Applanix Launches POS AV with Integrated Trimble GNSS, Upgraded DSS RapidOrtho

Applanix has announced the availability of a high altitude tactical mapping option for its DSS RapidOrtho system as well as the integration of the Trimble BD960 GNSS receiver module for its POS AV airborne position and orientation system.

With the GNSS module, POS AV products now support GPS L1/L2 and GLONASS L1/L2 processing, both in real-time and post-mission. The BD960 will also be able to receive and process the next-generation GPS L2C and L5 signals.

Russia Approves CDMA Signals for GLONASS, Discussing Common Signal Design

Nearly 30 years after the first launch of a GLONASS spacecraft, Russia is moving to add code division multiple access (CDMA) signals to the frequency division multiple access (FDMA) format that has set the world’s second-oldest global satellite navigation system apart from GPS and other systems under development.

A February 15, 2008, government decree on new GLONASS requirements calls for open CDMA signals with a binary offset carrier or BOC (2,2) signal structure centered at 1575.42 MHz and a BOC (4,4) signal centered at 1176.45 MHz — essentially corresponding to the center points of GPS signals at the L1 and L5 frequencies and nearby Galileo and Compass signals.

An additional GLONASS FDMA signal will be located at L3 frequencies (1197.648–1212.255 MHz), just below the GPS M-code at L2.

Russia will implement the new signals on the next-generation GLONASS-K satellites, with the first launch currently expected in late 2010 with flight testing the following year.

IfEN Receives ESA EGNOS-Related Contract

The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a contract to IfEN GmbH to develop a “New Generation” receiver breadboard for use at the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) Ranging and Integrity Monitoring Stations (RIMS).

The RIMS New Generation breadboard will be capable of receiving the new L2C and L5 signals, the Galileo E1, E5ab, and E6 signals and the GLONASS L1 signal in addition to GPS L1 and L2P signals.

Spirent Launches GLONASS L2 Capability in Simulator Series

UK-based Spirent Communications will introduce its new GSS8000 series of GNSS constellation simulators with GLONASS L2 capability at the Moscow International Satellite Forum April 7–8 and the European Navigation Conference–GNSS 2008 in Toulouse, France, April 22–25.

Trimble Snares Big Turkey GNSS Network Contract

Turkey's Istanbul Kultur University has selected Trimble to supply GNSS equipment and establish a 150-station, nationwide GNSS infrastructure network

Russia Dwells on Glonass Future

Despite a recent round of criticism from high-ranking officials, Russia’s GLONASS system is pushing ahead with a six-satellite launch schedule in 2008 and the prospect of adding code division multiple access (CDMA) signals to future broadcasts.

Astrium-Allsat JV Launches GNSS Reference Network Services across Europe

Astrium Services and Allsat GmbH network+services have created a joint venture, AXIO-NET GmbH, to offer precise navigation and positioning services across Europe.

The companies, which formed a JV in September 2007 to operate the German ascos service, have created a trans-European brand — AXIO-NET  — to extend the service, based on a network of reference stations that generate high-accuracy differential corrections of GPS and GLONASS satellite signals.

GLONASS CDMA Signals Near Approval

Russia appears ready to add code division multiple access (CDMA) signals to its frequency division multiple access (FDMA) GLONASS system.

A final decision is expected next week, according to Sergey Revnivykh, deputy head of the Russian GNSS Mission Control Center, in a February 20 presentation to the Munich Satellite Navigation Conference in Germany. Under the plan, CDMA signals would be introduced at L1 and L5 frequencies near GPS and Galileo signals, beginning with the GLONASS-K generation of satellites that will launch in 2010.

Ivanov GLONASS Flap Obscures Program Reality

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov’s criticism of Roscosmos and GLONASS continues to ripple in news columns around the world.
Widely reported in Russian media and picked up and amplified in derivative reports, Ivanov’s complaints focused on GLONASS’s relative inaccuracy, limited coverage, and lack of user equipment.

However, aside from the fact that the person making the remarks was Ivanov — a powerful figure once thought to be in line to succeed Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, none of this is really news. Rather, it seems like another example of the phenomenon that, when people learn of something for the first time, they assume it has just happened.

Nokia Eyes GLONASS signals for AGNSS Handsets

Finland’s Nokia, the world’s leading manufacturer of mobile phones, is investigating use of GLONASS signals in new products that could reach the market in the near future.