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About the Author: Allison Barwacz

Allison Barwacz is the digital media manager for North Coast Media (NCM). She completed her undergraduate degree at Ohio University where she received a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She works across a number of digital platforms, which include creating e-newsletters, writing articles and posting across social media sites. She also creates content for NCM’s Pit & Quarry magazine, Portable Plants magazine and Geospatial Solutions. Her understanding of the ever-changing digital media world allows her to quickly grasp what a target audience desires and create content that is appealing and relevant for any client across any platform.

The U.S. Air Force Second Space Operations Squadron (2 SOPS) has issued a statement that the first GPS III satellite is available for backup.

On. Jan. 13, 2 SOPS issued an Initial Use (USABINIT) NANU for SVN-74, the first of the new generation of GPS-III satellites, according to Rick Hamilton, CGSIC executive secretariat.

SVN-74/PRN-04 was launched on Dec. 23, 2018. Now, having successfully undergone rigorous operational testing on orbit, the satellite has taken its place, backing up SVN-68/PRN-9 at F3 in the active GPS constellation.

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NOTICE ADVISORY TO NAVSTAR USERS (NANU) 2020004

SUBJ: SVN74 (PRN04) USABLE JDAY 013/1734

NANU TYPE: USABINIT
NANU NUMBER: 2020004

NANU DTG: 131735Z JAN 2020

REFERENCE NANU: N/A

REF NANU DTG: N/A

SVN: 74

PRN: 04

START JDAY: 013

START TIME ZULU: 1734

START CALENDAR DATE: 13 JAN 2020

STOP JDAY: N/A

STOP TIME ZULU: N/A

STOP CALENDAR DATE: N/A

CONDITION: GPS SATELLITE SVN74 (PRN04) WAS USABLE AS OF JDAY 013
(13 JAN 2020) BEGINNING 1734 ZULU.

POC: CIVILIAN – NAVCEN AT 703-313-5900, HTTPS://WWW.NAVCEN.USCG.GOV
MILITARY – GPS OPERATIONS CENTER at HTTPS://GPS.AFSPC.AF.MIL/GPSOC, DSN 560-2541,

COMM 719-567-2541, gpsoperationscenter@us.af.mil, HTTPS://GPS.AFSPC.AF.MIL

MILITARY ALTERNATE – JOINT SPACE OPERATIONS CENTER, DSN 276-3514,

COMM 805-606-3514, JSPOCCOMBATOPS@VANDENBERG.AF.MIL

The months-long wildfires raging in Australia have killed at least 25 people. Millions — possibly 1 billion — animals have died. More than 2,000 houses have been destroyed. Around 150 fires are still burning in New South Wales and Queensland, with hot and dry conditions accompanied by strong winds fueling to the fires’ spread.

With this conflagration rocking the continent down under, satellite imagery has become important to understanding the scope of the disaster. Here are some of the recent captures.

As seen from the ISS

“Talking to my crew mates, we realized that none of us had ever seen fires at such terrifying scale,” European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano tweeted on Monday, sharing photos taken from the International Space Station.

The astronaut posted images showing what he described as “an immense ash cloud” captured at the time the ISS was flying toward sunset.

An immense ash cloud covers Australia as we fly toward the sunset.

Una immensa nube di cenere copre l’Australia mentre voliamo verso il tramonto.#MissionBeyond pic.twitter.com/9Bmm9s4xa1

— Luca Parmitano (@astro_luca) January 13, 2020

Artist’s visualization misinterpreted

Another social media image, shared widely, was interpreted as a map showing the live extent of fire spread, with large sections of the populous eastern coastline molten red. Because of widespread misinterpretation, the original poster then explained that the image was a 3D visualization and not a photograph of Australia, and showed some areas where fires have been extinguished.

NASA and USGS Landsat images

NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Landsat 8 satellite imagery from Jan. 9 shows Kangaroo Island, home to nature reserves. The images were taken using the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8. Using natural-color observations, the images show burned land and thick smoke covering the island, of which at least 156,000 hectares have burned.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites are also capturing images, including the resulting plumes of smoke.

#GOESWest is watching this plume of #smoke from the #AustralianBushfires as it drifts across the #SouthPacific. It is nearly the size of the Continental #UnitedStates.
More real-time imagery: https://t.co/SNS92u2rBK#Australia #AustraliaFires #Bushfires #Fires #SmokePlume pic.twitter.com/B0MvtdYHf5

— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) January 8, 2020

Worldview-3 captures Australia’s wildfires

Maxar collected satellite imagery Jan. 12 of the wildfires in New South Wales (NSW). The imagery shown below focuses on the area near the town of Eden, and demonstrates the value of the shortwave infrared (SWIR) sensor.

In an image taken with Maxar’s normal RGB color imagery, the smoky air prevents a clear view of the fires and the hot spots. With Maxar’s WorldView-3 satellite, however, the team is able to penetrate through the smoke using its SWIR sensor for a detailed look at the fire lines and burned vegetation.

With SWIR imagery, burning areas are apparent and show up in a glowing orange-red. Healthy vegetation shows up in shades of blue, and burned vegetation appears in shades of brown.

Copernicus Sentinel-3 imagery

Europe’s Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission has captured the multiple bushfires burning across Australia’s east coast.

In the above image, captured on Nov. 12, 2019, at 23:15 UTC (Nov. 13, 09:15 local time), the fires burning near the coast are visible. Plumes of smoke can be seen drifting east over the Tasman Sea. Hazardous air quality owing to the smoke haze has reached the cities of Sydney and Brisbane.

Flame retardant was dropped in some of Sydney’s suburbs as bushfires approached the city center, and many residents were evacuated. Firefighters continue to keep the blazes under control.

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service – Mapping was activated to help respond to the fires. The service uses satellite observations to help civil protection authorities and, in cases of disaster, the international humanitarian community, respond to emergencies.

Quantifying and monitoring fires is fundamental for the ongoing study of climate, as they have a significant impact on global atmospheric emissions. Data from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 World Fire Atlas shows that there were almost five times as many wildfires in August 2019 compared to August 2018.

Additional images from Worldview-3

The U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology has approved legislation to coordinate federal government space weather research. Included in the bill is a finding that space weather adversely affects space-based position, navigation and timing (PNT).

‘‘The effects of severe space weather on the electric power grid, satellites and satellite communications and information, aviation operations, astronauts living and working in space, and space-based position, navigation, and timing systems could have significant societal, economic, national security and health impacts.”

If passed, the bill would mandate coordination of government space weather forecasting and related operations, with input from academia, international groups and commercial firms affected by space weather.

The Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow (PROSWIFT) Act was introduced in November by Democrat Ed Perlmutter of Colorado and Republican Mo Brooks of Alabama, reports Space News. Similar legislation, the Space Weather Research and Forecasting Act, was approved in April by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

PROSWIFT calls for the National Science and Technology Council to establish an interagency working group on space weather that includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA, the National Science Foundation, Defense Department and Interior Department. It directs members of the interagency working group to collaborate with the international community, academia and the commercial space weather sector.

PROSWIFT also tasks NOAA with establishing a space weather advisory group with members representing academia, the commercial space weather sector and space weather data customers.

Read the bill here.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday released updated guidelines for autonomous vehicles.

“Ensuring American Leadership in Automated Vehicle Technologies: Automated Vehicles 4.0” (AV 4.0) was announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao in a keynote speech at CES 2020 in Las Vegas.

AV 4.0 unifies efforts in automated vehicles across 38 federal departments, independent agencies, commissions and executive offices, providing high-level guidance to state and local governments, innovators and stakeholders on the U.S. government’s approach toward autonomous vehicles.

“AV 4.0 will ensure American leadership in AV technology development and integration by providing unified guidance for the first time across the federal government for innovators and stakeholders,” Chao said.

AV 4.0 establishes federal principles for the development and integration of automated vehicles, consisting of three core focus areas: prioritize safety and security, promote innovation, and ensure a consistent regulatory approach.

It also outlines ongoing administration efforts supporting autonomous vehicle technology growth and leadership, as well as opportunities for collaboration including federal investments in the sector and resources for innovators, researchers and the public.

“AV 4.0 brings all of the important work happening on automated vehicle technologies across the federal government under one unified approach. The federal principles released today help foster an environment for innovators to advance safe AV technologies, and put the U.S. in a position of continued leadership in the future of transportation,” said U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios.

The USDOT is preparing for emerging technologies by engaging with new technologies to address legitimate public concerns about safety, security and privacy without hampering innovation, the department said in a press release.

With the release of “Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety” (ADS 2.0) in September 2017, the USDOT provided voluntary guidance to industry, as well as technical assistance and best practices to states, offering a path forward for the safe testing and integration of Automated Driving Systems.

In October 2018, “Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0” (AV 3.0) introduced guiding principles for autonomous vehicle innovation for all surface transportation modes, and described the USDOT’s strategy to address existing barriers to potential safety benefits and progress.

“AV 4.0 builds on these efforts by presenting a unifying posture to inform collaborative efforts in automated vehicles for all stakeholders and outlines past and current federal government efforts to ensure the United States leads the world in AV technology development and integration while prioritizing safety, security, and privacy and safeguarding the freedoms enjoyed by Americans,” the press release stated.

AV 4.0 will be published in the Federal Register for public review and comment. More information on the USDOT’s work on automated vehicles can be found at https://www.transportation.gov/av/4.

On Nov. 4, 2019, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded contracts to 11 companies to demonstrate their technologies’ ability to act as a backup for GPS.

We wanted to know a bit more about what each of them were going to demonstrate, so we asked each for an explanation. Most provided just that, so much of what appears here is in their own words. A couple of companies sent us a whole lot more than 100 words and two did not respond. For those, we did our best with the materials they sent us and other publicly available materials.

Wi-Fi, Cellular, Ultra-Wideband

PhasorLab plans to demonstrate its Hyper Sync Net (HSN) technology as a backup to GPS-based PNT solutions. HSN is a self-organizing mobile mesh network capable of maintaining high-precision time (<<1 ns) and frequency (<<1 ppb) synchronization throughout the whole network as well as an instantaneous 3D locational map of the whole mesh network requiring as little as a single master reference node.

The HSN can be deployed either as a set of fixed reference nodes providing time and positioning references to other mobile UE clients, which is like a terrestrial version of GPS, or as a private ad-hoc mobile mesh network where all members are expected to be mobile.

Skyhook Technology’s system is powered by an immense database — created and maintained by Skyhook — that contains more than five billion geolocated access points and 200 million cell base station IDs, enabling it to accurately locate phones and devices worldwide. The user is not required to be connected to a Wi-Fi network for the system to work. The scan will simply detect Wi-Fi access points in the local area based on signals sent periodically (or on demand) according to the IEEE 802.11 specifications. Many devices will acquire information on as many as 100 access points in the surrounding area. Skyhook’s Wi-Fi positioning system (WPS) will compute an estimated end-user location based on each of the signal sources independently, and compute an optimal hybrid location estimate from all sources.

Fiber/Network

OPNT’s Global Terrestrial Timing Service (GTTS) provides GPS-independent timing-as-a-service over global fiber-based networks. Trading off cost versus service-level agreement (SLA)-backed accuracy, standard network connectivity offerings and bidirectional fibers are combined to meet application needs. As will be demonstrated with simulations of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the two U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) clocks, OPNT’s fully redundant solution receives its core Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) timing directly from the non-maskable interrupts (NMIs).

The demonstration will include sub-nanosecond stability with fault detection and glitchless recovery. Using the precision-timed fiber base, OPNT will also demonstrate precision monitoring of wireless signals with continuous, real-time corrections to keep the wireless transmissions and its local timing source in sync.

Seven Solutions’ core technology is called White Rabbit and was born at CERN. In this demonstration, Seven Solutions plans to showcase the performance of this technology, both on local and wide-area deployments, and explain the capabilities in terms of interoperability (integrating multiple synchronization technologies, i.e. IEEE 1588 PTP, NTP, PPS, 10-MHz clocks), scalability and resiliency. The goal is to provide a reference technology that can provide very stable time references over fiber in GPS-denied scenarios as a backup source or to complement other PNT solutions that need timing distribution at their core.

eLoran

Hellen Systems’ team said it is excited by its recent contract award to perform a GPS back-up demonstration for the Department of Transportation. Its team plans to demonstrate advanced eLoran technologies and offer resilient PNT services. Its next-generation solution will include a solid-state eLoran transmitter from Continental Electronics Corp. integrated with advanced timing and frequency products from Microsemi, a Microchip company. Hellen Systems also plans to deploy its proprietary receiver and reference systems developed by Microsemi.

Hellen Systems and program integrator L3Harris will manage the demonstration, with Booz Allen Hamilton providing technical and engineering leadership.

UrsaNav supplies eLoran, LFPhoenix and low-frequency technology for very wide-area, GPS-independent, PNT data and frequency services. UrsaNav was selected by the Volpe Center to demonstrate wide-area UTC time synchronization and distribution utilizing the former Loran site in Wildwood, New Jersey. UrsaNav will provide innovative new eLoran technology at the site in Wildwood to broadcast a UTC-synchronized eLoran signal. The demonstration will be conducted at one of the Volpe Center demonstration sites at Joint Base Cape Cod in Massachusetts or the Langley Research Center in Langley, Virginia. Either site can be utilized in the demonstration as eLoran signal transmissions from the Wildwood site can easily cover 700 miles or more.

Serco recently acquired Alion’s Naval Systems Business unit. This included a group working in New London, Connecticut, that has previously worked with and published on eLoran. While we did not get a response from Serco to our inquiry, eLoran is likely the technology the company will demonstrate.

Satellite

Globalstar-Echo Ridge’s system is based on Augmented Positioning System (APS) technology that uses ordinary signals from communications satellites (not special positioning/navigation signals, such as those from GPS satellites) to produce accurate position and timing information in compatible user devices. No new infrastructure is needed; Globalstar’s constellation of 24 low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites and Echo Ridge software and compatible devices at the user end provide the building blocks for the APS-based system. APS technology has been successfully demonstrated in diverse environments and incorporates multiple features to assure accurate PNT information under circumstances that can challenge or disable GPS/GNSS technology.

Satelles provides unique timing and location solutions delivered over the Iridium constellation of 66 LEO satellites. These timing and location signals are available anywhere on Earth without the need for local infrastructure, making the system perfect for complementing GPS and other location-based technologies.

Unlike standard GPS, these high-power signals can reach into many building structures. Most importantly, Satelles has customized the Iridium signal-in-space to provide a location-specific signature that can reliably prove (or authenticate) the location of a mobile device or other equipment, while being virtually impervious to spoofing and other attacks.

Other

TRX Systems is the developer of NEON GPS-denied location solutions, delivering 3D location and mapping for dismount personnel where GPS is not available or is unreliable — including indoors, underground, in dense urban areas, and where GPS is found to be erroneous. NEON delivers ubiquitous, low-cost, GPS-denied location by using advanced sensor fusion, ranging and patented dynamic mapping algorithms that improve safety and situational awareness for military, public safety and industrial personnel.

NextNav’s Metropolitan Beacon System (MBS) is a 3GPP-compliant, terrestrial network of long-range broadcast beacons, transmitting a “GPS-like” signal in licensed spectrum in the sub-GHz range. The combination of an on-board atomic clock and the ability to self-synchronize allows the system to operate independent of GPS and provide full PNT services in its footprint. The ability to integrate the MBS signal in mass-market GPS and LTE chipsets can provide a seamless ability to provide full PNT services in the presence and absence of GPS. Because of its terrestrial nature, MBS is able to work indoors, in urban environments and outdoors; for barometer-equipped devices, MBS also enables floor-level altitude determination.

A roundup of recent products in the GNSS and inertial positioning industry from the January 2020 issue of GPS World magazine.

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OEM

Heavy-duty antenna

For challenging environments

The heavy-duty CHCNAV AT311T is designed for demanding applications subject to shocks and vibrations. With advanced filtering and robust signal tracking, it provides survey-grade GNSS signals to enhance position reliability for marine applications, machine control, precision agriculture and industrial automation. Features include multi-constellation GNSS tracking using GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, IRNSS and SBAS. Its IP68 water-resistant design makes it safe to use in extreme conditions with a wide temperature range (–40° C to +85° C). Its internal stacked structure enhances performance in high-interference environments, and the 40-dB signal gains, advanced signal filtering and multipath rejection design provide superior and robust GNSS signal tracking in challenging surroundings.

CHC Navigation, www.chcnav.com

UAV GNSS board

Compact, high-precision for UAS

The UAS1 compact, high-precision GNSS board was designed for unmanned aerial systems (UAS). It allows UAS system integrators to add upgradeable GNSS-based positioning using rugged connectors and Trimble’s software interface. Its 336-channel GNSS engine is capable of tracking L1/L2 frequencies from GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou for centimeter-level, real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning. The compact board provides capabilities from high-accuracy GPS-only to full GNSS features. The receiver supports fault detection and exclusion (FDE) and receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM). System integrators also have the ability to detect interference with an RF spectrum monitoring and analysis tool embedded in the receiver.

Trimble, trimble.com

Upgradeable OEM board

Offers software-enabled features

The Onyx multi-frequency GNSS OEM board offers integrated StarFire/real-time kinematic (RTK) GNSS capabilities. It features 255-channel tracking, including multi-constellation support for GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo. It provides high performance in GNSS receiver sensitivity and signal tracking as well as patented multipath mitigation, interference rejection and anti-jamming capabilities. Through software options, the Onyx ,allows upgrades from free differential GPS signal sources such as WAAS, to increased accuracy services such as StarFire and RTK Extend. The software-enabled features are sold in bundles, but can also be purchased individually to suit changing application needs.

NavCom Technology, www.navcomtech.com

Network timing

Sub-microsecond synchronization

The OSA 5401 and OSA 5405 upgraded PTP grandmaster clocks deliver precise, robust timing in a compact form factor. Oscilloquartz PTP timing technology enables power utility and broadcast networks to achieve sub-microsecond synchronization. The pluggable OSA 5401 is a small PTP grandmaster clock, and the OSA 5405 is an integrated PTP grandmaster with dual GNSS antenna and receiver. With spoofing and jamming detection capabilities, they also provide high availability. The OSA 5401 and 5405 provide new levels of accuracy and resilience for infrastructure and support emerging bandwidth-intensive, latency-sensitive applications. With sub-microsecond synchronization, smart grids can perform flexible, real-time decision making, as well as monitoring and automated maintenance. The OSA 5401 and OSA 5405 comply with the latest PTP profiles for time, frequency and phase synchronization in both power utility and broadcast networks. These include the IEC/IEEE 61850-9-3 Power Utility Profile for precise time distribution and clock synchronization in electrical grids with an accuracy of 1μs, and SMPTE 2059 for synchronizing video and audio equipment over packet networks.

Adva, www.adva.com

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TRANSPORTATION

Aircraft GPS

Helps with ADS-B Out compliance

The SBAS-capable CMA-5024 GPS has received U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for installation on Boeing 737 Next-Generation aircraft. It enables B737NGs to comply with worldwide ADS-B Out mandates as well as SBAS/GPS navigation, enabling the first localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) approaches for B737NGs. The CMA-5024 GPS is a cost-effective alternative to replace a multi-mode receiver (MMR). The approved DO-260B ADS-B Out positioning source can be paired with any DO-260B compliant transponder, allowing operators to meet FAA and EASA ADS-B Out requirements, the UAE’s ADS-B Out and RNP requirements mandated by GCAA as well as India’s GAGAN requirements.

CMC Electronics, www.cmcelectronics.ca

ADS-B transmitter

Receives FAA approval

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the VTU-20 automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS-B) transmitter for airport surface management. Adhering to the performance and design assurance specifications of FAA-E-3032, the externally mounted VTU-20 ensures integration and interoperability with Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X), Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC) and ADS-B receiver surveillance solutions for airport. The VTU-20 can be permanently or magnetically mounted to all airside vehicles, including utility, emergency, snow-removal and maintenance equipment. Each vehicle is clearly and uniquely identified, providing an essential addition to any surface movement guidance and control system.

uAvionix, uavionix.com

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UAV

Airspace Intelligence

Provides critical safety data to drone pilots

Skyward’s Advanced Airspace Intelligence drone airspace maps provide airspace data combined with essential ground intelligence including 3D views of key structures, transmission lines, and more than a million vertical obstacles. The platform also provides access to LAANC, the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability program provided by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Data available for situational awareness includes vertical structure obstacles, power lines, airports, runways, national parks, stadiums, hospitals and schools.

Skyward, skyward.io

PPK for Phantom 4 RTK drones

Provides reliable camera positioning data

Hi-Target PPK GO precision add-on enables Phantom 4 RTK drones to achieve the accurate and reliable camera positioning data in any coordinate system without measure targets or ground control points. With 2-centimeter accuracies on XYZ, the output text file with position information or geotagged images can be used directly in major photogrammetric mapping or 3D survey software. The add-on allows selection of GPS/GLONASS/Beidou/ Galileo L1+L2+L5 and further parameter adjustments for position calculation in the PPK process to ensure the most reliable and accurate camera positioning even in poor single satellite system signals.

Hi-Target, en.hi-target.com.cn

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SURVEYING & MAPPING

GNSS Receiver

Full-featured positioning system

The next-generation R620 receiver is designed for land and marine applications requiring high-precision positioning. It is a complete refresh of the previous version (R330) and has a new low-profile ruggedized enclosure. Customers can start with sub-meter positioning accuracy and upgrade the receiver through activations and subscriptions to add functionality and improve performance capability to centimeter-level accuracy. Powered by the Vega series, the R620 GNSS receiver processes and supports more than 1,100 channels. It simultaneously tracks GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou (including Phase 3), Galileo, QZSS, IRNSS, SBAS and Atlas L-band corrections. It has status LEDs , a powerful WebUI, UHF (400-MHz and 900-MHz) radio, cellular modem, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Ethernet (including power over Ethernet), CAN, serial and USB.

Hemisphere GNSS, hemispheregnss.com

Rugged data collector

For land surveying and geospatial information systems (GIS)

The rugged SXPad 1500 data collector features an alphanumeric keypad and long-range Bluetooth, and was designed to meet the rigorous IP67 standard for challenging field conditions. It has a 5-inch sunlight-readable touchscreen. The SXPad 1500 can be connected to any GNSS receiver or compatible robotic total station. Driven by a 1-GHz processor and the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, providing the power to work with maps and large data sets in the field. Its integrated cellular modem and Wi-Fi provides wireless connectivity for internet access and GIS data transfer — helpful for configuring a real-time kinematic (RTK)-compatible GNSS receiver. Equipped with an internal memory of 1 GB (memory can be expanded to 16 GB with an SD card), the SXPad 1500 provides enough storage space for data recording. Its high-performance lithium battery allows uninterrupted field operation for up to eight hours.

Geneq, sxbluegps.com

GNSS RTK tablet

Receives 184 channels

The LT700H RTK Android tablet is designed to increase efficiency and productivity of the mobile field workforce in applications requiring centimeter-to-decimeter positioning accuracy. Portable, rugged and versatile, the LT700H enables precision GIS data collection, forensic mapping, construction site layout, environmental surveys, landscaping and earthmoving jobs. Powered by 184-channel high-performance GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou module and a superior tracking GNSS helical antenna, the LT700H provides position availability in demanding environments. Its integrated 4G modem ensures seamless communication from field-to-office and robust connectivity to RTK correction networks.

CHC Navigation, www.chcnav.com

Reference receiver

Now supports BDS-3 signals

The Trimble Alloy GNSS reference receiver now supports BeiDou Generation III (BDS-3) signals. This will enable operators to meet the ongoing demand from surveyors, mapping professionals and precision farmers for accurate, reliable corrections derived from real-time networks. Released in 2018, the Alloy has the processing power needed for high-quality data from multiple constellations. Alloy version 5.42 firmware tracks all available and planned GPS Block IIIA L1C and BDS-3 signals.

Trimble, www.trimble.com

Utility mapping

Ground penetrating radar

The Leica DSX utility detection solution can be used together with Leica GPS/GNSS systems to generate highly accurate, georeferenced maps. The DSX uncovers utilities for repair and maintenance, civil engineering and surveying projects. The ground-penetrating radar system includes portable hardware and software that automates data analysis and creates a 3D utility map.

Hexagon, hexagon.com

DroneShield has released a vehicle-mounted drone detection and defeat product, DroneSentry-X.

Lightweight at about 10 kilograms, it can be easily mounted on most vehicles. DroneShield expects the product to be of interest to military, law enforcement, security and VIP the markets. The product is suitable for both vehicle/convoy and fixed site installations. The product was developed in response to substantial customer interest, according to the company.

“Vehicle market for counterdrone protection is rapidly rising,” said DroneShield’s CEO Oleg Vornik. “In addition to catering for that segment, DroneSentry-X provides a more affordable detect-and-defeat solution for price-sensitive customers as an alternative to purchasing full-functionality DroneSentry product from us. DroneShield offers a complete suite of detection and defeat solutions to our customers, and this new product covers the customer need which we identified in our recent engagements.”

A miniature CubeSat has become the first satellite to perform Galileo-based position fixes in orbit using a commercial satnav receiver.

News from the European Space Agency

CubeSats are nanosatellites based on standardised 10 cm-sized units. Originally devised for educational uses, they are nowadays being put to commercial and technology testing uses. The Swiss Astrocast company is assembling a constellation based on 3-unit CubeSats to serve the emerging internet of things (IoT).

Vigilant for new initiatives that foster innovation in the field of navigation, ESA navigation researchers supported Switzerland’s ETH Zurich technical university to fly a navigation payload — composed of four low-cost multi-constellation mass-market satnav receiver modules plus two antennas — aboard a test CubeSat.

“This mission has demonstrated the first use of Galileo to perform positioning and timing in orbit supporting precise orbit determination using a commercial product developed for ground users,” explains ESA’s Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) R&D Principal Engineer Roberto Prieto Cerdeira.

“The purpose of this initiative was to demonstrate the capabilities of Galileo in orbit with a small, low-cost, low-power European satnav receiver. This will pave the way for future navigation experimentation, scientific experiments and technology demonstrations of Galileo in orbit with CubeSats and low-cost receivers for scientific activities.

“The navigation payload is also capable of performing position fixes by combining Galileo with the US GPS, Russian Glonass and Chinese BeiDou systems for increased performance.”

ESA R&D navigation engineer Rok Dittrich adds, “The receiver itself was not specially developed and tested for space but is a modified version of a low-cost mass-market product from the Swiss u-blox company. It underwent ground testing emulating its use in space, along with firmware added to take into account the dynamics of low-Earth orbit.”

This opportunity, funded through ESA’s European GNSS Evolution programme, was conceived together with ESA’s Galileo Science Advisory Committee, a group of scientists advising ESA on scientific matters related to Galileo and fostering its scientific exploitation.

This first AstroCast CubeSat was launched in December 2018, and the first results confirming the use of Galileo satellites for positioning were reported at the recent Galileo Science Colloquium in Zurich, typically demonstrating orbital positioning precision down to less than 5 m.

ESA’s Galileo Navigation Science Office and GNSS Evolution are looking into extending this pioneering experience to perform more CubeSat-based experiments in space to test ideas for evolutions of European satnav systems and scientific experiments with Galileo, in partnership with universities and research institutions.

Satnav is already widely used by satellites in low-Earth orbit for guidance, navigation and control, relying on the satnav constellations flying above them in medium-Earth orbit. Some telecommunication and weather satellites in higher orbit also make use of the satnav signals flying at lower orbit, with very weak satnav signals from satellites located at the other side of the Earth.

For the future, satnav is a key enabling technology for the safe operation of low-Earth orbit constellations, allowing individual satellites to maintain optimum formation relative to the other constellation members.

ESA and NASA have previously demonstrated Galileo-only and Galileo-GPS fixes from the International Space Station, although using a space-qualified software-based receiver.

ESA is developing dual Galileo-GPS receivers for the next generation of Earth-observing Copernicus Sentinel satellites. The more precise the orbit determination, the more accurate the environmental data that can be returned to Earth.

Combined use of Galileo and GPS signals on an interoperable basis for positioning and precise orbit determination should bring significant advantages for space users in particular, set to provide a seamless navigation capability from low to high Earth orbits — and potentially beyond.

Augmenting GPS with other systems was suggested as the most promising area of improvement in a recently released memo establishing a Defense Science Board task force on positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT).

On Dec. 16, the Department of Defense released a memo from Undersecretary Michael Griffin to the chair of the Defense Science Board. In it he outlined terms of reference for a year-long study of defense “position, navigation and timing control.”

Setting the stage for the effort, Griffin, who serves as undersecretary for research and engineering, outlined some challenges of relying too heavily on GPS. “The current system has less susceptibility to jamming and spoofing, but challenges remain — slow fielding of user M-code capability, cyber and kinetic threats. Degradation can occur in canyons, cities, and high signal multipath environments.”

He also seemed to indicate that, while further improvements to GPS were possible, they would likely yield only marginal returns and be very expensive.

“While performance and resilience continue to improve, the system has matured to the point that these changes have resulted in incremental improvement to overall system performance,” Griffin said. “The cost of the system and ongoing upgrades have experienced significant growth, making it hard to increase the density of the satellites to address the more challenging environments.

The memo suggests that, rather than focusing entirely on continual improvements to GPS, adding other systems to a PNT architecture for users will likely be more effective and economical.

One such addition may well be leveraging thousands of planned commercial communications satellites to also provide PNT.

“A future multi-mission constellation that can transmit and receive RF signal[s] across a broad spectrum will allow both the ability [to] provide and deny communication and PNT globally and will provide support to all essential warfighting missions,” Griffin said.

This idea is already being explored by Army Futures Command in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin’s Radionavigation Laboratory.

Yet Griffin cautions that using commercial communications satellites may or may not be a good idea. The memo asks the group to evaluate the benefits and risks of the military depending upon commercial systems.
Reinforcing the theme of focusing on architecture, Griffin’s final question to the study group deals with “the performance and resilience benefits” of adopting other PNT sources such as portable atomic clocks, visual sensors, and terrestrial-based navigation and timing.

This parallels the recently released DoD PNT Strategy, which calls for a wide diversity of PNT sources to create an architecture for greatly increased resilience and mission assurance. It envisions a multi-layered architecture of PNT sources with GPS providing a global layer, wide-area terrestrial systems like DARPA’s STOIC or eLoran for the regional layer, and short-range systems, interials, sensors and clocks providing the local layer.

The task force’s efforts are to conclude no later than February 2021, with a report by August of that same year.

A copy of Undersecretary Griffin’s memorandum is available here.