Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Russia plans to add four GLONASS-M satellites to its constellation in November, which should bring the GNSS system to fully operational capability (FOC).
The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) website indicates that a launch of three GLONASS-Ms on board a Proton-M rocket will take place this Thursday (November 3, 2011) from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
By Inside GNSS
Russian Soyuz rocket lifts off Europe’s Kourou spaceport pad with first two Galileo IOV satellites on board. ESA photo. Photo: ESA/CNES/ARIANESPACE/Optique Video Du CSGAs the first two operational Galileo satellites enter orbit following this morning’s launch (October 21, 2011), a closely knit team of engineers from the European Space Ageny (ESA) and CNES, France’s space agency, assumed control.
By Inside GNSS
Galileo IOVs being installed inside Soyuz Fregat upper stage. ESA, CNES, Arianespace, Optique Video du CSG, S.MartinA faulty valve that caused a fuel leak has delayed today’s (October 20, 2011) planned launch of the first Galileo in-orbit vehicle (IOV).
Arianespace said the would be postponed until Friday (October 21, 2011) because a problem in a valve used to disconnect the rocket’s fueling system on take-off had led to the disconnection mechanism being triggered ahead of the take-off.
The Soyuz ST-B had moved to its launch pad last week and the Upper Composite containing twin Galileo IOVs placed on top of it.
By Inside GNSS
Galileo IOV satellites attached to their launch dispenser and encapsulated beneath the fairing of their Soyuz ST-B launcher Credit: ESA – P. CarrilLaunch of two Galileo in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites next week will bring Europe’s long-awaited (and much-delayed) GNSS program into a new phase.
Liftoff from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, is scheduled for Thursday, October 20, at 11:34 GMT (7:34 a.m. local time). Progress in the operations and news updates can be viewed online at the European Space Agency website.
By Inside GNSS
[Updated October 3] All five of the world’s major satellite navigation systems are poised to offer new capability — if the money comes through — program representatives told attendees at the recent Institute of Navigation’s GNSS 2011 conference in Portland.
The satellite navigation systems in China, Japan, and the United States have each recently had new satellites added, while those in Russia and Europe are poised for new launches. Budgets are in flux for most systems, however, so it remains to be seen how the systems will advance over the next year.
By Inside GNSS
The Galileo In-Orbit Validation (IOV) ProtoFlight Model (PFM) and Flight Models (FM-2, FM-3 and FM-4) undergoing assembly and testing at Thales Alenia Space’s facility in Rome during May 2011. ESA – S. CorvajaThe first Galileo navigation satellite arrived Wednesday (September 7, 2011) in Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, ready to begin preparations for launch on 20 October.
Packed within its protective, air-conditioned container, the satellite — known as Known as Flight Model 2, or FM2 — landed at Cayenne Rochambeau Airport aboard an Antonov aircraft, having departed from Thales Alenia Space Italy’s Rome facility, where it was built.
By Inside GNSS
FIGURE 1: GPS III On OrbitIn May 2008, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company received a contract from the U.S. Air Force to develop a new, third generation of GPS satellites. The GPS III space vehicle (SV) has been designed (Figure 1, see inset photo, above right) and is now being built to bring new future capabilities to both military and civil positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) users throughout the globe.
By Inside GNSS
ENAC campus courtyardThe fifth European workshop on GNSS signals and signal processing will take place at ENAC headquarters (École Nationale de l’Aviation Civile), in Toulouse, France on December 8 and 9, 2011.
The workshop will give an overview of GNSS signals, characteristics, and performances related to any of the navigation, positioning, timing, attitude determination and scientific GNSS services. Papers have been accepted on the use of EGNOS (3,4) and GALILEO (1,2) signals, and all other GNSS signals for operational and/or scientific applications, with 1 to 5 frequencies.
By Inside GNSS
Namur Palais des CongresThe 8th European Space Weather Week conference will take place in Namurs, Belgium from November 28 to December 2 ,2011. The conference venue is the old stock exchange of the Walloon capital, transformed into a convention center.
The annual event is sponsored by the European Space Agency. This year, the local organizer is the Solar-Terrestrial Center of Excellence (STCE).
By Inside GNSS
Completion of the GLONASS constellation, delayed by a series of mishaps in Russia’s space program, may move ahead with a launch in September, according to Russian sources, if the Soyuz carrier is cleared for further use. A tentative launch from the Plesetsk space center has been set for September 25. The launch was originally scheduled for August 15.
By Inside GNSS
Command and control of the second GPS Block IIF satellite has been turned over to the 50th Space Wing’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2SOP) at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, today (August 22, 2011).
The Space and Missile Systems Center’s (SMC) GPS Directorate, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, retained control of the satellite during a 30-day on-orbit checkout period before the hand-off to 2 SOPS.
By Inside GNSS
Official launch photo by Jinli Wang[Updated 7:30 p.m. July 26 PDT) China launched another Compass/BeiDou-2 satellite at 5:44 on the morning of July 27 (Sichuan time zone). It is the ninth spacecraft in China’s indigenous satellite navigation and positioning network and the fourth in inclined geosynchronous orbit.
The navigation satellite was launched on a Long March-3A carrier rocket, according to China’s government-sponsored Compass website at www.beidou.gov.cn.
By Inside GNSS
Launch of GPS IIF-2. United Launch Alliance photo by Pat Corkery[updated July 16] Boeing has received the first on-orbit signals from the second of 12 GPS Block IIF satellites it is building for the U.S. Air Force. GPS IIF-2, renamed Space Vehicle Number 63 (SVN-63), is functioning normally and ready to begin on-orbit maneuvers and operational testing.
After two postponements, the second GPS Block IIF satellite launched successfully from Cape Canaveral at 2:41 a.m. EDT on July 16. A video of the launch was posted on YouTube and can be viewed here.
By Inside GNSS
