Septentrio’s GNSS Receiver First to Record Scintillation on Galileo Signals in Antarctica 

At the end of last year, the DemoGRAPE consortium observed for the first time ever, ionospheric scintillations on Galileo signals in Antarctica, using Septentrio’s PolaRx5S GNSS reference receiver.

DemoGRAPE investigates improvement of high-precision satellite positioning with a view to developing scientific and technological applications in Antarctica. The new findings were recently announced by Septentrio.

Rohde & Schwarz Launches Compact, Lightweight R&S ZNLE Vector Network Analyzer

Rohde & Schwarz has launched the R&S ZNLE vector network analyzer to address the requirements of customers looking to perform RF measurements to characterize components such as antennas, attenuators, filters and PCBs. The new standalone instrument weighs 6 kilograms and has a footprint of just 408 millimeters x 235 millimeters, saving up to two thirds of space on the workbench compared with competitive VNAs, according to the company.

Data Collecting Program for Mobile GNSS Field Data Set taking Place in Japan

Lighthouse Technology and Consulting Co., Ltd is proceeding with a program to collect precise GNSS data on major highways in Japan. The data is an inevitable “must use” tool for high precision positioning systems used in automated driving vehicles.

While the major part of autonomous driving systems consists of sensors and image recognition technologies, satellite positioning is also a key element used for complementing the precise current position.

GPS Official: Expect One Follow-on GPS III Contractor, Tech Insertion Points

The U.S. Air Force will hold a full and open competition for the next GPS III contract and is focused on choosing a single contractor for all 22 satellites to limit engineering costs, a GPS program official told the United States' leading satellite navigation experts.

GPS Expert Scott Pace Named to National Space Council

Scott Pace, a grand master of space policy with particular expertise in satellite navigation, has been chosen by the White House to be executive secretary of the newly revived and potentially powerful National Space Council.

"Ever since the Trump Administration indicated that it would re-establish the Space Council," wrote Marcia Smith of spacepolicyonline.com, "his is virtually the only name rumored to be in the running to serve as the head of its staff."

Expert GPS Panel: New Ligado Plan Still Harms GPS

The nation's leading GPS experts said in a newly released letter that a controversial broadband network would still interfere significantly with GPS receivers despite revisions to the network plan. The right choice, the group advised key administration officials, is to protect GPS, which underlies aviation and much of the nation’s other critical infrastructure.

Galileo Helping Europe Harmonize Geospatial Data

The importance of geospatial data being harmonized across Europe via a common coordinate system was stressed at the recent EUREF 2017 Symposium in Wroclaw, Poland, where the European GNSS Agency (GSA) discussed Galileo’s role in helping the mapping and surveying sector.