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April 18, 2009

China Launches Second Compass (Beidou-2) Satellite in $1.46 Billion First Phase

Compass-G2 Launch, April 15, 2009 (Xinhua/Li Gang photo)

Launch of a second modernized Compass (Beidou 2) satellite on April 14 — this one a geostationary spacecraft — marks the return of China to its GNSS launch program two years after the initial venture into space.

Designated Compass G2 — reflecting the geostationary nature of its intended orbital position about 22,300 miles above the equator, the satellite lifted off at 16:16 UTC aboard a Long March 3C rocket from the Xichang launch base in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.

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By Inside GNSS
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April 10, 2009

Air Force Secures ITU Filing with GPS L5 Signal Transmission

Time Series and Power Spectrum of the L5 Demonstration Signal

The GPS IIR-20(M) satellite successfully transmitted for the first time a GPS signal in the L5 frequency band today (April 10), according to the U.S. Air Force operators of the Global Positioning System. L5, the third civil GPS signal, will eventually support safety-of-life applications for aviation and provide improved availability and accuracy to users.

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By Inside GNSS
April 9, 2009

GPS L5 Signal Goes on the Air April 10

Stanford “Big Dish” Antenna

U.S. Air Force officials are moving quickly to turn on the new civil GPS L5 signal after lengthy delays due to technical problems had brought the program close to an International Telecommunications Union (ITU) deadline for transmitting on the frequency.

The Air Force plans to begin transmitting the signal at 5 a.m. (PDT) on April 10 using the Block II R-20(M) satellite launched March 24. An L5 signal demonstration is planned the same day, organized by the GPS Wing and SRI International. The L5 spectrum will be received and plotted at the SRI’s 150-foot “big dish” antenna facility in the hills over looking Stanford University, California.

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By Inside GNSS

earthmine Launches 3D Mapping System Driven by GPS, Inertial

John Ristevski

Privacy rebellions such as recently drove a Google Street View crew from Broughton, England, or security-oriented legislation that would require blurred features or position accuracy in commercial imagery is just part of the market environment for 3-D mapping company earthmine, Inc., which is moving out of beta mode into full-fledged operations.

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By Inside GNSS
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An Expanding CAST Navigation Moves to New Facilities

CAST Navigation LLC is relocating to expanded facilities as a result of increased demand for the company’s GPS simulators, GPS/INS navigation test equipment, and embedded GPS/inertial (EGI) integration tools.

Effective April 20, the new physical location for the CAST Navigation team will be: One Highwood Drive, Suite 100, Tewksbury, MA 01876. Phone contact is 978-858-0130. Faxes may be sent to 978-858-0170; website, <www.castnav.com>.

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By Inside GNSS
March 30, 2009

Geotagging: u-blox Buys Geotate

Typical implementation of geotagging in camera. Source: Geotate

In a €5.5-million cash deal, u-blox AG, of Thalwil, Switzerland, has acquired Geotate B.V. and its patented technology and products in the area of software GPS and geotagging GPS.

The acquisition will enable u-blox to expand its position in consumer markets with geotagging solutions for digital camera manufacturers and other portable device manufacturers.

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By Inside GNSS
March 26, 2009

European Court of Auditors Lambastes Galileo Satellite Navigation Program

European Court of Auditors, Luxembourg

Here’s an interesting document: Preliminary observations on “The management of the Galileo programme’s development and validation phase,” adopted at its January 21–22 meeting by the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

If you’re the kind of person who wakes up in a strange room after a night on the town and wonders how you got there, you’ll want to take in the full 50-page report and six addenda.

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By Inside GNSS
March 24, 2009

SSTL Leads Team Developing GNSS-Based Remote Sensing of Sea State

Sea State Monitoring

Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) will lead a British project to exploit signals from GPS and other GNSS satellites that are reflected from the Earth for remote sensing purposes.

The project will investigate a prototype instrument capable of measuring the roughness of the sea and soil moisture content, providing data for atmospheric science and for operational ocean and weather forecasting.

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By Inside GNSS

OnPOZ Offers Free ArcPad GNSS Driver Extension

Montreal, Quebec, Canada–based OnPOZ Precision Positioning has released, GNSS Driver for ArcPad, a new extension to the ESRI product that allows GNSS post-processing using different GNSS receiver brands.

The receiver-independent extension can significantly improve GNSS/GIS data accuracy and reliability, logging real-time positions, metadata, and all GNSS observations in order to increase the reliability and accuracy of GNSS positions by post-processing ESRI Shapefiles.

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By Inside GNSS
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