Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Through its Canadian subsidiary, Hexagon AB has acquired 93.3 percent of NovAtel Inc. following closure of its tender offer on November 27. Under the previously announced move, some 8,647,240 shares were acquired at the tender price of US$50 per share.
By Inside GNSS
At its November 23 meeting, the European Union’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECONFIN) approved €940 million in supplementary funding during fiscal year 2008 to support a public procurement of the Galileo system.
By Glen Gibbons
Even as the fate of the inland portions of the Nationwide Differential GPS (NDGPS) reference network hangs in the balance, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has awarded a contract to Trimble for up to 400 high-accuracy GPS reference receivers.
The Trimble NetRS reference receivers will be installed over the next three years as part of the coast guard’s modernization of the Maritime DGPS Service, which is not part of the NDGPS elements that being considered for termination.
By Glen Gibbons
Thwarted in its latter-day attempt to buy digital mapmaker Tele Atlas out from under TomTom, GPS manufacturer Garmin International has signed a long-term deal with rival map provider Navteq.
Under the agreement announced November 16, Garmin will extend its current six-year agreement with Chicago, Illinois–based NAVTEQ to access to map data through 2015 with an option to continue through 2019.
By Glen Gibbons
“Boss,” Carnegie Mellon University’s entry in the DARPA Urban Challenge, crosses the finish line to win the race — and $2 million prizeCarnegie Mellon University and Stanford University reversed the order of their finishes in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, snaring first and second place, respectively, in the Urban Challenge finals held November 3 in Victorville, California.
Both entries incorporated POS LV (Position and Orientation Systems for Land Vehicles) integrated GPS/inertial systems from Applanix Corporation, of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.
By Glen Gibbons
Lt. Gen. Michael HamelLt. Gen. Michael Hamel, Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) commander, has received the Air Force Association’s 2007 Gen. Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy. The award recognizes outstanding contribution to the nation’s progress in aerospace.
Under General Hamel’s leadership, SMC has had 54 successful space launches in a row, a feat unparalleled in military space history, according to SMC. He serves not only as the center’s commander but also as the Air Force
By Glen Gibbons
The GPS III modernization program came up short in the 2008 fiscal year (FY08) Department of Defense (DoD) appropriations bill signed into law by President Bush on November 13.
In passing H.R. 3222, Congress reduced the president’s request by $100 million to $487.23 million for the budgetary year ending next October 1.
Military GPS M-code user equipment (MUE) did better, however: gaining $63.2 million on Capitol Hill, over and above the $93.27 proposed in the administration’s budget, for a total of $156.47 million.
By Glen Gibbons
In a somewhat surprising development, the U. S. Air Force turned to two new vendors — Northrop Grumman Corporation and Raytheon — in a November 21 announcement of contracts for the Next Generation GPS Control Segment (OCX).
By Glen Gibbons
Nokia’s new A-GPS-assisted N82 phoneThwarted in its latter-day attempt to buy digital mapmaker Tele Atlas out from under TomTom, GPS manufacturer Garmin International has signed an long-term deal with rival map provider Navteq.
Under the agreement announced today (November 16) Garmin will extend its current six-year agreement with Chicago, Illinois–based NAVTEQ to access to map data through 2015 with an option to continue through 2019.
By Glen Gibbons
GPS IIR-M paper model (Baseband Technologies)The holidays are coming – what can you find for the engineer who has everything? Why not build your own museum-quality paper GPS satellite model at home?
You can do it with a free-downloadable kit, courtesy of Baseband Technologies, Canadian designers of GNSS OEM receivers. All you need are the supplies in the average third-grader’s school desk and two or three hours of free time. The finished product will fit nicely on a corner of your desk.
By Inside GNSS
Three new market studies — from Berg Insight, ABI Research, and Markets and Research — focus on GPS chipsets and the high-volume consumer device markets that drive them, all predicting continued rapid growth.
By Glen Gibbons
On Tuesday (November 13) European Union (EU) finance ministers will address the European Commision (EC) proposal for all-public funding of the Galileo program.
The proposal announced by the EC in September would use the 2007 and 2008 budgetary reserves for agriculture and administration — totaling about €2.5 billion — to augment a €1-billion Galileo allocation already in place. European transport ministers will take up the issue again in December.
By Glen Gibbons
The Department of Commerce has proposed legislation to boost the U.S. government’s space commerce activities. Specifically, the bill would reauthorize the Office of Space Commercialization (OSC), restore the office’s original name — Office of Space Commerce — and focus the office’s responsibilities to enable a robust and responsive U.S. commercial space industry.
By Glen Gibbons
