Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
In September, the Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) started broadcasting a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) signal over Africa and the Indian Ocean. This marks the first SBAS open service in the region, modeled based on the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).
By Inside GNSS
Hexagon | NovAtel has announced a firmware release for its OEM7 and PwrPak7 receivers that enables tracking of BeiDou B2b GNSS signals on Phase III satellites. The 7.08.00 (OM7MR0800RN0000) release allows the receivers to track all of the new BeiDou B1C, B2a and B2b signals.
By Inside GNSS
The high-accuracy tactical-grade STIM277H Gyro module and STIM377H Inertial Measurement Unit are based on experiences and requirements from serving customers in the space segment during the last decade.
Market-leading SPAN technology from Hexagon | NovAtel delivers precise positioning, attitude, velocity and heave measurements.
Hexagon | VERIPOS is proud to introduce SPAN GNSS+INS technology from NovAtel, also part of Hexagon, into the offshore oil and gas marine market. NovAtel and its SPAN technology accelerated development in GNSS positioning, sensor fusion and inertial navigation systems for over 15 years.
By Inside GNSS
Autonomy has become the new goal of off-road machine control. Collaboration between NovAtel and AutonomouStuff, both part of Hexagon, has produced sensing and positioning kits to accelerate autonomous development for off-road applications.
By Inside GNSS
GMV Innovating Solutions Limited, the UK aerospace company belonging to the Spanish technology multinational GMV, has signed a merger agreement with Nottingham Scientific Limited (NSL).
By Inside GNSS
The launch of a GLONASS constellation next-generation K satellite is scheduled for October, announced Nikolai Testoyedov, general director of the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Company. An exact date will be set by a state commission.
By Inside GNSS
VectorNav Technologies, the world leader in embedded navigation solutions, introduced today a groundbreaking new line of inertial products: the VectorNav Tactical Embedded. Featuring a tactical-grade IMU and a multi-band GNSS receivers, the Tactical Embedded delivers milliradian attitude accuracy and centimeter-level positioning capability in a miniature 15 gram package.
By Inside GNSS
The United Arab Emirates will launch a navigation satellite in 2021, according to the Emirates News Agency. “The first satellite will be launched in 2021 and the second — a technologically enhanced one — the following year,” said Dr. Khaled Al Hashmi, Director of the National Space Science and Technology Centre (NSSTC) at UAE University in Al Ain.
By Inside GNSS
The third next-generation GLONASS-K navigation satellite, postponed several times, will now take place in late August or early September, according to reported statements by Russian space industry sources. This marks a long-delayed step along a road towards interoperability with other GNSS. The first GLONASS-K satellite was launched in 2011 and a second one in 2014.
By Inside GNSS
As the final BeiDou satellite reaches geostationary orbit, experts in the satnav community worry about security implications of the now officially operational Chinese system. As a two-way rather than a one-way communication system, BeiDou differs in two key aspects from other GNSS:
By Inside GNSS
In a feelgood two-and-a-half minute video cartoon aimed well below its audience’s head, the XinhuaNet.com news service explains BeiDou advantages over GPS and other GNSS. Principally, the script stresses the satnav system’s two-way short message service (SMS) texting capability that can stand in for cellular communications in remote areas and in case of natural disasters that may disable cellular base stations.
Set to a loping synthesized country rock soundtrack, the entertainment-with-a-message follows a passenger bus through a remote desert. When Buzz the Driver, spooked by a snake, deviates from his planned course, a BeiDou monitoring station quickly detects the error, generates an alarm and sends a message: “Hey, keep yourself focused!”
The animation gives a nod to other GNSS by stating that “Me and other family members are compatible and interoperable at the user level, which allows us to work together.”
The European Space Agency (ESA) has recently launched an internal initiative to cull ideas for supporting its member states in the study and analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under this initiative ESAC’s Galileo Navigation Science Office has managed to get one of its ideas taken up under the name of the “COVID-19 Space Hunting Platform”.
By Inside GNSS
The European GNSS Agency (GSA), the operational agency of the European Commission for Galileo and EGNOS, is launching its MyGalileoDrone competition on July 17. This contest is targeting the design and development of drone-based applications or services, using a Galileo-enabled receiver, that address the EU’s key priorities such as the Green Deal, and support the EU Recovery Plan for Europe.
By Inside GNSS
The Institute of Navigation (ION) announced that its annual ION GNSS+ 2020 conference, scheduled to take place September 21-25, will now be held entirely virtual. InterGeo, the large international trade show held each fall in Germany, has made a similar announcement for its conference, scheduled for October 13–15.
By Inside GNSS
