Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
A new aircraft tracking system created after the loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 five years ago has provided data to those investigating the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
By Dee Ann Divis
With designs on building a more interconnected sky in a future of increased air traffic, Aireon and Thales today announced the signing of an agreement to expand their space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) collaboration.
By Inside GNSS
Exyn recently introduced the Advanced Autonomous Aerial Robot, or A3R, a solution the company is describing as the first fully autonomous aerial system for data collection in GPS-denied environments.
By Inside GNSS
Join 8,500 technologists, regulators and users across commercial and defense sectors for AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019, the largest, most comprehensive trade show for unmanned and autonomous systems.
By Inside GNSS
WASHINGTON – The GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) issued the following statement, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) certification of the Garmin GPS 155, a device that for the first time enabled pilots to use Global Positioning System as their primary navigation source across all phases of flight — including approach to landing in poor weather conditions. Members of the public may view the prototype, as part of the Time and Navigation exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum.
By Inside GNSS
The first full day of the Institute of Navigation’s ITM/PTTI 2019 conference wrapped up Tuesday after a busy, education-filled day at the Hyatt Regency Reston in Reston, Virginia.
The program kicked off with a welcome and introductions by ION President Dr. John Raquet and program chairs Dr. Olivier Julien (ITM Program) and Dr. Michael Coleman (PTTI Program), who announced that this year marked 50 years of meetings for PTTI, with the first meeting having been held in 1969.
By Stan Goff
NovAtel has been awarded a contract from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to design, produce and deliver 40 next-generation Ground Uplink Station (GUS) Signal Generators to support the FAA’s safety of life Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) navigation service. The contract also includes ongoing engineering support services for NovAtel’s complete portfolio of Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) products deployed by the FAA, including the WAAS G-III reference receiver platform.
By Inside GNSS
LiDARUSA has announced they now offer leasing options to qualifying U.S. buyers with Allegiant Partners, Inc.
Allegiant Partners, now doing business as AP Equipment Financing, was founded in 1998 to serve small businesses by lessening the burden of obtaining equipment financing which is typically difficult with more conventional lenders. Having funded nearly 18,000 clients, AP Equipment Financing has the necessary industry experience to provide the financing needed for new equipment, so work can begin.
By Inside GNSS
PildoLabs and ENAIRE have recently performed the successful installation of three new Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) monitoring stations at Madrid – Barajas International Airport, Barcelona Area Control Center and Palma de Mallorca Airport, together with a Central Processing Unit installed at ENAIRE premises in Torrejon de Ardoz (Madrid).
By Inside GNSS
Rockwell Collins has been selected by the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (USAF AFLCMC) to provide its latest-generation Digital GPS Anti-Jam Receiver (DIGAR). With unsurpassed GPS threat protection levels, DIGAR receivers will bring highly-reliable navigation for U.S. Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force Reserve F-16 aircraft operating in contested, electromagnetic environments, according to Rockwell Collins. This will be the first combat fighter aircraft to be installed with the latest version of the receiver.
By Inside GNSS
Applanix, a Trimble company, invites you to its 2018 Airborne User Group Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 27-29, 2018.
By Inside GNSS
The Russian military jammed GPS signals during a major NATO military exercise in Norway between October 16 and November 7, according to multiple published reports this week. The military exercise involved thousands of U.S. and NATO troops, CNN reported, citing the Norwegian government.
By Stan Goff
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States, has chosen Thales to develop and build an operational ground station in the southwest part of the country, at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, to track Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites operating in medium Earth orbit (MEO).
The ground station will receive and process 406 megahertz distress beacon signals from the MEO satellites being tracked, and relay them to the US SARSAT (Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking) program’s Mission Control Center (USMCC), via U.S. government communication links, for validation and distribution to rescue authorities, according to a Thales Alenia Space press release issued on Monday. This ground station will be designated the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest USA Medium-Earth Orbit Local User Terminal (SUSA MEOLUT), and will be an integral part of the MEO-based ground system operated by the USMCC.
SUSA MEOLUT will be working in conjunction with NOAA’s two operational MEOLUTs, located at the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) COMMSTA stations in Honolulu and Miami. It is expected to be an operational part of the NOAA SARSAT system on a 24/7 basis. The MEO system, which provides distress alert and location data for search and rescue (SAR) authorities in near real-time, uses spacecraft and ground facilities to detect and locate signals from the 406 megahertz distress beacons.
By deploying Thales Alenia Space’s powerful and compact MEOLUT Next phased array solution, the United States will benefit from the world’s first spaceborne search and rescue system of this type. Thales Alenia Space, a Joint Venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %), designs, operates and delivers satellite-based systems for governments and institutions, helping them position and connect anyone or anything, everywhere. Since being commissioned in 2016, MEOLUT Next has delivered unrivaled performance, detecting distress signals from more than 5,000 kilometers away, according to Thales. Both France, Europe, Canada and Togo have already ordered Thales Alenia Space’s MEOLUT Next, and several more potential international customers are expected to announce their decisions shortly.
Related Reading: The Cospas-Sarsat MEOSAR System: A Solution to Support ICAO GADSS Autonomous Distress Tracking Recommendation
“We are confident that our solution will meet and exceed NOAA SARSAT’s expectations, and provide decisive help to the UASA region,” said Philippe Blatt, Vice President, Navigation France at Thales Alenia Space, in the press release. “Today, MEOLUT Next is the only solution in the world capable of processing second-generation beacons in real time. Its operational efficiency was recently recognized by Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) for its humanitarian contributions and the European Commission as well as governments of Togo and Canada have already selected this technology.”
This new capability saves lives. On July 2, 2017 at 6:30 a.m., 70 kilometers off the coast of Sardinia, a 12-meter sailboat with three people aboard triggered its Cospas-Sarsat beacon when its rudder broke and its engine failed. Its VHF radio out of range, the sailors quickly realized they were in a critical situation with waves over four meters high and the wind blowing at 40 knots. MEOLUT Next was able to receive and process their distress signals in less than five minutes, providing accurate positioning to authorities. An airplane identified the boat less than two hours after the beacon was triggered and a helicopter airlifted the crew to safety, saving all three lives.
MEOLUT Next
Conventional MEOLUT (Medium Earth Orbit Local User Terminal) systems use large parabolic antennas and are limited by how many satellite signals they can receive. Thales Alenia Space’s MEOLUT Next solution is compact, measuring less than six square meters, with the ability to track up to 30 satellites, significantly enhancing the distress beacon detection rate while expanding the coverage zone. Since there are no mechanical components, hardware maintenance costs are low, according to Thales.
One of the great engineering successes of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and its expert panels is the standardization of globally harmonized Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems. These standards, sometimes supported by more detailed industry standards, provide safe and interoperable services between aircraft and the ground and space systems supporting them.
By Gerhard (Gary) Berz
ION GNSS+ Program Co-Chair Jason Rife studied under one of best GNSS minds and it was his work with the late Per K. Enge that helped grow his love and understanding for position, navigation and timing (PNT). Now, at this year’s conference in Miami, his role includes helping share wisdom and knowledge for others looking to grow in this evolving industry.
By Stan Goff
