Speaking at the recent NAVISP conference in Noordwijk, Mark Brammer, Positioning Lead, UK National PNT Office, provided details on the UK’s new Framework for PNT Resilience and Innovation.

“The UK economy and society would suffer severe consequences from a major disruption to global navigation satellite systems [GNSS],” Brammer said, “with timing being the most critical element. The objective of the new PNT framework is not specifically to build an alternative technology. Instead, we want to focus on critical national infrastructure [CNI], PNT use cases, impacts, and solutions.”

The framework will comprise two phases, dubbed ‘epochs’. “Over the next few years, Epoch 1 will utilize current and proposed or partially funded capabilities,” Brammer said. “We will have UK-sourced timing from NTC RETSI, provided by assured means to a UK space-based augmentation system [SBAS], to a terrestrial broadcast eLORAN [enhanced long-range navigation] network, and over fiber to national GNSS interference monitoring systems.”

Tried and tested
The UK’s eLORAN capability consists of a distributed system of over-the-air, 90- 110kw transmitters based in at least four locations in the UK and Ireland. This would provide CNI timing and safety-of-life services to maritime and aviation users. “eLORAN is an internationally standardized system used by multiple nations,” Brammer said, “primarily in the maritime domain. The Department for Transport and the General Lighthouse Authority will act as system leads.”

A UK SBAS will provide PPP for enhanced geolocation performance and GNSS-health monitoring, using GPS L1 and L5 frequency sets, and providing precision navigation for air transport and autonomous vehicle operations. An international partnership with Australia is envisaged, with the UK Department for Transport as lead, working in close association with the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the UK Space Agency (UKSA). ‘Time Over Fibre’ will provide internal UTC(NPL) timing to CNI users, including the MOD, and will be a primary means of transmission of UTC(NPL) to transmitting nodes.

These systems will compliment and ensure current GNSS services. Development of follow-on components for Epoch 2 is to be guided by the UK’s national PNT office directly and through the European Space Agency’s NAVISP program. Reader’s will know that while the UK is no longer a member of the European Union, it is still a full member of ESA.

Longer term
“In future years, Epoch 2 will continue to utilize all of the capabilities of Epoch 1, current, planned-funded or partially funded,” said Brammer. “Further, we intend to develop a regional space-based GNSS, enabled by eLORAN, encrypted for CNI. This means establishing a land-based eLORAN system which enables a small, four-satellite, regional constellation of GNSS satellites to support the UK and territories. Consider this as a UK equivalent of Japan’s QZSS.” Alongside these new elements, the UK will work to develop a LEO PNT, terrestrial broadcast 5G/Mesh/SoO system, and will promote the growth of its own wider quantum timing and navigation industry.

“The final result will be a closely integrated system of systems,” Brammer said, “bringing together traditional and AltPNT capabilities – the framework that we believe provides the highest resilience and economic opportunity.”

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ESA intends to extend the NAVISP program. The fourth phase of the program, to be dubbed NAVISP Next, will be officially proposed for approval at the next ESA the Ministerial Conference in 2025.

NAVISP Next will continue the work of bolstering the competitiveness of the European positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) industry, aiming to surpass its current 17% global market share and achieve a target range of 20-30%. The program will outline strategies to spread its influence across the entire value chain, promoting private public partnership (PPP) approaches with leading market entities. The aim will be to diversify funding sources, enabling the leveraging of funds from non-space sectors.

Speaking at the recent NAVISP Industry Days 2023 at ESA’s Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, NAVISP Program Manager Pierluigi Mancini provided some background to current global technology trends, of which PNT, he said, is the backbone. “The geopolitical situation continues to evolve,” he said, citing, “European concerns about security and sovereignty, as demonstrated by recent EU acts pertaining to chips and critical raw materials, and the UK’s declaration of a new PNT strategy.

“New Space economic dynamics now favor the concentration or vertical integration of infrastructure and services,” Mancini said, “while technology markets are demanding more and better PNT. These markets include defense, consumer products, automotive, transport and logistics, finance and critical infrastructure.” He also cited the rising global trend towards PTA (protect, toughen and augment) strategies driving PNT enhancement, including space-based augmentation system (SBAS) expansion and new, non-GNSS-related PNT development, i.e. alternative, assured and/or complimentary PNT.

Market standing

“Right now, consumer automotive is the largest downstream market for PNT,” Mancini said, “followed by smartphones and wearables driving chipset sales and adoption of services. The multi-PNT trend is influencing downstream markets as well, with drone, finance and driverless vehicle applications all growing.” According to ESA, GNSS now surpasses satellite communications as the largest, space-based, downstream revenue source, with multi-GNSS and multi-frequency receivers also on the rise. “And we see new opportunities for space missions protecting overall GNSS capacity,” said Mancini, “with secondary payloads onboard new constellations, interference monitoring, etcetera.”

For NAVISP, a key priority continues to be strengthening its presence across the PNT value chain, which means understand PNT-supported verticals, developing PPP approaches with market owners, and supporting European PNT-related ecosystems. “One of the keys to our ensuring future market positioning,” Mancini said, “is to understand the new markets for these disruptive technologies. There may be a large risk involved in investing is these technologies today, but that means more opportunity for market growth tomorrow.”

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There has never been a clearer and more widespread acknowledgement of PNT vulnerability. With its new strategy for ensuring the continuity of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services, the United Kingdom adds considerable impetus to a trend that has already witnessed new determination on the parts of the United States and the European Union to assess real, alternative PNT (A-PNT) and/or complimentary PNT (CPNT) solutions.

For years, bodies such as the UK’s Royal Institute of Navigation have rightly and repeatedly reminded the world of the limits and vulnerabilities of GNSS-based PNT technologies. As long ago as 2014, we reported on the venerable Bradly ‘father of GPS’ Parkinson’s call to “protect, toughen and augment” GNSS. Today, military conflicts highlight on a daily basis both the importance and vulnerability of GNSS, with hostile parties using powerful jamming techniques to disrupt adversaries’ vital GNSS-based PNT capabilities. Further, recent aggressive actions in space, notably by Russia, have underlined the defenselessness of many space-based PNT assets.

New Strategy Announced

Measures under the new UK strategy for ensuring the continuity of PNT services include the elaboration of a comprehensive crisis plan, to be activated should PNT services become unavailable. This cross-government plan is to be regularly updated, and will include measures for, among other things, identification and implementation of short-term mitigation actions.

The UK will also develop a proposal for a National Timing Centre, to provide resilient, terrestrial, sovereign, and high-quality timing for the UK. Precise time and synchronization are the often overlooked components of PNT, crucial for a range of strategic activities, including in telecommunications and computer networks, energy generation and distribution, and finance.

The UK also intends to develop a UK SBAS (satellite-based augmentation system), equivalent to the U.S. WAAS and EU EGNOS systems. The new UK SBAS will replace the UK’s use of EGNOS, monitoring GNSS and enabling GNSS-dependent, high-accuracy positioning for autonomous applications and other precision uses.

The UK strategy also includes development of a PNT growth policy, including R&D programs, a standards and testing activities. The new policy will be geared to drive maximum innovation for maximum PNT-based productivity.

The UK government has already published a new research report showing the economic impact on the UK if GNSS is disrupted. The report examines seven priority sectors, including: agriculture; aviation; emergency services; finance; and maritime, rail and road transport. It finds that a 24-hour GNSS outage could result in a £1.4 billion loss to the UK economy, while a 7-day outage would cost the economy £7.6 billion. These figures alone would seem to provide ample justification for the new framework.

The EU JRC and the U.S. Department of Transport

The new UK CPNT framework is particularly interesting in the context of recent Joint Research Centre (JRC) and U.S. Department of Transport (DOT) activities. Earlier in 2023, the JRC of the European Commission completed an in-depth performance assessment involving selected A-PNT providers, who showed off a variety of platforms providing precise PNT without the use of navigation satellites. The campaign was carried out mainly in Ispra, Italy, with four companies, OPNT, 7 Solutions SL, SCPTime and GMV demonstrating timing services, and three others, Locata, Satelles and NextNav, demonstrating both timing and positioning services.

Among the JRC’s general conclusions was there are demonstrably viable alternatives to GNSS for PNT applications today. The publication of the JRC conclusions have stimulated new and positive interest in A-PNT technologies throughout the EU and the world.

Across the Atlantic, the DOT issued a CPNT Action Plan in 2023, comprising a comprehensive roadmap to ensure the safety, security and efficiency of critical infrastructure in the face of potential GPS disruptions. Like the EU did with its JRC initiative, the DOT plan will establish field trials and other test campaigns to evaluate the performance and resilience of domain-specific CPNT technologies.

Importantly, the DOT also plans to act as the U.S. government’s lead adopter and purchaser of PNT services, to accelerate testing and market development in the private sector.

Not a One-Off

The new UK CPNT framework also builds on previous UK government work on PNT, including the 2018 Blackett Report, and the work of the UK Space Agency’s Space Based PNT Program. In 2021, the UK government, in its Integrated Review of Security, Defense, Development and Foreign Policy, committed itself to strengthen the resilience of PNT services. It also included the loss of PNT services in its 2023 National Risk Register, which represents the government’s assessment of the most serious risks facing the UK.

The new CPNT strategy is also being considered against the backdrop of the UK’s 2020 exit from the EU, referred to in 2022 by ESA Navigation Director Javier Benedicto as a great loss to the European Union. No longer able to fully leverage the EU’s collective and ongoing experience and achievements in GNSS and other PNT technologies, the UK is clearly intent on making its own way, independently, while yet contributing to a wider movement toward more resilient, less vulnerable, non-GNSS-based PNT.

For more details on the JRC Report, read “Backing Up GNSS“.

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The European Space Agency (ESA) is calling for proposals for missions to the Moon that can leverage existing resources such as Moonlight program lunar communications and navigation services.

Issuing the new call for proposals is ESA’s Terrae Novae exploration program. The Terrae Novae 2030+ strategy has three overarching goals: establishing a sustained European presence in low-Earth orbit, sending the first European astronaut to explore the Moon’s surface by 2030, and participating in the first human mission to Mars.

Small exploratory missions are intended to support the implementation of the Terrae Novae roadmap, through the use of robots as precursors and scouts. Mission objectives should include closing technology gaps and expanding scientific knowledge of both the Moon and Mars.

The new call for proposals is broad and represents an excellent opportunity for small and medium-sized companies to claim a role in the field of space exploration. Proposals can come from individual companies as well as from consortia, including research institutions.

Proposed missions can range from fly-by satellites and orbiters to landers and rovers, as long as their focus is on exploration and scientific activities. Total cost should not exceed €50 million, and development from kickoff to launch should take less than 4.5 years. To stay within budget, the proposed missions should use, to the extent possible, established resources, including ‘piggybacking’ on main payloads of the new Ariane 6 launcher and using Moonlight communications and navigation services.

Moonlight by ESA

ESA’s Roadmap for lunar navigation services comprises three phases. Phase 1, from 2023 to 2027, starts with Earth-based GNSS systems for lunar navigation. In 2025, there will be a first demonstration of Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft, designed to provide affordable communications services to lunar missions, and also equipped with a high-sensitivity GNSS receiver. These technologies may be sufficient for the provision of Earth-to-Moon transfer, navigation and timing, and for high lunar orbit navigation.

Phase 2, starting around 2027, will involve a GNSS-like service from the Moon, including satellites in lunar orbit, enabling lunar landing and surface navigation. Phase 3 will entail full lunar PNT, with complete coverage, high availability and accuracy. This could include not only navigation satellites in orbit but also surface beacons, local differential augmentation and reference stations.

The call for proposals for new moon missions is open until 14 December 2023.

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A European Space Agency (ESA)-backed initiative is using high-quality satellite navigation data to improve the precision of weather forecasting. The data is provided by voluntary users of the CAMALIOT app on Android smartphones. As of this writing, almost 13,000 users have uploaded more than 260 billion measurements, amassing a vast dataset covering the entire globe.

Ian McCallum leads the Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability (NODES) Research Group at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). He told InsideGNSS, “We have permanent weather stations, but there are gaps in coverage, so the idea with this mobile data is to be able to fill those gaps.”

GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) like GPS and Europe’s Galileo remain backbone technologies for today’s positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) applications, but they can also be used to detect disturbances in the atmosphere. As GNSS satellite signals are transmitted from space to the Earth’s surface, they are modified, for example by the amount of water vapor in the air.

Weather scientists can use these affected GNSS signals in combination with machine learning algorithms to improve weather forecasting. The same data can also be used to improve predictions of space weather, including events such as solar flares that can disturb communication systems.

Better models, better prediction

Global climate models are used to generate your weather forecasts,” said McCallum. “For example, in Austria, where I’m based, these models are fed into the Austrian climate system and that gives us our national weather forecasting. There are a lot of large global models, several of them running in the UK, for instance. The data we’re getting from CAMALIOT is now being fed into them, and that’s where we can expect to be able to generate more accurate forecasts.”

The 2023 release of CAMALIOT can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. The most recent update allows users to optionally upload additional sensor data from their smartphones, including data related to phone movement, ambient temperature, light, air pressure, and relative humidity. Users are encouraged to collect data, whenever possible, outdoors and with an unobstructed view of the sky, which significantly enhances the reliability and utility of the GNSS data collected.

CAMALIOT is funded under the European Space Agency (ESA) NAVISP program, which supports the development of innovative competitive products in satellite navigation and other areas of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT). CAMALIOT Collaborators include IIASA and ETH Zurich, and of course the tens of thousands of volunteers using the app. The plan, said McCallum, is to launch a new, improved Version 2 in the near future. “And meanwhile,” he said, “we just keep going. We’re really appreciating all the good data we’re getting.”

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The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified Madrid-based ESSP (European Satellite Services Provider) as a pan-European Communication Services Provider for Iris data link services.

Iris is a European Space Agency (ESA) project backed by a number of high-profile European partners, developing a new satellite-based, air-ground communication system for air traffic management. Aimed at making aviation safer, greener and more efficient, it is essentially a data link service (DLS) satellite system, based on existing Inmarsat infrastructure. By 2028, Iris will enable full, 4D trajectory management over airspace across the globe. The data link will be the primary means of communication between controllers and cockpit crews.

Certification of ESSP as an Iris data link services provider comes after more than a year of testing and audits at ESSP and Inmarsat premises, establishing compliance with the applicable regulation and associated industrial standards for data link services.

A Service Definition Document (SDD) has been prepared by ESSP describing the intended Iris communication services, including target performance requirements, limitations and conditions of usage and service liability. The new ESSP certification comes just weeks after Viasat/Inmarsat and ESSP signed a long-term contract that will see ESSP acting as the Service Provider for Iris data link services, powered by Viasat’s SwiftBroadband Safety (SB-S) connectivity.

ESSP is the EGNOS service provider

ESSP is of course already under long-term contract with the European Agency for the Space Program (EUSPA), acting as service provider for the EGNOS Open Service and Safety of Life Service (SoL), a role that includes carrying out EGNOS operations and part of EGNOS maintenance. That contract also includes terms for further expanding EGNOS service provision into new sectors and new geographical areas.

Iris will enter full commercial and operational service in Europe in 2024 with airlines including easyJet and ITA Airways, supporting the Single European Sky’s ATM Research (SESAR) master plan. ESSP will also lead Iris service commercialization, targeting European Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP’s). The ESSP service provision consortium includes ESSP SAS, Inmarsat and SITA. The addition of other communication network providers (CNPs) such as NewPENS and Collins Aerospace is expected in the coming months.

From Iris to IRIS²

IRIS² (‘IRIS Squared’ – ‘Infrastructure for resilience, interconnectivity and security by satellite’) is the EU’s newest space-based infrastructure project. Being mounted in record time, it will offer enhanced communication capacities to governmental users and businesses, and deliver high-speed internet broadband in connectivity dead zones. Initial services are scheduled for launch as early as 2024, with full operational capability by 2027.

According to multiple EU sources, the IRIS² satellite constellation, while focused on telecommunications, will likely also provide contributions to an emerging coordinated PNT infrastructure. There will be space on IRIS² satellites for secondary payloads and a decision is expected soon as to whether that will include a PNT payload.

Speaking earlier this year (2023), Javier Benedicto, ESA Director of Navigation said, “IRIS², Galileo and EGNOS all have to be connected, because, at the end of the day, we want to reach the smartphone, we want to reach the airplane cockpit, the dashboard of the autonomous vehicle, and this requires a combination of sensors and techniques for both communication and navigation. This will require the use of optical technologies, quantum communication, quantum encryption, and with all of this, I am sure that Europe will remain at the forefront of resilient PNT.”

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Auburn University Autonomous Tiger Racing, sponsored by Safran Electronics & Defense, recently completed a full lap with its autonomous Indy racecar at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. It was the first time a vehicle participating in the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) completed a lap on a professional track in the United States without any human intervention.

Auburn University is a member of Safran’s Minerva Academic Partnership Program, which promotes cooperative activities between public bodies, industry and the academic community, towards the advancement of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) research and development. Under the program, Safran provides, among other things, free use of Skydel, the company’s hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) GNSS simulation engine.

Safran says Skydel is more flexible, scalable, customizable, upgradeable and cost-effective compared to traditional, field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based simulators. Skydel’s feature set includes a 1000 Hz simulation iteration rate, remote control from user-defined scripts, and a software-defined architecture. With Skydel, Auburn Autonomous Tiger Racing can continue to work after its car has left the track, testing localization software and hardware between track runs.

At Barber, Tiger Racing’s chase car reached a top speed of 55 mph, running a lap time of just under four minutes. The course features challenging turns and elevation changes, including a blind crest that drops 35 feet (11 m) before reaching the track’s longest straightaway.

The IAC brings together private interests and academic institutions to help university students around the world design, build and test new automated vehicle software for fully autonomous racecars. The ultimate test for participating teams is to enter their vehicles in a high-speed, head-to-head racing competition during the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 2022, Safran, already the European leader and world number three in inertial navigation systems, acquired Orolia, making Safran a veritable global PNT powerhouse.

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GMV is currently developing the ground control segment for the in-orbit validation (IOV) system for Galileo Second Generation satellites (G2G), under a contract signed recently with the European Space Agency (ESA). The contract exceeds €200 million in value, making a total of more than €500 million in contracts signed by GMV for work on the Galileo program since 2018.

The new ground segment will be used to control two G2G satellite platforms, which are currently in the design and production phase. The system will come into operation in 2025, coinciding with the launch of the first G2G satellite.

Getting set for G2G

According to ESA, G2G satellites will be much larger than first generation (G1G) satellites, using electric propulsion for the first time and hosting an enhanced navigation antenna. Digital payloads are being designed to be easily reconfigured in orbit, enabling Galileo services providers to actively respond to the evolving needs of users.

The new electric propulsion capability, which will be used to maneuver satellites from initial orbits into final, operational orbits, will mean two satellites can be launched at once, in spite of their increased mass. On-board technologies will include inter-satellite links, enabling routine cross-checking of performance between satellites and allowing reduced dependency on the availability of ground installations. The satellites will also feature more precise onboard atomic clocks, as well as advanced jamming and spoofing protection mechanisms to safeguard Galileo signals.

The ground segment

The new ground segment to be developed by GMV will provide control and monitoring capabilities for the G2G satellites, and will mark a technological leap forward compared to current systems. Innovations will include post-quantum cryptography, deployed microservices, improved automation, and new user interfaces, among others. The improvements will ensure the ground segment remains flexible, scalable, expandable, robust, and autonomous. Particular emphasis will be placed on aspects related to cybersecurity.

In 2018, GMV began work on the G1G ground segment, of which the company has already deployed the first of two contracted versions, currently providing services to a total of 28 satellites. GMV will continue to work on the G1G and the new G2G contracts simultaneously until the end of 2026, when Galileo’s ground control segment will be unified in order to manage the full 50-satellites constellation.

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The recent spotlighting of alternative positioning, navigation and timing technologies by weighty bodies such as the European Commission and the European Space Agency is causing more than a stir among the concerned communities, with both public and private interests now readying themselves to move beyond conventional GNSS for critical applications.

There’s little doubt that space-based GNSS technologies will remain the backbone upon which mass global positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services are built, at least for the foreseeable future. However, awareness of their limits and vulnerabilities is leading to the development of alternative PNT (A-PNT) solutions.

An in-depth performance assessment campaign was recently completed by the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission (EC). Four companies, OPNT, 7 Solutions SL, SCPTime and GMV, demonstrated timing services, while three others, Satelles, Locata and NextNav, demonstrated timing and positioning services.

Assessment results have generated much interest and positive discussion, with the report recognizing there are viable alternatives to GNSS for PNT applications available today. This is not exactly a revelation. We knew, for example, that Locata has provided a key subsystem for the United States Air Force’s non-GPS-based positioning system since 2012 and has since worked with Ports of Auckland, NASA and others, providing highly precise, reliable PNT without relying on traditional GNSS. NextNav is deploying non-GNSS positioning solutions in urban settings in the U.S. and Europe. Other participants are implementing or planning to implement their own solutions.

Not a revelation, but the conclusions are important, serving as a potent stimulus and a clear signal that A-PNT is now a thing.

Where We Go From Here

The EC has already demonstrated its determination to shore up its GNSS-based PNT foundation. “The Commission is currently implementing new to Galileo and EGNOS signals and services that will increase resilience,” JRC’s PNT and GNSS Resilience Specialist Lukasz Bonenberg said, “while at the same time we are adopting relevant law, including Critical Entities Resilience [CER] and Network Information Security [NIS2] directives addressing critical infrastructure and cybersecurity.”

That provided for, Bonenberg said, an eventual European low Earth orbit (LEO) PNT system and the EU’s new IRIS² satellite constellation, while focused on telecommunications, will also provide contributions to an emerging coordinated PNT infrastructure.

In the wake of its A-PNT testing campaign, the JRC has made many cogent recommendations. “One thing that we’d like to see is more support for the development of industry standards, to ensure interoperability,” Bonenberg said, “as a minimum of common reference to Universal Coordinated Time [UTC] and European Terrestrial Reference Frame [ETRF]. This would enable a seamless system of systems approach, with a mix of technologies within EU PNT.” The JRC would also like to see investigations undertaken into the feasibility of a dedicated EU terrestrial PNT spectrum band.

In 2023, the EC released the new European Radio Navigation Plan (ERNP). This second edition of the document comes after the 2016 Space Strategy for Europe, which tasked the EC with releasing “a European radio navigation plan to facilitate the introduction of global navigation satellite system applications in sectoral policies.”

This ERNP provides relevant information on PNT systems and services, their use, typical performance, strengths, weaknesses, developments, trends, challenges and opportunities, encompassing both conventional and emerging A-PNT systems. The ERNP aims to raise awareness of PNT services and to recommend actions toward increasing their resilience. It also elaborates a medium-term vision for how PNT might best evolve.

Concrete Actions

The JRC is discussing recommendations stemming from the report with stakeholders. Bonenberg said the JRC sees industry-led initiatives playing a pivotal role. A number of telecommunications companies are already taking a proactive stance, demonstrating proof of concept for non-GNSS-based resilient UTC provision. 

Meanwhile, separate discussions are happening regarding possible coordinated actions involving the European National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) toward the provision of resilient timing services. The MRIs represent valuable experience in information delivery and in building collaboration across the measurement science community.

While notable progress has been made, Bonenberg said, “Predicting the precise timeline as to when we might see new A-PNT technologies put into practice in the EU is complex, given the Union’s multifaceted nature and the unique challenges that each member state faces.” 

The ESA NAVISP Program

The European Space Agency’s Navigation Innovation and Support Program (NAVISP) is a funding mechanism that supports the development of new, innovative PNT concepts, techniques and systems that go beyond the use of GNSS signals and data. The program also works to maintain and improve existing capabilities and competitiveness of members’ satellite navigation systems and their PNT industries. The program has continued to release new funding, with a number of NAVISP-supported projects already producing interesting results.

Recently completed NAVISP initiatives include: the SSRoverDAB+ project, aimed at increasing the availability of high-accuracy GNSS corrections in rural regions using DAB+ (digital audio broadcasting) transmission; the AlnGNSS project, which used selected AI-enabled algorithms to demonstrate significant improvements in position, velocity and timing (PVT) performance compared to conventional GNSS-based PVT methods; and the NavIN project, which assessed an indoor navigation solution based on commercially available technologies for mobile phone users. Another NAVISP-funded project, which delivered its results in July, is GridCell.

Again, Key Infrastructure

Protecting critical infrastructure is among the first things we think of when considering a response to GNSS-based PNT vulnerability. Among our most critical infrastructure is the power grid.

GridCell, a project carried out with NAVISP funding by Fundamentals, SMPNet, Chronos Technology and the University of Strathclyde’s Power Networks Demonstration Centre, is one of several European research and development projects looking for new ways to make critical infrastructure more resilient. 

GridCell comprises a new sustainable grid technology that includes the Smart Power Cell (SPC) concept, a system that seamlessly integrates local load, storage and power generation assets. With the ability to operate while connected to the grid and autonomously during failures, it can guarantee uninterrupted power supply to local consumers. Its precise, resilient timing system ensures reliable grid synchronization and transaction timestamping, making it an attractive answer for the energy industry.

Speaking at the recent GridCell final project presentation, Chronos Technology Technical Director Calum Dalmeny explained the alternative timing solution: “Because GNSS is vulnerable to jamming, spoofing, space weather and constellation errors, we wanted to use alternative sources of UTC, to provide that needed resiliency during periods of GNSS outage. Ultimately, we chose a system that combines GNSS with a back-up alternative timing source, utilizing terrestrial, low-frequency [LF] signals. LF can provide excellent sources of UTC, eLoran and Radio 4 198 kHz being examples, giving us high-power, wide-area coverage with a low-frequency ground wave.”

Former Powerline Technologies (a recent Fundamentals acquisition) CEO Brian Lasslett said, “GridCell has given us an insight into how decentralized ‘trading micro-grids’ could change the way the grid is organized. With this, we can see many new opportunities opening up, including peer-to-peer trading and local multi-vector energy grids. There are also some remaining obstacles and challenges, including further ensuring reliability, resilience and grid stability, and navigating industry governance structures and legal issues.” The next step is bridging the gap between regulation and commercial implementation. 

Backing A-PNT

About the roles of public and private players, Bonenberg said, “As far as implementation costs are concerned, market forces should be deployed to create a balance between public and commercial A-PNT services. The public sector, represented by the European Commission, already plays a pivotal role in providing essential PNT services through the European GNSS programs, while also working to support consensus-building, to establish industry standards and define the relevant legal and regulatory framework.”

The private sector, as represented by those who participated in the JRC campaign, is sure to be instrumental in A-PNT development, implementation and operation. A strong collaboration between the public and private sector is essential, Bonenberg said.

A-PNT then is indeed a thing, a thing to be reckoned with, to be paid attention to, and to be invested in.

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As of August, 2023, operational Galileo GNSS satellites, with some exceptions, have been updated and are now transmitting an improved I/NAV message. Users will see an enhancement in the Galileo E1 Open Service (OS) performance in terms of robustness and a significant reduction in time to first fix in challenging environments, with both unassisted and assisted GNSS. Backward compatibility is assured, with no impact on legacy receivers and low complexity implementation within OS receivers.

Galileo satellites broadcast different types of data in four navigation messages: the F/NAV and I/NAV navigation messages, a commercial navigation message (C/NAV) and a governmental navigation message (G/NAV). The latest upgrade comprises new features added to the I/NAV message, carried by the E1-B signal.

New features

According to the EU Agency for the Space Program (EUSPA), the improved Galileo I/NAV signal now includes the Reed Solomon outer forward error correction (RS FEC2), enabling faster and more robust positioning. The RS FEC2 increases demodulation robustness at all times, enhancing sensitivity, while also improving overall time to retrieve clock and ephemeris data (CED) thanks to the broadcast of additional, redundant CED information. This allows the device to restore potentially corrupt data bits autonomously.

The reduced CED (RedCED) enables fast initial positioning, with lower than nominal accuracy, by decoding a single I/NAV word while waiting to receive the four I/NAV words carrying the full-precision CED. In combination, the new features allow users to obtain a rough first position much faster, while also significantly reducing the time required to obtain a first full-accuracy solution. The result is a much-reduced time to first fix, particularly when operating in difficult environments.

The improvements also benefit users working in assisted GNSS (A-GNSS) mode, through the new secondary synchronization pattern (SSP). In A-GNSS mode, when navigation data is received from non-GNSS channels, and when the receiver’s knowledge of the Galileo system time is affected by a relatively large error, clock uncertainty must be resolved quickly and reliably. With the I/NAV improvements, receivers can do this via the SSP feature, thus reducing TTFF in A-GNSS mode.

New I/NAV testing campaign

EUSPA is set to launch a testing campaign, open to receiver manufacturers, enabling participants to confirm the proper implementation and processing of the I/NAV improvements in their products. The tests will be conducted at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra and at the European Space Agency facility in Noordwijk (ESA/ESTEC). Participants will be assigned to one of the two facilities depending on specific conditions and availability.

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