, USAF photoThe Global Positioning System is vulnerable to threats such as jamming and anti-satellite weapons and the United States should reduce its dependence on the system while developing alternatives for precise positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), the U.S. Air Force’s top military leader said Wednesday (January 20).
By Inside GNSS
SWPC U.S. Total Electron Count MapThe U.S. National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is inviting suggestions and opinions about the agency’s ionospheric weather products for the GPS constellation, today and on out through the next solar max, 2013–2014. Increased solar activity can magnify ionospheric scintillation and other phenomena that can affect the performance of GNSS receivers.
By Inside GNSS
Raytheon Company has awarded a new contract to GMV to develop a prototype algorithm to mitigate ionospheric effects on users of India’s GAGAN (Global Positioning Satellite-Aided Geosynchronous Augmented Navigation System),
By Inside GNSS
The 14th Meeting of the APEC Global Navigation Satellite System Implementation Team will be held at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in Seattle, Washington USA from June 21-24, 2010.
Registration is open online at the web address below.
The last meeting held in Singapore tabled a draft strategy for 2010-15 that emphasized intermodal GNSS transportation applications. It will also serve as the focus of the Seattle meeting.
By Inside GNSS
The fourteenth GPS-Wireless conference, originally scheduled for March 22 in Las Vegas, has been postponed until fall 2010, said conference owner Kevin Dennehy. No date has been announced.
By Inside GNSS
Paper abstracts are due by January 20 for the 2010 AUVSI Unmanned Systems North America conference next summer. They must be submitted online at the AUVSI website.
By Inside GNSS
Loran on ice(UPDATED January 7, January 12) The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) posted a notice in the Federal Register on January 7 certifying that termination of the Loran-C signal will not adversely affect the safety of maritime navigation and that decommission will begin on February 8 with all Loran stations expected to cease transmitting the Loran-C signal by October 1, 2010.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has certified that the Loran-C system infrastructure is not needed as a backup to the GPS system or to meet any other federal navigation requirement.
By Inside GNSS
US Army soldier equipped with new Land Warrior gear, including GPS within a computer/radio subsystem (CRS) (photo: defenseimagery.mil)Officials from the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) and Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) have announced their decision to optimize the GPS constellation over the next two years so as to improve global coverage for GPS military users in Afghanistan and Iraq. Inside GNSS reported on the initiative last November.
The need to support U.S. and allied military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, where terrain in geographically challenging areas can degrade complete coverage of GPS signals, prompted the Air Force to seek ways to improve signal coverage.
By Inside GNSS
ION GNSS 2010 in Portland, Oregon USAPaper abstracts are due on Friday, March 12 for the 2010 Institute of Navigation GNSS conference.
It will take place at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon from Tuesday evening, September 21 through Friday morning, September 24.
This will be the 23nd international technical meeting of the Satellite Division of ION. It is the world’s largest and oldest GNSS conference, founded in 1987 as the ION GPS conference.
By Inside GNSS
Oregon Convention Center from above, looking across Willamette River to downtown PortlandThe 2010 Institute of Navigation GNSS conference will take place at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon from Tuesday evening, September 21 through Friday morning, September 24.
By Inside GNSS
Reston Hyatt BallroomThe 42nd Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications meeting and industry exhibition will take place at the Hyatt Regency Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia on November 15-18.
It will focus on time dissemination, GNSS timing performance, user applications, precision time and frequency transfer techniques and future timing equipment.
PTTI Tutorials for scientists, mathematicians, engineers and anyone new to the field are scheduled on Monday, November 15.
By Inside GNSS
Block IIF satelliteThe U.S. Air Force GPS Wing and the 50th Space Wing will implement a new ground system software release on January 11 to enable telemetry, tracking, and commanding for the new GPS IIF satellites and provide over-the-air distribution of encryption keys for military user P(Y)-code equipment.
The software will be implemented by the GPS Master Control Center at Schriever AFB, Colorado.
Meanwhile, the schedules for launching the first IIF spacecraft and awarding the prime contract for modernization of the GPS operational control segment (OCX) continue to slip.
By Inside GNSS
