Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
2008 is the 99th anniversary of the Berlin Air Show, held in the southern section of Berlin-Schönefeld Airport every two years.
It will showcase European and international space activities from Tuesday, May 27 May through Sunday, June 1. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will open the show on Tuesday afternoon.
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The Canalys Navigation Forum Americas, a conference targeting the mobile navigation industry, will take place at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Half Moon Bay, California, from October 14 to October 15, 2008.
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The seventh AARSE conference and exhibition is organized around the theme, Application of Earth Observation and Geoinformation for Governance in Africa.
It will take place at the Accra International Conference Centre from October 27 to October 31.
Two special sessions are featured: Coastal Ocean Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS in Africa and Business and Industry Partnerships with the oil and gas industries operating in Africa.
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July 1 is the deadline to submit your manuscript for a special GNSS signal processing issue of the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing. The lead guest editor is René Landry, Ecole de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), Canada, rene.landry@etsmtl.ca
Prospective authors can find submission information at http://www.ece.byu.edu/jstsp.
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One of 12 magnetograms recorded at Greenwich Observatory during the Great Geomagnetic Storm of 1859
1996 soccer game in the Midwest, (Rick Dikeman image)
Nouméa ground station after the flood
A pencil and a coffee cup show the size of NASA’s teeny tiny PhoneSat
Bonus Hotspot: Naro Tartaruga AUV
Pacific lamprey spawning (photo by Jeremy Monroe, Fresh Waters Illustrated)
“Return of the Bucentaurn to the Molo on Ascension Day”, by (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Canaletto
The U.S. Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock at 2nd Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB in Colorado. This photo was taken in January, 2006 during the addition of a leap second. The USNO master clocks control GPS timing. They are accurate to within one second every 20 million years (Satellites are so picky! Humans, on the other hand, just want to know if we’re too late for lunch) USAF photo by A1C Jason Ridder. 
Detail of Compass/ BeiDou2 system diagram
Hotspot 6: Beluga A300 600ST
1. FOLLOW THAT PIZZA!
Huntsville, Alabama
√ Eleven Papa John’s pizza stores in Huntsville, Alabama equip their delivery drivers with handheld PNDs and use a mapping engine developed by startup company TrackMyPizza to give customers 15 second online updates on their pizza pie. You don’t even need to leave your laptop to look out the window.
The primary objective of the EFTF is to foster scientific and technical exchange among members of the European and world-wide time and frequency community.
One of 12 magnetograms recorded at Greenwich Observatory during the Great Geomagnetic Storm of 18591996 soccer game in the Midwest, (Rick Dikeman image)Nouméa ground station after the floodA pencil and a coffee cup show the size of NASA’s teeny tiny PhoneSatBonus Hotspot: Naro Tartaruga AUVPacific lamprey spawning (photo by Jeremy Monroe, Fresh Waters Illustrated)“Return of the Bucentaurn to the Molo on Ascension Day”, by (Giovanni Antonio Canal) CanalettoThe U.S. Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock at 2nd Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB in Colorado. This photo was taken in January, 2006 during the addition of a leap second. The USNO master clocks control GPS timing. They are accurate to within one second every 20 million years (Satellites are so picky! Humans, on the other hand, just want to know if we’re too late for lunch) USAF photo by A1C Jason Ridder. Detail of Compass/ BeiDou2 system diagramHotspot 6: Beluga A300 600ST1. $1.2 BILLION FOR GPS
Washington, D.C.
√ President Bush’s FY09 budget allocates nearly $1.2 billion dollars for GPS operations, says the Space and Missile Systems Center’s GPS Wing. If approved, that means the GPS III satellite program goes ahead with a first launch in FY14. That delayed target date looks like a result of last year’s Congressional budget cuts.
This year’s Institute of Navigation satellite division technical meeting and exhibition will take place at the Savannah International Convention Center in Savannah, Georgia. The headquarters hotel is the Westin Savannah Harbor.
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This year’s CGU meeting includes a Geodesy and Geodynamics session on Monday,May 12 or Tuesday, May 13 (TBA) and encourages submission of papers on geodetic measurments involving GNSS, VLBI, gravity and other individual and combined ground and space techniques. Abstracts are due by February 15.
For details about abstract submission: http://ucalgary.ca/~cguconf/2008webs/Abstract.htm
By Inside GNSS
One of 12 magnetograms recorded at Greenwich Observatory during the Great Geomagnetic Storm of 18591996 soccer game in the Midwest, (Rick Dikeman image)Nouméa ground station after the floodA pencil and a coffee cup show the size of NASA’s teeny tiny PhoneSatBonus Hotspot: Naro Tartaruga AUVPacific lamprey spawning (photo by Jeremy Monroe, Fresh Waters Illustrated)“Return of the Bucentaurn to the Molo on Ascension Day”, by (Giovanni Antonio Canal) CanalettoThe U.S. Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock at 2nd Space Operations Squadron, Schriever AFB in Colorado. This photo was taken in January, 2006 during the addition of a leap second. The USNO master clocks control GPS timing. They are accurate to within one second every 20 million years (Satellites are so picky! Humans, on the other hand, just want to know if we’re too late for lunch) USAF photo by A1C Jason Ridder. Detail of Compass/ BeiDou2 system diagramHotspot 6: Beluga A300 600ST1. GET GPS ON THE MOBILE!
Chicago GPS market study
√ The vast majority of Americans don’t have GPS on their cell phones – but 24% say they want it on their next one. This puts GPS ahead of Internet access, which only 19% prefer. Nearly 1/3 of Americans – including the middle-aged and elderly —have used a GPS-enabled device. So says Leo J. Shapiro LLC, a Chicago-based market research firm, which conducted national surveys last October and December.
Europe commenced the space element of its Galileo more than two years ago with launch of the GIOVE-A (Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element-A) demonstration satellite (also known as the Galileo Satellite Test Bed-V2/A).
Europe commenced the space element of its Galileo more than two years ago with launch of the GIOVE-A (Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element-A) demonstration satellite (also known as the Galileo Satellite Test Bed-V2/A).
Along with its larger sibling, GIOVE-B, now due to launch in April 2008, GIOVE-A precedes introduction of the four IOV satellites, scheduled for launch in 2010. Built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), based in Guildford, the United Kingdom, GIOVE-A was launched in December 2005 and has been broadcasting prototype Galileo signals to the world since early 2006.
During this period, much has been learnt from the experimental campaign and the measurements taken on the ground. The signal-in-space (SIS) specification has been brought into the public domain on European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) website, where the GIOVE-A SIS Interface Control Document (ICD) can be downloaded. (See the Additional Resources section at the end of this article for the website URL.)
Recent activities include the detailed investigation into the end-to-end Galileo signal channel. A payload test-bed at SSTL has been used by ESA and Surrey Satellite for comparison with the signals received from orbit.
Following the success of GIOVE-A, and to assist with contingency planning prior to IOV launch, ESA awarded a further contract to SSTL in March 2007 to begin procurement of another satellite, GIOVE-A2, largely based upon the GIOVE-A design. GIOVE-A2 incorporates minor design improvements based on lessons learnt from the first satellite. Design commonality will permit SSTL to manufacture the satellite to a very tight timescale, to be ready for launch, if requested, as early as mid 2009.
ESA and SSTL are investigating the capability of modifying GIOVE-A2 to broadcast multiplex binary offset carrier (MBOC) designs to permit early experience with the new MBOC-based signals in anticipation of the operational Galileo system.
This article will describe the current status of the GIOVE‑A satellite and the achievements that have been made during the operational phase of the mission. We will then summarize briefly the current status of GIOVE‑A2, concentrating on the main differences in the payload and signal-in-space from the earlier satellite.
(To read the entire story, including graphs and figures, download the pdf above.)
. . .
Concluding Remarks
Over the past two years, GIOVE‑A has proven to be an invaluable asset for ESA and the wider navigation community. The availability of representative Galileo signals-in-space has enabled ESA to validate their GIOVE Mission Segment and associated operating procedures and analysis algorithms, such as orbit determination and clock modelling.
This is an important step in preparing for the operation of the full Galileo ground segment. In addition, with the publication of the GIOVE‑A SIS ICD, many receiver manufacturers have developed GIOVE‑capable receivers and been able to verify their functionality using broadcast signals rather than simulations.
In coming months GIOVE‑B will be launched to provide continuity of the Galileo SIS and allow additional clock characterization activities for an on-board passive hydrogen maser in addition to rubidium frequency standards.
GIOVE‑B should then be joined by the GIOVE‑A2 satellite. If both satellites operate in parallel, this will allow more scope for experimentation.
Looking to the future, SSTL welcomes the recent announcements by the European Commission to finance the deployment of a full operational Galileo system through public funding. This new procurement approach will encourage value for money by introducing competition into the project at all levels. SSTL is teaming with OHB Technology AG, based in Bremen, Germany, to bid on the contract to build the operational Galileo satellites. Together, the partnership believes it can produce Galileo spacecraft quickly and at an extremely competitive price.
OHB would build the satellites; SSTL would produce the electronic payloads. The longer mission lifetimes specified for the full Galileo satellites mean that careful analysis of the space environment is needed before proposing unit designs that will meet these requirements while still remaining cost-efficient and compatible with a rapid development and production schedule.
Operational Galileo satellites have more stringent requirements than the GIOVE satellites, particularly much longer lifetimes, higher performance specifications, and additional services. However, the main payload units flown on GIOVE‑A were pre‑developments for the final constellation and are quite similar to those to be flown on the operational satellites. In addition, SSTL is still the only company with experience of operating the navigation payload units in‑orbit. These activities provide SSTL with unique payload knowledge and experience that can be transferred to production of the Galileo payloads.
Galileo now has a firm technical foundation through the GIOVE in‑orbit activities. Further progress with GIOVE‑B, GIOVE‑A2, and leading on to the IOV satellites will bring Galileo step by step towards an operational system.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the excellent ongoing work performed by both the SSTL and ESA project teams in supporting the operations and experimentation on GIOVE‑A. Thanks go to the staff at STFC, TAL and CL2 for the work supporting the IOT campaign at Chilbolton.
Additional Resources
[1] Falcone, M.S., et alia, “GIOVE-A In Orbit Testing Results”, Proceedings of ION GNSS 2006, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
[2] GIOVE Mission Clock Experimentation Team, “Time for GIOVE-A, The Onboard Rubidium Clock Experiment,” GPS World, May 2007
[3] Hodgart, M. S., et alia, “The Optimal Dual Estimate Solution for Robust Tracking of Binary Offset Carrier (BOC) Modulated GNSS Systems,” Proceedings of ION GNSS 2007, Fort Worth, Texas. USA
[4] Roddis N., The Measurement of Moderate Size Reflector Antennas Using Astronomical Calibrators”, Antennas and Propagation, IEE, 4 – 7 April 1995
[5] Simsky, A., et alia, “Performance Assessment of Galileo Ranging Signals Transmitted by GSTB-V2 Satellites,” Proceedings of ION GNSS 2006, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
[6] European Space Agency, GIOVE-A Navigation Signal-in-Space Interface Control Document, http://www.giove.esa.int/images/userpage/GIOVEA_SISICD.pdf
(For the rest of this story, please download the complete article using the PDF link above.)
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The theme for the 2008 ISPRS Congress and exhibition is "Silk Road for Information from Imagery" and is targeted at all those who use images for measurement and analysis.
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The sixth SoC conference and trade exhibition will be held at the Radisson Hotel Newport Beach. This year’s event will address new technologies, methodologies, tools, and system solutions for design and development of complex multicore SoCs, ASICs, and ASSPs in the emerging markets.
To explore speaking opportunities, find information on table-top exhibits, or to develop targeted workshops, please contact the SoC Conference Organizing Committee at: SoC@SavantCompany.com.
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