Monthly Archives: October 2016

NASA and ESA to Test GPS and Galileo Receivers on Board the International Space Station

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and Qascom, an Italian company specializing in Galileo, are collaborating to build the first GPS and Galileo receiver to be tested on board the International Space Station (ISS) Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed.

SCaN is a payload developed by NASA that has been hosted on board the International Space Station on an external truss since late 2012. It has the objective of testing navigation and communication experimentations with a Software Defined Radio (SDR) approach, which permits software only updates for testing new experimental configurations. Read more…

Ariane 5 ready for first payload of Galileo satellites

ariane 5's bay hoisted for integrationThe initial Ariane 5 to loft four global positioning satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation system has begun its build-up at the Spaceport in French Guiana for a milestone Arianespace mission in November.

This launcher is an Ariane 5 ES version that began the integration process begining of October, with the cryogenic core stage’s positioning over a mobile launch pad, followed by integration of the vehicle’s two solid propellant boosters.

Designated as Flight VA233 in Arianespace’s numbering system, the mission’s Ariane 5 was assembled inside the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building. During activity in the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building, the heavy-lift vehicle for Arianespace Flight VA233 underwent the assembly process that began by mating Ariane 5’s two solid propellant strap-on boosters with the main cryogenic stage. Read more…

Satellite navigation at core of future connected car systems

driverless-car-02At the joint “Insurance Telematics” and “Connected Cars” conference in London, vehicle manufacturers, software engineers, public authorities and many more heard how GNSS and internet-enabled vehicles are changing the road transport landscape.

Major vehicle manufacturers are now delivering motor vehicles with connected services for drivers, including real-time traffic and weather reports and accident or road works warnings. More applications are on the way, and the technology systems that support them will enable the increasing number of autonomous vehicles that will soon be cruising down our roads and highways. Read more…

EU Galileo and Japanese QZSS combination pushes driverless cars

The Japanese government and the European Union plan to connect their global positioning systems to speed up the development of autonomous driving technology.

If all goes as planned, Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System and the EU’s Galileo will be linked as early as 2018. The link will be a common digital language that the systems will use to transmit information. This will allow driverless cars and autoparts developed for the Japanese market to be shipped and used outside Japan. Read more…

Galileo satellites in eliptical orbit broadcasting navigation messages

The two Galileo satellites launched into elliptical orbits in August 2014, GSAT0201 using PRN code E18 and GSAT0202 using PRN code E14, started transmitting navigation messages for test purposes on 2016-08-05.

The Signal Health Status (SHS) flags are set to “Test” and the Data Validity Status (DVS) flags to WWG (working without guarantee). The satellites will not be included in the broadcast almanacs.

Users are requested to provide feedback on usage of GSAT0201 and GSAT0202 by contacting the help desk on the European GNSS Service Centre web portal.