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News from the European Space Agency

As well as providing global navigation services, Europe’s Galileo satellite constellation is contributing to saving more than 2,000 lives annually by relaying SOS messages to first responders. And from now on the satellites will reply to these messages, assuring people in danger that help is on the way.

This ESA-design return link system, unique to Galileo, was declared operational this week, during the 12th European Space Conference in Belgium. The delivery time for the return link acknowledgement messages from initial emergency beacon activation is expected to be a couple of minutes in the majority of cases, up to 30 minutes maximum, depending primarily on the time it takes to detect and locate the alert.

“Anyone in trouble will now receive solid confirmation, through an indication on their activated beacon, informing them that search and rescue services have been informed of their alert and location,” explains ESA’s Galileo principal search and rescue engineer Igor Stojkovic. “For anyone in a tough situation, such knowledge could make a big difference.”

All but the first two out of 26 Galileo satellites carry a Cospas-Sarsat search and rescue package. At only 8 kg in mass, these life-saving payloads consume just 3 percent of onboard power, with their receive-transmit repeater housed next to the main navigation antenna.

Founded by Canada, France, Russia and the US in 1979, Cospas-Sarsat began with payloads on low-orbiting satellites, whose rapid orbital motion allows Doppler ranging of distress signals, to pinpoint their location. The drawback is these fly so close to Earth that their field of view is comparatively small.

Geostationary satellites went on to host Cospas-Sarsat payloads. These see much more of the planet, but because they are motionless relative to Earth’s surface, Doppler ranging is not possible.

Medium-orbiting satellites such as Galileo – orbiting at 23 222 km altitude – offer the best of both worlds, providing a wide ground view by multiple satellites combined with time-of-arrival and Doppler ranging techniques to localise SOS signals. This improves the maximum signal detection time from four hours to less than five minutes, down to one or two kilometres (within a formal specification of 5 km within 10 minutes).

Galileo’s Search and Rescue service is Europe’s contribution to Cospas-Sarsat, operated by the European Global Navigation Satellite System Agency, GSA, and designed and developed at ESA. As the overall Galileo system architect and design authority, ESA has been responsible for the interface between the core Galileo infrastructure to the Return Link Service Provider facility, procured by the European Commission and operated by French space agency CNES.

The Cospas-Sarsat satellite repeaters are supplemented by a trio of ground stations at the corners of Europe, known as Medium-Earth Orbit Local User Terminals (MEOLUTs), based in Norway’s Spitsbergen Islands, Cyprus and Spain’s Canary Islands and coordinated from a control centre in Toulouse, France. This trio is soon to become a quartet, with a fourth station on France’s La Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean under development.

The satellites relay distress messages to these MEOLUTs, which then relay them to local search and rescue authorities.

The service’s return link message capability was developed as an inherent part of the Galileo system. The messages are relayed to the individual beacons that sent the original distress call by being embedded within Galileo signals broadcast from satellites in their view.

“The switching on of the return link service was enabled by a thorough test campaign carried out by ESA, with the support of the GSA and CNES,” adds Igor. “We needed to be sure the service remains reliable even with multiple distress calls being replied to at once.”

A key milestone was a public demonstration of the return link service, performed at the Cospas-Sarsat Joint Committee Meeting in Doha in Qatar last summer.

“The return link is a joint service of Cospas-Sarsat and Galileo and therefore agreement by Cospas-Sarsat was crucial,” adds Igor.

“This acceptance was achieved through long discussions led by the European Commission at the Cospas-Sarsat Council last November, supported by plentiful documentation of simulations and test results provided by ESA and CNES.”

Microchip releases MAC-SA5X, enhancing its miniature atomic clock (MAC) technology to deliver wider temperature range and rapid warm-up time

As reliance on precise frequency and timing increases due to GNSS enabling 5G communication networks, data centers and other mission critical infrastructure, smaller size and high-performance atomic clock technology has become essential to supporting both military and commercial applications.

To meet demand for a small-footprint atomic clock, Microchip Technology Inc. has announced a higher performance atomic clock for its size and power. The new device also delivers a wider thermal range, critical performance improvements and other enhancements over previously available technology, the company said.

Next-Gen Timing. Microchip’s next-generation MAC-SA5X miniaturized rubidium atomic clock produces a stable time and frequency reference that maintains a high degree of synchronization to a reference clock, such as a GNSS-derived signal.

Its combination of low monthly drift rate, short-term stability and stability during temperature changes allows the device to maintain precise frequency and timing requirements during extended periods of holdover during GNSS outages or for applications where large rack-mount clocks are not possible.

Operating over a wider temperature range of -40 to +75 Celsius, the MAC-SA5X was designed to quickly achieve atomic stability performance by taking less time to lock compared to some of the existing clock technology, Microchip said. In an aircraft application, for example, these attributes enable faster power up of critical communication and navigation systems in extreme climates.

The MAC-SA5X allows system developers to avoid the need for extra circuitry by integrating a one pulse per second (1PPS) input pin for fast frequency calibration, saving time and development cost. In addition, the MAC-SA5X is designed with the same footprint as previous generation miniature atomic clock technology, reducing the development time to transition to the newer, higher performance device.

“As an industry leader, Microchip continues to invest in next-generation atomic clock technology for Department of Defense programs, mission-critical infrastructure and networks that require a high degree of accuracy in timekeeping and synchronization,” said Randy Brudzinski, vice president and general manager of Microchip’s frequency and time business unit. “The MAC-SA5X adds several performance and feature enhancements while retaining the same footprint as the previous generation MAC-SA.3X products, enabling customers to easily transition to the new technology.”

Designed and manufactured in the U.S., the MAC-SA5X operates to the following additional specifications:

• <5.0E-11 frequency stability over operating temperature;
• <5.0E-11 per month aging rate; 6.3-watt power consumption;
• 47 cc in volume.

The MAC-SA5X provides backward compatibility with its predecessor MAC-SA.3Xm family and comes in an ovenized crystal oscillator (OCXO)-sized package of 50.8 mm x 50.8 mm.

Microchip has delivered more than 275,000 rubidium clocks, 120,000 chip-scale atomic clocks (CSACs), 12,500 Cesium clocks and 200 active hydrogen masers to customers worldwide.

Development Tools. The MAC-SA5x family of atomic clocks is supported by evaluation kit 090-44500-000.

Availability. The MAC-SA5X atomic clock is available now for pre-sampling, and will be available for deliveries in February. Microchip supports the MAC-SA5X with technical support services as well as an extended warranty.

A new GPS civilian signal is now available for use. The new signal is stronger, more accurate, more resilient to interference events, and interoperable with European Galileo system.

Researchers from the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI) recorded the new civilian signal transmitted by the first GPS III operational satellite.

On Jan. 13 at 21:29 Finnish time, the first GPS III satellite (SVN74) was marked healthy after extensive operational testing in orbit. The satellite broadcasts PRN04 identification codes. It also transmits a new GPS civilian signal, known as L1C, different than the legacy L1 C/A signal used nowadays.

10 times stronger

The two signals are transmitted at the same frequency, but L1C codes are 10 times longer than L1 C/A. This makes the signal more robust to interference when multiple satellites are tracked on the same frequency band.

“Marking a satellite health means receivers can use this satellite in their positioning, navigation and timing applications,” said Octavian Andrei, senior research scientist at the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI). “L1C is the 4th GPS signal for the civilian use.”

The other three civilian signals of GPS are L2C, L5 and L1 C/A.

Interoperable with the European GNSS signal

L1C signal is transmitted on L1-band at 1575.42 MHz. It is meant to replace the legacy C/A signal in the future. L1C allows for the first time GPS compatibility and full interoperability with signals from other satellite systems, such as E1 signal from the European Galileo.

The interoperability with Galileo is further enhanced by transmission of the inter-system timing biases; that is, the GPS-Galileo Time Offset. All these improvements will bring further benefits and developments to the GNSS market and civilian users in general.

Ionosphere no problem with dual-frequency

Andrei said the new signals means “Exciting times ahead for the civilian users and applications that demand precise satellite positioning and navigation. Most of the effects due to the ionosphere layers of the atmosphere are removed by combining signals from two frequency bands sufficiently apart from each other. This is the case with L1 and L2 or L1 and L5. All these civilian signals are stronger and more robust than ever before,” he explained.

The satellite signals are affected by errors while travelling through the atmosphere. The main errors are due to the ionosphere, which is a dispersive medium and frequency dependent. The latter proves to be actually a significant benefit for the precise applications.

More than 99 % of the ionosphere effect is removed by forming special linear combination of signals observed on two different frequencies. This is the main reason why high-precision is achieved with dual-frequency receivers.

FinnRef network ready for new satellites and signals

“Two GPS III satellites have been launched until now and two more are expected to be launched during 2020. With signals from four satellites, we will also be able to estimate L1C-only positions,” Andrei said.

The first GPS III satellite SVN74, nicknamed Vespucci, was launched on Dec. 23, 2018. The second satellite SVN75, nicknamed Magellan, was launched on Aug.22, 2019. The third and the fourth satellite are planned to be launched in March and July during 2020. The first L1C testing signals were recorded at the FinnRef station in Metsähovi on April 5, 2019.

FinnRef national network includes state-of-the-art multi-constellation tracking stations distributed around Finland. These stations are capable of tracking multiple satellite signals on multiple L-band frequencies from almost 120 GNSS satellites, including the European Union’s Galileo, US GPS, Russian GLONASS, and Chinese BeiDou constellation.

Using new signals often requires updates to station equipment, usually meaning firmware updates on the receiver software. After the new firmware enabling L1C tracking is properly tested, the receivers will be updated and then whole FinnRef will start tracking GPS L1C.

U-blox said its new NEO-D9S GNSS correction data receiver module provides an affordable approach to bringing centimeter-level accuracy to GNSS receivers.

The NEO-D9S receives from correction service providers broadcast on the L-band (1525-1559 MHz). A host processor can then decrypt this correction data and provide it to a high-precision GNSS receiver, combining corrections directly with readings from the satellite constellations to enable much more accurate position readings than those offered by GNSS signals alone.

Use of the NEO-D9S will also increase the availability of high-precision GNSS positioning data in areas with limited connectivity and reduce the amount of cellular data consumed by positioning receivers.

Customers are expected to include carmakers, both Tier 1 and OEMs, industrial system integrators that offer position-correction services, and any other applications that rely on very accurate positioning at low cost.

The NEO-D9S module is a correction-only receiver, based on the latest u-blox ninth-generation (D9) platform. This means that it will integrate easily with the u-blox F9 RTK GNSS receivers from u-blox, or can be used as part of a modular product roadmap. The module also integrates a TCXO and SAW filter to ensure good RF sensitivity and resilience to interference from adjacent channels.

The module includes the algorithms necessary to decode satellite data broadcasts. It is configured to work initially with whichever correction service has been set as default, but can be configured for any L-band data broadcast. It stores its configuration settings in non-volatile memory.

u-blox’s Bluetooth low-energy module features direction finding, bringing the benefits of high-precision positioning to indoor applications

U-blox, provider of positioning and wireless communication technologies, has announced the u-blox NINA-B4 Bluetooth low-energy module series. Based on Nordic Semiconductor’s recently announced nRF52833 chip, NINA-B4 enables a number of Bluetooth features including Bluetooth long range, Bluetooth mesh and Bluetooth direction finding.

The module is tailored to the needs of applications in the connected industry, smart homes, buildings and cities, asset tracking and eHealth.

The NINA-B4 offers a new direction-finding feature, a key component of the Bluetooth v5.1 specification that brings the benefits of high-precision positioning to indoor applications. It is the first u-blox module designed to act as both a transmitter and a receiver in angle of arrival (AoA) and angle of departure (AoD) direction finding and indoor positioning applications.

In AoA-based implementations, stationary beacons equipped with multi-antenna arrays determine the angle of arrival of signals emitted by a tracking device to pinpoint the tracker’s location with sub-meter-level accuracy. When AoD is used, the tracking device triangulates its position by calculating the angle of departure of signals from the stationary Bluetooth beacons’ multi-antenna arrays.

Mesh, long range, and extended temperature range

The u-blox NINA-B4 enables wireless mesh networks, which offer robust communication between large numbers of connected devices, extending the reach of messages by relaying them from node to node until they reach their destination. By simplifying the control of groups of devices, mesh networks are well suited for applications such as smart lighting systems in cities and buildings, which further benefit from the module’s enhanced operating temperature range (up to 105 °C).

Featuring Bluetooth long range, the NINA-B4 series can be deployed in harsh environments, for instance, to enable wirelessly connected and configurable equipment. Long range not only increases the distance that Bluetooth signals can travel in undisturbed environments, but also makes communications more robust and reliable in unfavorable ones, a common need in production plants or on factory floors.

The NINA-B4 series comes with u-blox u‑connect software, simplifying integration of Bluetooth into new and existing products by providing an easy-to-use interface to configure the connectivity required.

NINA-B4 has a powerful Arm Cortex-M4F MCU with an open CPU architecture, allowing customers to run their own applications on the module. Supporting Zigbee and Thread, the first members of the NINA-B4 family come with an internal PCB antenna, or alternatively with a U.FL connector for an external antenna of choice.

Samples of the NINA-B4 will be available in December.

New modules enable entertainment, advanced connectivity features and next-generation artificial intelligence

Qualcomm Technologies has launched three new mobile platforms — the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G, 662 and 460 — to enable enhanced user experiences across connectivity, gaming and entertainment.

The new mobile platforms support dual-frequency (L1 and L5) GNSS to improve location positioning accuracy and robustness. The system-on-chip solutions also support the Indian NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation).

Seven constellations. For the first time supported on mobile, the Qualcomm Location Suite now supports up to seven satellite constellations concurrently, including the use of all of NavIC’s operating satellites for more accurate location performance, faster time-to-first-fix (TTFF) position acquisition, and improved robustness of location-based services.

“ISRO is satisfied with the efforts of Qualcomm Technologies Inc. towards incorporating NavIC and we urge OEMs to leverage it for future handset launches in India,” said K. Sivan, chairman, ISRO. “The availability of NavIC across multiple mobile platforms will help enhance the geolocation capabilities of smartphones in the region and bring the benefits of this indigenous solution to Indian consumers for their day-to-day use.”

The new modules also enable fast 4G connectivity speeds, deliver key Wi-Fi 6 features and integrated Bluetooth 5.1 with advanced audio via the Qualcomm FastConnect 6-series subsystems.

Artificial Intelligence. Designed to deliver new and improved AI user experiences across photography, voice assistants and virtually always-on scenarios for increased contextual awareness, the new platforms also feature the Qualcomm AI Engine and Qualcomm Sensing Hub.

“While we see a fast adoption of 5G across geographies globally, we do recognize the phenomenal boost that 4G has given towards enabling broadband connectivity for Indian consumers. 4G will continue to remain a focus area for Qualcomm Technologies for regions like India, where it will stay a key technology for connectivity,” said Rajen Vagadia, vice president and president, Qualcomm India Pvt. Ltd. “Our goal is to enable our partners to continue creating solutions that offer seamless connectivity access and exceptional mobile experiences, that consumers can count on.”

“Today’s smartphone users want fast, seamless connectivity, advanced features and long-lasting battery life,” said Kedar Kondap, vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “This expansion of our 4G lineup enables our partners to offer sophisticated solutions that meet global demand and enable a remarkable gaming experience across multiple tiers and price segments.”

Snapdragon 720G

Snapdragon 720G reimagines extraordinary gaming and entertainment experiences with select Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming features, striking capture capabilities, and intelligent performance. Leveraging select Snapdragon Elite Gaming features from premium-tier mobile platforms, Snapdragon 720G delivers smooth HDR game play, dynamic color range and contrast, realistic and immersive in-game environments, and high-quality, synchronized sound with Qualcomm aptX Adaptive.

In addition to gaming, users will have a “home theater in their pocket” with HDR viewing and super-smooth video streaming with the Qualcomm Spectra 350L ISP, Qualcomm said. They can also capture 4K video or snap massive 192-megapixel photos.

Snapdragon 720G also features the latest fifth-generation Qualcomm AI Engine with the improved Qualcomm Hexagon Tensor Accelerator that will enable a host of new AI experiences for gaming, photography, voice assistants and virtually always-on contextual awareness.

The integrated Snapdragon X15 LTE modem supports 3-carrier aggregation, 4×4 MIMO on two carriers and 256-QAM modulation for fast download speeds up to 800 Mbps — allowing for quick app downloads and smooth video streaming and sharing.

In addition, Snapdragon 720G, with the FastConnect 6200 subsystem, virtually doubles Wi-Fi speed and range for online gaming and web browsing, compared to single antenna devices, while also delivering key Wi-Fi 6 features such as 8×8 sounding with multi-user MIMO for up to 2x improvement over competitive Wi-Fi 6 devices, Target Wake Time for up to 67% better power efficiency and the complete WPA3 security suite, as well as integrated Bluetooth 5.1 with advanced audio capabilities.

Finally, users will experience power savings and improved performance due to the Snapdragon 720G’s 8-nm process technology and upgraded CPU architecture.

Snapdragon 662

Snapdragon 662 brings astonishing camera and AI capabilities to the 6-series for the first time. It will feature the new Qualcomm Spectra 340T, which supports triple camera configurations and smooth switching between them — a first in the 6-series. A more robust ISP will enable support for photo capture in the HEIF file format for stunning image quality at half the file size.

The addition of the third-generation Qualcomm AI Engine with Hexagon Vector Extensions and the Qualcomm Spectra 340T will enable AI-based user experiences such as avatars, night photography, and face and voice authentication.

Snapdragon 662 also features the new Snapdragon X11 LTE modem with peak download speeds up to 390 Mbps thanks to 2-carrier aggregation, 2×2 MIMO and 256-QAM modulation, along with 150 Mbps peak uploads to support a snappy web browsing and social media experience.

Snapdragon 460

Snapdragon 460 boasts a gigantic leap in performance across the board in the 4-series, as well as significant boosts in connectivity, AI and camera improvements[1] for the next-generation of mass market smartphones. For the first time in the 4-series, Snapdragon 460 features performance CPU cores and an updated GPU architecture that translates into up to 70% and 60% increase in performance, respectively.

Overall system performance, meanwhile, delivers a 2x increase compared the previous generation. The Hexagon processor with Qualcomm Hexagon Vector eXtensions (HVX) is also introduced into the 4-series for the first time, thereby equipping it with a 3rd generation Qualcomm AI Engine and the Qualcomm Sensing Hub for new AI experiences for photography and voice assistance.

The Qualcomm Spectra 340 ISP is also among the many new additions to the 4-series, enabling the platform to capture stunning photographs and support for triple cameras. An integrated Snapdragon X11 LTE modem allows for download speeds up to 390 Mbps and uploads up to 150 Mbps.

To date, more than 85 commercial devices based on Snapdragon 7-series mobile platforms, more than 1600 commercial devices based on Snapdragon 6-series mobile platforms, and more than 2,500 commercial devices based on Snapdragon 4-series mobile platforms have been announced by global OEMs. Together, the 7-, 6- and 4-series amount to over 4,000 designs — an impressive feat for these segments.

Devices based on Snapdragon 720G are expected to be commercially available in Q1 2020 and devices based on Snapdragon 662 and 460 are expected to be commercially available by the end of 2020. For more information, please visit the product details pages for the Snapdragon 720G Mobile Platform, Snapdragon 662 Mobile Platform, and Snapdragon 460 Mobile Platform.

Commercial airline pilots should be ready if their GNSS interference or jamming takes place. This safety message, along with steps to take, was provided by Airbus in the January issue of its publication Safety First.

In the publication, Airbus is reminding pilots of the consequences and required action in the cockpit, according to Aviation Week. Loss of the GNSS signal can affect navigation and surveillance functions. While built-in redundancies will maintain position computation, up to a dozen systems and functions can be affected.

“A loss of GNSS inputs does not lead to a map shift or an erroneous position computation by the FMS (Flight Management System). In the case of a loss of GPS signal, the FMS switches from the mixed GPS/IRS position to an IRS-DME/DME position or IRS-VOR/DME or pure IRS, in order of priority,” the experts explain in the publication.

Other affected systems can include the predictive functions of the terrain awareness and warning system, the runway overrun protection system, and ADS-B Out, in which case pilots should notify air traffic control.

Once the flight is over, pilots should report the GNSS interference event to air navigation service providers.

Oceaneering C-Nav Positioning Solutions to provide C-Nav5000 GNSS receivers for select SEACOR marine vessels

Oceaneering C-Nav Positioning Solutions has been selected by SEACOR Marine to supply C-Nav5000 GNSS receivers for a select number of the company’s oil-and-gas support vessels worldwide.

The scope of work calls for C-Nav to provide two C-Nav5000 GNSS systems per vessel. SEACOR will license corrections signals from C-Nav while the equipment is onboard and the vessels are working. C-Nav expects to install the C-Nav5000 receiver on seven vessels by year’s end.

“We are delighted to have been selected by SEACOR to provide our precise point positioning receivers onboard their vessels,” said David Fitts, senior manager, C-Nav Positioning Solutions. “Our receivers will provide SEACOR vessels with the latest in GNSS hardware.”

The C-Nav5000 offers integrated GNSS capabilities that allow tracking of multiple systems. It features triple L-band channels for correction tracking and is software-configurable to user requirements.

Silent Falcon UAS Technologies’ (SFUAS) E1 UAV completed 500 hours of successful flight testing and operations.

According to the company, the E1 is a solar electric, fixed wing unmanned aircraft system. It has a 20-pound payload capacity and a ceiling of 20,000 feet above ground level. It’s ideal for consumers who do not have the expertise to operate their own UAS, as SFUAS provides full service as well as sales, the company said.

The Silent Falcon E1 features 12 different sensor types, is vibration free and is beyond visual line of sight capable with a live feed. It also boasts four- to 12-hour duration configurations.

In addition, Silent Falcon has an application pending before the Federal Aviation Administration for type certification of the E1.

“Successfully passing 500 hours of flight is a significant milestone for the E1, confirming for federal regulators that it is a safe and durable aircraft model,” Silent Falcon said in a press release.

The full line of SFUAS products, services and support is now available via GSA Contract No. GS07F248BA, the company added.

Allystar Technology Co. Ltd. has launched the dual-band multi-GNSS modules TAU1202/TAU1205, which support both the L1 and L5 bands to enhance sub-meter positioning accuracy. Constellations received include GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS and IRNSS.

Besides the L1 band, TAU1202 and TAU1205 also support L5/B2a/E5a, which are expected to have lower noise and significantly reduced multipath mitigation because of the higher chipping rate of L5 signals relative to L1 C/A code.

TAU1205 supports IRNSS (NavIC) which makes it suitable for navigation in the urban areas of India and the Middle East, as there are seven NavIC satellites with a higher elevation than both GPS and Galileo satellites.

Powered by Allystar Cynosure III GNSS chipset and with built-in low-noise amplifier and surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter, TAU1202 and TAU1205 provide higher sensitivity, ensuring exceptional acquisition and tracking performance even in weak signal areas.

Based on 40-nm manufacturing processes of the Cynosure III GNSS chipset and state-of-the art internal PMU, TAU1202/TAU1205 comes with very low power consumption at less than 40 mA.

Multiple communication interfaces including UART and I2C simplify customer designs and provide a better time-to-market for customers’ products.

“Due to its excellent performance in urban area, compact design and concurrent multi-GNSS reception, TAU1202/TAU1205 has become a popular selection for vehicle and asset tracking in worldwide,” said Zhang Yanping, Allystar product line manager. “The launch of TAU1202/TAU1205 shows Allystar continues to drive GNSS evolution in thte navigation mass market.”

Allystar started TAU1202/TAU1205 mass production in the second half of 2019.