Applanix Introduces New Aerial Digital Photogrammetric System

Applanix
has introduced the POSTrack 410 flight management and direct
georeferencing system designed for use with the latest generation of
medium-format airborne digital photogrammetric camera.

The POSTrack 410 incorporates Applanix's POS AV GNSS-inertial navigation
system (INS) and POSPac Mobile Mapping Suite (MMS) office software,
featuring the IN-Fusion technology and SmartBase module. This system
can process both GPS and GLONASS signals as well as those from
satellite-based augmentation systems.

Changes in Store for U.S. Military GPS Equipment Development and Acquisition

Development and acquisition of military GPS user equipment (MGUE) are taking on new dimensions across the board — institutionally, procedurally, and technologically.

Along the way, the changes could redefine relationships within the Department of Defense (DoD) and between the agency and industry.

At the agency level, a proposal is forthcoming to “stand up” a positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) user equipment joint program office (JPO) that would incorporate UE responsibilities (and budgets) now exercised by the GPS Wing (GPSW).

Figure 1: Synthetic Aperture GPS Signal Processing

Return to main article: "Synthetic Aperture GPS Signal Processing"

GAO Report on GPS Satellite Constellation Status: The Pushback

Two weeks after a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report warned of potential gaps in the GPS satellite constellation, reassurances from Department of Defense (DoD), U.S. Air Force, GPS program officials, and industry are slowly restoring calm to an anxious public.

Coupled with a May 7 congressional hearing (and subsequent media coverage) that fanned the flames, the report described scenarios — for instance a two-year setback in launching the first GPS III spacecraft — that could lead to deterioration in the quality of GPS service due to delays in building new generations of satellites and past program management problems. The news coverage drew primarily on the GAO report and prepared statements presented at the hearing and not on the much more interesting dialog with subcommittee members captured on video or on the assumptions and methodology underlying the constellation analysis.

First Look: Initial Observations of the GPS L5 Broadcast and L1 Signal Anomaly

(Updated May 22, 2009) Leading researchers from Ohio University, Stanford, and the University of Colorado have released their initial observations of the GPS L5 signal broadcast, including an anomaly in SVN49's L1 signal reported by the GPS Wing's chief engineer on May 4.

The U.S. Air Force switched on the eagerly awaited, modernized L5 signal on April 10 after the successful launch of the newest GPS Block IIR-M satellite - SVN49 - in March. This was the first broadcast of a GPS signal in a frequency band dedicated solely for civilian use.

New Leaders to Gather for First Obama-Era PNT ExCom Meeting

A June 18 meeting of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Executive Committee (ExCom) will bring together leaders of the Obama administration in the key interagency setting for GPS issues.

Established under a 2004 National Presidential Security Directive, the ExCom advises and coordinates federal departments and agencies on matters concerning the Global Positioning System and related systems. The deputy secretaries of defense and transportation and co-chair the committee, which includes equivalent-level members from seven other federal agencies.

GPS III Passes Preliminary Design Review

The Lockheed Martin team developing the next-generation GPS III satellites has successfully completed a major program milestone, the preliminary design review (PDR) conducted by the U.S. Air Force’s GPS Wing.

Underlining the importance placed on meeting a 2014 first-launch schedule, nearly 150 representatives from the GPS Wing and user communities, including representatives from the Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Space Command, the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Aviation Agency participated in the four-day Space Vehicle PDR at Lockheed Martin Space Systems facilities in Newtown, Pennsylvania.

Obama 2010 GPS Budget Calls for $1 Billion+

The president’s proposed Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10) budget would provide more than $1 billion for GPS and related U.S. space-based positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) programs.

First Look

The much-anticipated first GPS satellite with an L5 test payload was launched from Cape Canaveral on March 24, 2009. On April 10, at approximately 11:58 UTC, the L5 test transmission was turned on by the GPS Control Segment.