Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Europe’s first two Galileo satellites have reached their final operating orbits, opening the way for activating and testing their navigation payloads.
Marking the formal end of their launch and early operations phase (LEOP), on November 3, control of the satellites was passed from the CNES French space agency center in Toulouse to the Galileo Control Center (GCC) in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
By Inside GNSS
With more testing on the horizon and a potentially alarming homeland security report about to be released, LightSquared’s efforts to begin work on its proposed wireless broadband service are stuck in the procedural mud.
The delays, which are never good for a commercial company, are piling up just as the firm’s coffers are thinning and need to be replenished with a new round of fund raising.
By Dee Ann Divis
Although a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report on the risks posed by GPS disruptions has yet to be released, the analysis has inspired a proposal to create receivers capable of self-diagnosing spoofing attempts.
“The receiver is the first line of defense,” Logan Scott, president of LS Consulting, told members of the National Space-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board this week.
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
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
European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). ESA illustrationCiting European Space Agency (ESA) studies that showed “harmful interference” to Galileo receivers operating up to 1,000 kilometers from LightSquared base stations, a European Commission (EC) official has told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about his “deep concerns” about the wireless broadband company’s terrestrial transmissions in the 1525–1559 MHz band next to L1 GNSS frequencies.
By Inside GNSS
GPS III satellite. Lockheed Martin illustrationLockheed Martin has announced the successful, on-schedule completion of a system design review (SDR) for the second-phase of next-generation GPS satellite development, the IIIB increment.
The company’s Space Systems division in Newtown, Pennsylvania, is under contract to produce the first two of a planned eight GPS IIIA satellites, with first launch projected for 2014. The contract includes a Capability Insertion Program (CIP) designed to mature technologies and perform rigorous systems engineering for future GPS III increments.
By Inside GNSS
After a long series of fits and starts, the Department of Homeland Security is tackling the issue of interference to the GPS signal. The agency has launched a study to assess the risks to GPS service from a variety of sources — a study that, at least on paper, will lead to a plan to mitigate interference.
Unfortunately, the effort will not directly address the one potential problem consuming the thoughts of the GPS community — widespread receiver overload from the high-powered mobile broadband service proposed by the Virginia firm LightSquared.
By Dee Ann Divis
The U.S. Global Positioning System has garnered a long list of honors over the years, but a forthcoming presentation from the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is one of the most remarkable yet.
By Inside GNSS
A Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter demonstrates the use of GPS technology at a previous GPS Partnership Council meeting. (Photo: Joe Juarez)Registration is now open for the 2011 GPS Partnership Council meeting on Tuesday, May 3 and Wednesday, May 4 at the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, California.
These military and industry networking meetings, now in their 11th year, are sponsored by the Los Angeles chapter of AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association) and the USAF GPS Directorate, formerly the GPS Wing.
By Inside GNSS
Photo: Wikimedia CommonsAttorneys for LightSquared Subsidiary LLC submitted a proposed work plan on Friday (February 25, 2011) for analyzing potential interference to GPS devices. The plan, required by the FCC as a condition of its granting a waiver to its Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) rule for mobile satellite services (MSS), proposes to establish a working group (WG) to study the GPS overload/desensitization.
By Inside GNSS
