Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
UPDATED OCTOBER 19 2008: Organizers of the third meeting of the International Committee on GNSS (ICG) scheduled for December 8–12 in Pasadena, California, are actively seeking the participation of industry and interested members of the GNSS community.
By Glen Gibbons
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 10 2008: With replacement parts currently being manufactured for faulty components that have delayed launch plans, Air Force GPS program managers hope to get the final two modernized Block IIR satellites on orbit by the end of the year.
A tentative launch date of November 7 has been targeted for the Block IIR-20(M), which will carry a payload that includes an experimental L5 signal. If all goes well, the final IIR launch would take place by December 31.
By Glen Gibbons
ST-NXP Wireless, a new company bringing together key wireless operations of STMicroelectronics and NXP, will begin operations August 2 following completion of a deal announced earlier this year.
Owning thousands of communication and multimedia patents, the new joint venture will bring key technologies for UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) and for the emerging TD-SCDMA standard, as well as other cellular, multimedia and connectivity capabilities — including WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM radio, USB, and UWB (ultra-wideband).
By Glen Gibbons
Iridium Satellite LLC graphicThe Boeing Company has received a three-year, $153.5-million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to continue its efforts to augment GPS for military applications by exploiting the Iridium low earth orbit (LEO) communications satellite system.
By Glen Gibbons
The U.S. Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Munitions Directorate will sponsor a workshop on advances in guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) for miniature autonomous systems, October 20–22 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
With the assistance of the Institute of Navigation (ION), the workshop is designed to bring together the Department of Defense technical and user community, academia, and industry to riview and discuss the technological trajectory and future challenges of these systems.
By Glen Gibbons
LV100 Compass
Hemisphere GPS recently introduced two new products: the LV100 GPS Compass Board, an OEM format based on the company’s Crescent Vector technology, and the Air IntelliFlow Dual Rate controller for aerial applications.
Applanix DSS 439 SystemApplanix has launched a dual-camera version of its Digital Sensor System (DSS) 439 RapidOrtho airborne mapping solution and introduced full LIDAR integration options for fixed wing and helicopter installations.
The DSS 439 RapidOrtho DualCam produces a directly georeferenced, four-band ortho-imagery in a single pass, according to the company. The new product offering adds a second DSS camera with a monochromatic charge-coupled device (CCD) array specifically configured to capture near infrared (NIR) imagery.
By Glen Gibbons
GIOVE-A/B Double Difference Ambiguity Measurements, TU DelftResearchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the Netherlands, succeeded this week in simultaneously tracking the GIOVE-A and GIOVE-B L1 Open Service signals in space, producing the first reported computation of a double-difference carrier phase integer ambiguity resolution on the first two experimental Galileo satellites in orbit.
By Glen Gibbons
Giuseppe Viriglio, ESA’s Director of Telecommunication and Navigation. ESA photo, A. Le Floc’hToday (July 1), the European Commission (EC) — with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA) — launched the procurement process for Galileo with an invitation to companies to submit requests for participation as prime contractors for six work packages (WPs) valued at €2.145 billion (US$3.39 billion).
By Glen Gibbons
GPS IIF satellite. Boeing imageThe Boeing Company has announced completion of the latest in a series of environmental tests of the first of 12 GPS IIF satellites, which confirm the mechanical integrity of the spacecraft.
Having apparently overcome technical problems that have delayed the program for several years, the program is now on track to deliver the first satellite to the U.S. Air Force this year, according to the company, with launch currently scheduled for the first half of 2009.
By Glen Gibbons
The European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Energy and Transport (DG-TREN) has issued an invitation to tender (ITT) for an advisor on the European GNSS program.
With a one-year term renewable up to three times, the contract will be designed to provide a pool of experts and organizations for review and counsel on administrative, financial, strategic and technical matters. The services are outlined in two “workpackages,” one for a fixed set of activities and the other for variable services performed according to specific work orders.
By Glen Gibbons
SE4150L SiGe Semiconductor, Inc. has released the SE4150L GPS radio receiver featuring dual-antenna input capability for developing GPS products.
Housed in a low profile 4x4millimeter package, the SE4150L RF integrated circuit (RFIC) features a multi-bit output, which improves sensitivity and interference resistance, according to the company. The receiver has a reported system noise figure of 1.0 dB and input third-order intercept performance (IIP3) of better than 0 dBm.
By Glen Gibbons
MN5010HSA convergence of a relatively new Singapore-based company, Rockwell semiconductor engineering background, and SiRF Technology’s SiRFstarIII will produce a new family of OEM GPS receivers from Micro Modular Technologies (MMT).
By incorporating the SiRF module, the MN5010HS GPS receiver module represents a departure from MMT’s use of GPS technology from u-Nav Microelectronics (now Atheros Communications GPS business unit). Established in 2005, MMT has also joined the roster of SiRF Technology value added manufacturers (VAMs).
By Glen Gibbons
