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September 2006

		ION Intell BY ALAN CAMERON eic@questex.com
	We’ll issue two System Design & Test newsletters this month, Early October and Late October. The early letter stands in for a September edition, which I wanted to postpone until I could gather all recent happenings at the ION GNSS conference in Forth Worth, September 26-29. I wrote last month that I would cruise sessions, hallways, and coffee klatches at ION, looking for good news – and indeed, I found some, for a refreshing change. Although there’s some not-so-good to counterweigh it. Here goes. Going Up! The biggest and best news, of course, is that we have -- at last -- a new GPS satellite. A year to the day after the last one went up. Icing on the cake: more are rumored soon. read more>> NDGPS Abandoned? The Federal Railroad Administration has relinquished responsibility for national differential GPS (NDGPS), saying that it no longer supports NDGPS for positive train control. read more>> Looking at Galileo. State Department announced the first meeting on trade issues with Galileo upcoming. read more>> Galileo Looks Back. Rainer Grohe, executive director of the Galileo Joint Undertaking, sat down to talk with the ION GNSS Show Daily just before he appeared on the panel of the Opening Plenary. read more>> Industry Input Needed for National PNT Study. The National Security Space Office (NSSO) is gathering information regarding positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) to be used in developing an evolutionary path for a robust National PNT Architecture for the 2025 time period. read more>> Abstract deadline nears. The deadline to submit an abstract for the ION 2007 National Technical Meeting is October 6, 2006. read more>>


	News
			Birds with Clipped Wings During the latter part of August and much of September, three GPS satellites were out of service. read more>> GPS Block IIF The GPS Wing re-baselined the GPS Block IIF Space Vehicle development effort. read more>> GPS III Moves Up, IIF Back On September 19 the U.S. Air Force announced plans to offer a "healthy incentive" to the prime GPS III contractor for launching the first III satellite in 2011, instead of the current projected 2013 date. read more>> Galileo Funded, Filled Out, Held Off All 17 participating European Union member states provided their extra share of money in time for the European Space Agency's August 24 deadline, even though Galileo's E1.1 billion in-orbit validation phase went €400 million over budget. read more>> GLONASS Unwell As of September 28, six satellites were set unhealthy. read more>> WAAS The Department of Transportation (DOT) will expand WAAS monitoring stations into Canada and Mexico by the end of 2008, and plans to secure operational approval for a 200-foot decision altitude for aircraft landings. A 2007 update of the Federal Radionavigation Plan is in the works; the document should further elaborate on backup plans for GPS, including eLoran status. Head officials from DOT and the National Space-based PNT Executive Committee predicted “more senior government visibility and guidance” and “greater focus on civil aspects.” New websites supply information on PNT applications (www.gps.gov) and PNT Committee activities (www.pnt.gov), including transcripts of public presentations by any government representative regarding PNT at the latter. The ongoing Legacy Accuracy Improvement Initiative has already increased accuracy 35 percent for specialized defense systems; civil users see a smaller improvement. Prior to LAII, GPS users on at least one-half of the Earth’s surface saw at least one unmonitored satellite 100 percent of the time. Now, no users anywhere on Earth ever see an unmonitored satellite. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems announced that Rick Reaser has joined the company as head of the Spectrum Management Department. read more>> A Stroll Through the GPS Archives The Institute of Navigation, recognizing the importance of preserving previous art and science in navigation, approved the establishment of an ION Virtual Museum in 2004 to help preserve this past. read more>> Spirent Tapped by Septentrio, DLR Spirent Communications was selected by Septentrio to provide Galileo radio frequency (RF) constellation simulators. read more>> QinetiQ MOU for Enhanced GPS Initial collaborative testing of enhanced GPS (EGPS) location technology by QinetiQ and Cambridge Positioning Systems has identified benefits to the handset market. read more>>


	Products
			Septentrio Tracks Galileo Live Septentrio demonstrated live tracking of the GIOVE-A satellite on Wednesday and Thursday at ION. By Internet connection with a GeNeRx1 receiver in Belgium, visitors to the Septentrio booth could view Giove-A live. read more>> Next-Gen NovAtel NovAtel Inc. unveiled its next generation products on the ION GNSS show floor: the SMART-V1, FlexPak V Series and Waypoint Products Group’s Inertial Explorer software. read more>> Atmel and Magellan GPS Positioning Platform Atmel Corporation and Magellan have introduced a new GPS chipset generation that integtrates GPS correlation technology with an ARM926EJ-S-based microprocessor. read more>> Nordnav GPS/Galileo Receiver SiGe Semiconductor, Inc. and Nordnav Technologies AB have collaborated on a GPS/Galileo receiver for consumer electronic products. read more>> Virtual Flight Test Concept Northrop Grumman and the Air Force Research L aboratory are highlighting their Virtual Flight Test (VFT) concept. read more>> GNSS Signal Generator The NSG 5100 GNSS Signal Generator from EADS Space is a flexible and modular signal-generation unit for laboratory and field-testing of GNSS equipment. read more>> Field-Tested BAE Systems SiNAV02 BAE Systems ultra-miniature SiNAV02 inertial guidance system has completed its first full-caliber test firing, surviving a launch shock of 20,000 g—20,000 times the force of gravity. read more>> Granada Software Simulator for PC The Galileo Receiver ANAlysis and Design Application (Granada) by Deimos Space is a software simulator for the PC that replicates a GNSS receiver hardware and algorithms. read more>> GPS Source’s Digital Variable Gain Amplifier The A11XL with GPS Signal Level Control by GPS Source is a digital variable gain amplifier with a dynamic decibel range of –20 to +40. read more>> Symmetricom Time Monitor with HTML Interface The XLi/XLi SAASM Time and Frequency System by Symmetricom is now shipping with a new HTML web interface. read more>>

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