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LBand RTK Click is a compact add-on board that provides access to L-band GNSS corrections. The board features the NEO-D9S-00B, a professional-grade, satellite data receiver for L-band corrections from u-blox.

Operating in a frequency range from 1,525 MHz to 1,559 MHz, the NEO-D9S-00B decodes the satellite transmission and outputs a correction stream. This enables a high-precision GNSS receiver to reach accuracies down to centimeter-level. An independent stream of correction data, delivered over L-band signals, ensures high availability of position output.

LBand RTK Click also uses several mikroBUS pins. The EIN pin routed to the AN pin of the mikroBUS socket is used as an external interrupt feature activated through a population of the R6 0Ω resistor.

In addition, LBand RTK Click contains an SMA antenna for connecting a Mikroe-brand antenna. This antenna easily allows positioning in space, supporting GNSS L-band frequencies.

LBand RTK Click implements advanced security features such as signature and anti-jamming mechanisms. It can also be integrated with other GNSS receivers from the u-blox F9 platform.

Rohde & Schwarz has launched its EVSD1000 VHF/UHF nav/drone analyzer at Airspace World 2023 in Geneva March 8-10. The analyzer provides highly accurate drone inspection of terrestrial navigation and communications systems.

The EVSD1000 VHF/UHF nav/drone analyzer is a signal-level and modulation analyzer for medium-sized drones. It features measurements of instrument landing systems, ground-based augmentation systems and VHF omnirange ground stations. The mechanical and electrical design is optimized for drone-based, real-time measurements of terrestrial navigation systems with up to 100 measurement data sets per second.

The analyzer provides high-precision signal analysis in the frequency range from 70 MHz to 410 MHz. This also includes the needed measurement repeatability to ensure results from drone measurements can be compared to flight and to ground inspections in line with ICAO standards.

The EVSD1000 VHF/UHF nav/drone analyzer reduces runway blocking times, provides necessary measurement repeatability and offers measurement precision and GNSS time and location stamps. While streaming measurement data during a drone flight via the data link to a PC on the ground, the analyzer can also buffer data internally to ensure no results are lost if the data link is lost.

As a part of the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, Firefly Aerospace will land the Blue Ghost lander on the lunar surface in 2024. Onboard, the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) payload will determine whether signals from two GNSS constellations can reach the lander and provide precise navigation on the moon for future missions.

During a 12-day mission in the moon’s Mare Crisium basin, LuGRE will obtain the first GNSS fix on the lunar surface and receive signals from both GPS and Galileo. The LuGRE payload is managed by NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program office.

This payload is a collaborative effort between NASA and the Italian Space Agency to expand the capabilities of Earth-based navigation systems. Navigation engineers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, have been testing the payload’s GNSS receiver and low noise amplifier. The receiver was developed and built by the Italian company Qascom.

These components will be critical to LuGRE obtaining signals from the GPS and Galileo satellites. To prepare for operating on the moon, NASA engineers used a GNSS simulator to test and configure the payload to accurately receive and process the signals.

The Goddard team delivered in February the flight hardware to Firefly Aerospace in Cedar Park, Texas, where it will be integrated into the Blue Ghost lander.

Astronauts and rovers traversing the lunar surface will need precise location and tracking data for their exploration endeavors. The data gathered from the LuGRE payload will be used to further develop GNSS-based navigation systems for future missions to the moon.

Trimble has partnered with Nissan Motor Company to use Trimble’ RTX network as the positioning source to enhance the capabilities of the ProPILOT Assist 2.0 driver assistance system in Nissan vehicles.

The Trimble RTX network is supported by a globally redundant and resilient infrastructure and is backed by a team of ISO 20,000 certified network engineers and IT specialists, which monitor operations to ensure optimal signal performance and reliability for drivers. Trimble’s RTX positioning technology can provide decimeter-level accuracy in seconds, making it suitable for autonomy applications, including automotive driving.

The ProPILOT 2.0 Assist system enables hands-off driving while cruising in a single lane and when the vehicle approaches a road divide. When the car is passing a slower vehicle, the system judges the appropriate timing of branching off or passing based on information from the navigation system and 360-degree sensing.

The ProPILOT 2.0 Assist system with Trimble’s RTX network will be initially available on the 2023 Nissan Ariya.

Hoptroff will host its thought leadership industry roundtable, “GNSS, the time is up,” on March 21. The virtual roundtable will explore the impact of escalating GNSS vulnerabilities to business continuity and how organizations can best protect business-critical operations.

“Businesses and financial institutions need to accept and start planning how they are going to mitigate the risks associated with GNSS,” said Tim Richards, CEO at Hoptroff. “This livestream roundtable will allow business and financial institutional decision-makers to better understand the impact and disruption GNSS vulnerabilities can have on their bottom line, and why they need to act now.”

The roundtable is an opportunity for those in the financial and business sector to learn more about the status of GPS, the growing potential risks from increased jamming, spoofing and cyberattacks, what disruption looks like, and the new technologies available to provide complementary positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) technologies to help mitigate risk.

“GNSS vulnerabilities create serious consequences for critical infrastructure,” said Richard Hoptroff, founder and chief time officer at Hoptroff. “To effectively mitigate these threats, complementary PNT solutions need to be deployed.”

The event will be moderated by Robert Hampshire, deputy assistant secretary for Research and Technology, U.S. Department of Transportation.

Speakers at the roundtable event include:

• Robert Hampshire – Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, U.S. Department of Transportation
• Diana Furchtgott-Roth – Heritage Foundation and George Washington University
• Judah Levine – Fellow, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
• Karen Van Dyke – Director for PNT, U.S. Department of Transportation
• Steve Suarez – Global Head of Innovation, Financial Services
• Kathryn Condello – Senior Director, National Security/ Emergency Preparedness, Lumen Technologies
• Richard Hoptroff – Founder and Chief Time Officer, Hoptroff

Areas of discussion at the roundtable include:

• The rising GNSS vulnerabilities and the potential consequences of GNSS disruption such as service outages, errors, or inaccuracies.
• Example use cases where GNSS vulnerabilities can have a significant impact on your business continuity.
• How to enable new resilient complementary technologies for your disaster recovery plans.
• How to start utilizing these technologies today in your real-life applications such as precision timing for global financial services.
• Practical advice for businesses on reducing GNSS risk in financial transactions, fraud detection, compliance and data integrity.

Those interested in attending the livestream roundtable can sign up on the Hoptroff website.

“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry.

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Dozens Stranded in Tundra

Several vehicles in Rock Springs, Wyoming, were stranded after being led by their map apps or vehicle navigation systems to an unmaintained county road in a blizzard. Several calls were made to the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office about stranded vehicles stuck after they were directed to the detour when Interstate 80 was closed due to winter conditions. Similar incidents were reported by other counties, resulting in discussions between the Wyoming Department of Transportation and the companies that develop navigation software. 

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UAVs contain Western Technology

A Ukrainian intelligence assessment obtained by CNN and CBS reported an Iranian UAV downed in Ukraine contained technology from companies in the United States and other western countries. The White House has since launched an investigation as to how the technology — including semiconductors, GPS modules and engines — were obtained by Iran. The components removed from an Iranian Shahed-136 UAV totaled 52, 40 of which were manufactured by 13 different U.S. companies. The remaining components were manufactured by other western companies and by companies based in Japan, Taiwan and China.

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Machine learning helps monitor hurricanes

Researchers may now be able to monitor climate-induced natural hazards by combining satellite technology with machine learning. Researchers were able to use machine learning to study hurricanes that made landfall over the Gulf of Mexico in a series of recent experiments. C.K. Shum, the co-author of the study and a professor at the Byrd Polar Research Center, uses geodesy to study global climate change phenomena. Using geodetic data gathered from satellites, Shum tested whether a mix of remote sensing and machine learning analytics could accurately monitor weather phenomena. Accurate measurements could help improve hurricane forecasting. 

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The power of TikTok is real

TikTok changed Jeff Foulk’s life when his daughter posted about his free marine navigation app, Argo, when they attended a boat show in Chicago. Foulk was promoting Argo with little success, until his daughter shared with the social media platform his struggle as the owner of a small business. Since then, the app has been downloaded more than 200,000 times and remains at the top of the charts for boat navigation apps. Argo was launched more than four years ago and, until now, had only 100,000 total downloads. Now that Argo is viral, Foulk wants to launch a premium subscription.

CHC Navigation has released the NX510 SE Auto-Steer, an automated steering system that retrofits several types of new and old farm tractors and other vehicles. It can be connected to local real-time kinematic (RTK) networks or GNSS RTK base stations.

NX510 SE is a guidance controller powered by multiple corrections sources and five satellite constellations: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS. It has a built-in 4G and UHF modem that connects to all industry-standard differential GPS and RTK corrections to achieve centimeter-accuracy steering.

NX510 SE contains GNSS and inertial navigation system terrain compensation technology, which maintains high accuracy in challenging environments and terrain. This makes NX510 SE suitable for ditching, planting and harvesting applications.

In addition, AgNav multilingual software, operating on a 10.1 in industrial display, supports multiple guideline patterns that include AB line, A+ line, circle line, irregular curve and headland turn.

On Friday, March 3, Alex Murdaugh was convicted of killing his son Paul Murdaugh and wife Maggie Murdaugh on June 7, 2021. With limited evidence, the prosecution used a phone video and vehicle navigation data to prove Alex’s guilt.

During the trial, Alex claimed he was visiting his mother during the time the murders took place. However, General Motors OnStar data accessed by investigators from his Chevrolet Suburban contradicted the alibi, putting Alex at the scene of the crime during the time of the murders.

In addition to the navigation data, in a phone video taken by Paul on the night of the murders near the Murdaugh’s dog kennels at their Moselle property, Alex’s voice could be heard in the background. That video also placed Alex at the scene around the time Paul and Maggie were shot and killed.

After deliberating for less than three hours, the jury found Alex guilty of the double murders. The judge then sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Since the trial began, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has reopened several investigations connected to the Murdaugh family. This includes the case of Stephen Smith who was found dead on the side of the road in 2015 allegedly from a hit-and-run.

Tracy Cozzens has helped to run GPS World for more than 17 years—first as Managing Editor and then, since June 2019, as Senior Editor. She has covered everything under the sun pertaining to GNSS, always providing readers real-time and fascinating news. She has also maintained the website, helped with print magazine production, and performed many other tasks. Now, Tracy is retiring and handing the reigns over to our new Managing Editor, Maddie Saines. Tracy has worked diligently to pass on her knowledge and enthusiasm to ensure the ongoing success of this publication.

Her ideas, angles, journalistic experience and passion will be dearly missed. GPS World’s staff wishes Tracy a wonderful and relaxing retirement!

TRACY’S TOP 17

One of her recent stories with the greatest number of hits for each of her 17 years with GPS World:

• 2016.03.08, Managing editor reflects on a decade with GPS World 
• 2016.05.16, Is reliance on GPS making us lose our mapping minds?
• 2016.07.07, Using GPS, Pokémon GO takes on the world
• 2018.07.09, Using GPS to disprove flat Earth theories
• 2019.04.15, 3D mapping of Notre Dame will help restoration
• 2019.06.21, GPS monitoring and crimes that shouldn’t have happened
• 2019.09.09, Change + Commitment = Progress
• 2020.01.13, Visualizing the Australian bushfires through satellites and maps
• 2020.03.06, China fights coronavirus with delivery drones
• 2020.03.26, Pandemic drones to monitor, detect those with COVID-19
• 2020.03.26, 19 countries track mobile location to fight COVID-19
• 2021.07.28, Mapping Marvel: Lost cities found
• 2021.11.29, Russia issues threat to GPS satellites
• 2022.02.17, Russia expected to ditch GLONASS for Loran in Ukraine invasion
• 2022.03.06, Ukraine hackers target GLONASS for cyberattacks
• 2022.04.28, Mapping Marvel: Ukraine war moment by moment
• 2023.01.26, Mapping Marvel: Off the Beaten Path

In 2022, the Galileo GNSS continued to provide the world’s most precise satellite navigation information, to a user base that stands at more than 3.5 billion worldwide. Furthermore, provided services continue to improve and expand, with plans for high-accuracy positioning and signal authentication now reaching fruition.

The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) continue to enjoy an effective collaboration on the many development, deployment, and evolution activities of the Galileo Programme — each according to their respective responsibilities for service provision and system development with the European Commission (EC) acting as the program manager.

New Services Launched in 2022

Excellent Performance
Service delivery operations and maintenance of operational systems are managed by EUSPA, which supervises many contracts that carry out the day-to-day activities from dedicated control and monitoring centers throughout Europe. In 2022, Galileo timing, navigation, and SAR/Galileo services were delivered with excellent performances that continue to exceed the formal declarations for minimum performance levels (MPL), which were increased in January, both in terms of absolute accuracy and overall service availability. The entry into service of two additional satellites in May and August, have further consolidated the overall service availability to end users.

Expansion of Service Portfolio
The service provision teams have been able to focus on improvements to, and expansion of, the service portfolio.

The I/NAV improvement will positively impact end users by enabling a faster time to first fix, and updates to the data validity status flags will lead to better protection of users against expired navigation data. These changes are implemented in updates of the onboard software of the satellites being rolled out across the constellation. At present, seven operational satellites have been successfully updated; the complete software upgrade campaign is planned to be completed this summer.

Galileo’s new High Accuracy Service will provide free precise point positioning (PPP) corrections, in the Galileo E6-B data component and by terrestrial means, for Galileo and GPS (single and multi-frequency) to achieve real-time user position improved by up to 10 times. The infrastructure to support an initial service (Phase 1) is nearing completion, and the formal declaration of the service capabilities is planned for early this year.

To provide users with a method of authenticating the received Galileo signals, especially the satellites ephemerides and the Galileo timing parameters, the new Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) service enables a receiver to confirm that a navigation message originated from the EU Galileo infrastructure. Many application areas are expected to benefit from this capability, including smart tachographs, telematics and logistics, UAVs, location-based services, and timing services. Having successfully demonstrated the technology behind the service in 2022, including a public observation phase, the roll-out of the Initial Service is planned to take place by the end of the year.

A fourth Medium Earth Orbit Local User Terminal (MEOLUT) in La Réunion will extend the SAR/Galileo Forward Link Service Coverage Area over the Indian Ocean as part of the SAR/Galileo full operational capability (FOC) declaration expected in the first quarter of 2023. The Cospas-Sarsat commissioning of this new station was completed in September 2022, and operational data is already being distributed to Cospas-Sarsat.

Reference documents for the above services can be found at the EUSPA European GNSS Service Centre website, including technical notes, interface control documents and service declaration documents.

FOC Infrastructure Development Nears Completion

Satellite Production
The production of the third batch of Galileo FOC satellites advanced further in 2022 with the completion of the environmental tests and the system compatibility test campaigns at the European Space Agency Test Centre in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. After 10 years of successful testing, on Oct.18, 2022, the last Galileo FOC satellite (flight model number 34) left the test center to return to the premises of the satellite manufacturer, OHB Systems, in Germany. Testing of the remaining 10 satellites has confirmed that they have been correctly built and will perform well in orbit. The acceptance review of the last couple of satellites will take place this summer.
At the beginning of 2023, the plan is to start in-orbit testing of a quasi-pilot signal on the E5 frequency using the Galileo GSAT201/202 satellites in elliptical orbit. The provision of a signal offering coarse acquisition in Galileo E5-A/GPS L5 can be a distinguishing feature for Galileo with respect to all other constellations to further improve the capability to acquire the E5 signal at low complexity. Following in-orbit testing, the strategy for roll-out of this capability will be assessed with the involvement of receiver manufacturers.

Access to Space
The discontinuation of Soyuz launch services from the Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana, because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has caused delays in the two Galileo launches that had been planned for 2022. The Launch 12 campaign had to be interrupted and in March 2022 the FM25 and 26 satellites were put in storage at the Kourou launch base, then returned to Europe in November.
Ariane 6 is the baseline launcher for Galileo satellites to ensure European independent access to space. The remaining Batch 3 satellites will be launched with the Ariane 62 launcher vehicle, the two strap-on solid booster variants of Ariane 6, now undergoing the final stages of development led by prime contractor Ariane Group. Ariane 6’s maiden flight is scheduled to take place in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Ground Segment
An upgrade of the ground control segment, in charge of command and control of the satellite constellation, is being developed by the industrial consortium led by GMV. The upgrades will address resolution of hardware and software obsolescence including cyber security, operability improvements, and a security monitoring overlay.

With the planned increase in the number of satellites in orbit, an additional telemetry tracking and control facility (TTCF) is being deployed in Kourou leading to seven operational TTCF stations in early 2023.

The ground mission segment, in charge of navigation control, is undergoing a complete technological refresh, including hardware/software virtualization performed by an industrial consortium led by Thales France. This upgrade will provide additional robustness, including a system extended contingency mode resilient to outages lasting up to seven days and a new state-of-the-art cyber security monitoring system. It will also provide ranging authentication through encrypted codes on the E6-C signal component for the implementation of the Commercial Authentication Service. Global coverage will be further increased with the introduction of two Galileo sensor stations in Wallis (Pacific Ocean) and Bonaire (Caribbean Sea), for a total of 15 sites around the globe.

G2G Development Started

Galileo’s second generation (G2G) will introduce many innovative technologies to offer unprecedented precision, robustness, and flexibility.
2022 was a key year for the evolution of G2G activities with the fast development cycles of the first batch of G2 satellites, beginning development of the associated G2G in orbit validation (IOV) ground segment and system test beds, and the consolidation of the G2G final system capabilities — including the coordination of the mission/service roadmaps with the EC, EUSPA, and the EU Member States delegates.

G2G Satellite Manufacturing
From the satellite development point of view, the two parallel contracts to develop and manufacture each of the six G2G batch one (G2SB1) satellites are progressing in a fast development environment, with the first hardware units ready for integration and testing.
Following the completion of preliminary design review, these two contracts (for six satellites each) are preparing for unit-level validation/testing, which will lead to the critical design review.

These satellites will provide the following key innovations:

• Reconfigurable fully digital navigation payload
• Point-to-point connection between satellites by inter-satellite-link for command and control, and ranging functionalities
• Electric propulsion for orbit-raising capabilities
• Advanced jamming and spoofing protection mechanisms to safeguard.

The Galileo signals will improve with:

• On-board authentication capabilities
• Increased ground-to-space data rate
• Improved time reference (number of clocks and advanced clock monitoring functions).

G2G IOV Procurements
2022 was also the year in which two key events took place with respect to G2G in-orbit validation (IOV) ground segment and system test bed procurements:

• Finalization of the procurement cycle, now in the final evaluation/award phase, to be kicked off in the first quarter of this year
• Confirmation of the IOV design through different coordinated actions with the EC and EUSPA, including the G2 system preliminary design review.
• The contracts will provide Europe with the following capabilities:
• G2SB1 satellite launch and early orbit phase, in-orbit testing and enhanced legacy services provision
• G2 new capabilities in-orbit validation, including prototyping and validation of all the novel technologies that can exploit the full capabilities of the G2SB1 satellites.

Eleven contracts will be issued to manage in synchrony all the G1 and G2 assets for the coming years:

• G2 IOV ground control segment (G2 GCS) for satellites monitoring and control
• G2 IOV ground mission segment/secured facility (G2 GMS-GSF) for the production, dissemination and monitoring of all enhanced legacy services and the dissemination of new G2 advanced capabilities for validation
• G2 IOV security monitoring (G2 SECMON), for the cyber/security monitoring of the system
• G2 filling device (G2 FD), to ensure proper initialization of system assets
• G2 system test bed (G2STB), to generate and monitor new G2 capabilities for validation of the G2G mission/services
• G2 PRS test bed (G2PRSTB), similar to G2 system test bed but focused on advanced PRS capabilities for validation purposes
• G2 security chain (G2SC), a test bed to ensure proper satellite-ground segment qualification before launch
• Four system engineering support contracts (G2 SETA), where the main GNSS technical experts from different industries in Europe provide their support to ESA and EUSPA in their different fields of expertise.
• These contracts are complemented by a significant set of system research and development and test tools, such as test user receivers and radio frequency constellation simulators.

Galileo Second Generation System PDR
The Galileo Programme is not only focusing on short-term G2G development activities, but also looking forward to the future in terms of the consolidation and definition of G2G final operation capabilities. During the second half of 2022, more than 200 public representatives from the EC, EUSPA, ESA and Member States held countless meetings in the frame of the G2G system preliminary design review, which concluded in early December 2022.

As part of this review, the long-term implementation (G2G in orbit capability, or IOC, and final operational capability, or FOC) was reviewed and an agreement was reached on future steps. The evolution of Galileo capabilities will not only provide better services through advanced technical solutions, but will also ensure continuity of service and enhanced backward compatibility for first-generation legacy users.

Conclusions
The efforts of ESA and EUSPA continue with the aim of providing users continuous and stable services and evolving space and ground infrastructure to maintain Galileo competitiveness with the other global navigation satellite systems.