Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Spirent Communications has announced the launch of its new automation and reporting tool, TestDrive-GNSS for SimGEN- and SimREPLAYplus-controlled GNSS test systems. TestDrive-GNSS automates the testing process to significantly reduce overhead costs and testing times associated with characterization of GNSS devices.
By Inside GNSS
Russia launched a single GLONASS-M satellite into orbit on Monday (November 28, 2011) from the Plesetsk space center north of Moscow.
This is the fifth and the last launch of a GLONASS satellite this year, according to the Russian Federal Space Agency.
Typically, Russia launches three of the modernized satellites at a time on Proton rockets, including three GLONASS-Ms sent up November 4 from Baikonur, Kazahkstan, and placed in orbital plane 1. Monday’s launch used the smaller Soyuz rocket to place the satellite into plane 3.
By Inside GNSS
[Updated November 25 2011] For those wondering what to do on Black Friday …
In another holiday special, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced creation of a public web portal for documents related to the LightSquared/GPS interference issue that will , in the agency’s words, “provide ready access to publicly available documents and other responsive documents not otherwise exempt from release under the FOIA [ Freedom of Information Act].”
By Inside GNSS
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. Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles, California USA
TWINS!
FIGURES 1 & 2: True3D Volumetric HUD components and operation (left), Comparison of True3D HUD user view with other types of nav aids (right)Return to main article: "True3D HUD Wins Global SatNav Competition"
Many technologies are created before their best applications are even thought about. This leads to a business phenomenon known as “technology push” in contrast to “consumer pull.” The True3D Volumetric HUD technology did not share this path.
By Inside GNSS
ITT Exelis and Chronos Technology Ltd. announced today (November 17, 2011) that they have agreed to jointly pursue and develop product offerings for the GNSS interference, detection and mitigation (IDM) market.
By Inside GNSS
Europe’s first two Galileo satellites have reached their final operating orbits, opening the way for activating and testing their navigation payloads.
Marking the formal end of their launch and early operations phase (LEOP), on November 3, control of the satellites was passed from the CNES French space agency center in Toulouse to the Galileo Control Center (GCC) in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
By Inside GNSS
Russia launched a Proton-M rocket carrying three GLONASS-M satellites from the Baikonur space center at November 4 after a 24-hour delay due to technical reasons, a spokesman for the Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said.
This was first launch of a Proton-M rocket with GLONASS satellites from Baikonur since a failed attempt last December. That led to the dismissal of several top officials in the space agency and industry and the appointment of Vladimir Popovkin to head the space agency.
Please.
Please. Please. Please.
Can we please talk about something besides LightSquared?
Not yet? You mean, they are still here?
And we have so many other GNSS-related topics that deserve comment:
Some peculiar cuts in civil GPS funds and GPS III budgets being proposed by congressional committees.
A re-examination — aka analysis of alternatives — of GPS and PNT options in general. Space weather and an impending solar max. Warrantless GPS-aided tracking before the Supreme Court.
By Inside GNSS
Q: What effect does network size have on NRTK positioning?
A: Network real-time kinematic (NRTK) positioning is nowadays a very common practice, not only in academia but also in the professional world. In the last 10 years, several networks of continuous operating reference stations (CORSs) were created to support users. These networks offer real-time services for NRTK positioning, providing centimeter-level positioning accuracy with an average distance of 25–35 kilometers between the reference stations.
By Inside GNSS
With more testing on the horizon and a potentially alarming homeland security report about to be released, LightSquared’s efforts to begin work on its proposed wireless broadband service are stuck in the procedural mud.
The delays, which are never good for a commercial company, are piling up just as the firm’s coffers are thinning and need to be replenished with a new round of fund raising.
By Dee Ann Divis
Working Papers explore the technical and scientific themes that underpin GNSS programs and applications. This regular column is coordinated by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günter Hein, head of Europe’s Galileo Operations and Evolution.
Next-generation car navigation may well require the ability to identify the lane in which a vehicle is operating on a motorway. This could support advanced driver assistance in general as well as the observation and study of driver behavior and traffic flow. Such road vehicle applications call for sub-meter positioning accuracy, often in real-time — all this preferably at low-cost.
By Inside GNSS
