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EADS Astrium Buys Surrey Satellite
April 7, 2008

EADS Astrium Buys Surrey Satellite

SSTL Engineering Team with GIOVE-A at ESA Test Facility

EADS Astrium has signed an agreement to acquire Guildford, United Kingdom–based Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) from the University of Surrey.

SSTL designed and built the first Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element (GIOVE-A), the only European GNSS satellite currently on orbit. The company also is building a second GIOVE-A spacecraft under contract to the European Space Agency (ESA).

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By Glen Gibbons
Europe’s Transport Ministers, Parliamentary Committee Okay New Galileo Deal
April 6, 2008

Europe’s Transport Ministers, Parliamentary Committee Okay New Galileo Deal

The European Transport Council and the European Parliament’s industry committee have approved new institutional arrangements for the €3.4-billion Galileo program that help pave the way for the European Space Agency to start a tender for contracts.

The regulation would also continue operation of the European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA) while setting up a new Galileo Inter-Institutional Panel (GIP), with three members each from the parliament and the transport council and one from the European Commission (EC).

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By Glen Gibbons
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U.S. Officials Encourage Industry Participation in APEC GNSS Events

U.S. Officials Encourage Industry Participation in APEC GNSS Events

The U.S. State Department and the National Coordination Office (NCO) for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) are soliciting participation from the GPS industry in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization’s GNSS Innovation Summit and the 12th GNSS Implementation Team (GIT) Meeting to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, in May.

The Innovation Summit takes place May 26–27, followed by the GIT meeting May 28–30.

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By Glen Gibbons
DoT Rescues NDGPS Project
April 4, 2008

DoT Rescues NDGPS Project

The Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS) program has been salvaged from the political limbo in which it has resided for more than a year.

Following completion of an assessment by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT), the agency has decided to continue full NDGPS operations. Currently, 86 stations are operating with support from three federal agencies: the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG, 39 sites), the Army Corps of Engineers (9 site), and the DoT (38 sites operated and maintained by the USCG under contract).

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By Glen Gibbons
Jules Verne Automatic Transfer Vehicle Guided to ISS by Thales Alenia GPS System

Jules Verne Automatic Transfer Vehicle Guided to ISS by Thales Alenia GPS System

ATV Docking with International Space Station, NASA image

Europe’s Jules Verne Automatic Transfer Vehicle (ATV) that docked Thursday (April 3) at the International Space Station (ISS) is operating with a guidance, navigation control (GNC) system based on a GPS receiver developed by Thales Alenia Space Italia (TASI).

The GNC unit provides accurate position and velocity information for the ATV orbit control and rendezvous operation with the ISS. The Jules Verne completed its first space cargo voyage — 25 days long — docking the 10,470-kilogram (23,034-pound) ATV with the station, orbiting the Earth at 28,000 kilometers per hour.

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), this docking marks the beginning of Jules Verne’s main servicing mission to deliver cargo, propellant, water, oxygen and propulsion capacity to the station, as well as ESA’s entry into the restricted club of the partners able to access the orbital facility by their own means.

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By Glen Gibbons
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First Civil Funds for GPS Program
April 2, 2008

First Civil Funds for GPS Program

FY09 GPS Budget Request; FAA Line Item

The GPS program has passed a milestone of sorts with the first allocation of funds from civil agencies to pay for a portion of the core GPS budget.

The Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08) budget for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) sets aside $7.2 million as the first installment on the civil share of GPS modernization efforts, including the L1C signal that will be transmitted on the GPS Block III satellites and costs of monitoring the civil GPS signals in the modernized ground control segment (OCX). For the FY09 budget, the Bush administration has requested a $20.7 million allocation. The total five-year civil contribution (FY09-13) is expected to be more than $200 million.

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By Glen Gibbons
u-blox Launches GPS Timing Module

u-blox Launches GPS Timing Module

u-blox LEA-5T

Swiss GNSS chip manufacturer u-blox has introduced a new precise timing GPS module, the LEA-5T, precise timing at the CTIA Wireless 2008 conference taking place this week in Las Vegas.

Based on the company’s 50-channel, fifth-generation chipset technology, the LEA-5T is intended for such applications as telecom network synchronization, use in WiMAX base stations for home-based broadband networks, and data communication among geographically dispersed systems and devices such as NTP servers.

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By Glen Gibbons
GIOVE-B Reaches Baikonur Launch Site, Undergoes Pre-Flight Check
March 20, 2008

GIOVE-B Reaches Baikonur Launch Site, Undergoes Pre-Flight Check

GIOVE-B, the second Galileo in-orbit validation satellite, has arrived safely at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where it is undergoing pre-flight checks in preparation for its launch early on April 26.

After completing final tests at the European Space Agency (ESA) space technology center in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, the spacecraft was transported to Baikonur aboard an Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft.

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By Glen Gibbons
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