Indian GPS augmentation goes ahead
ISRO has awarded an $82 million contract to Raytheon to build the ground stations for the GPS-Aided Geosynchronous Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) System. GAGAN will provide satellitebased navigation - nominally for civil aviation, but in practice for all users - over Indian airspace and adjoining areas in South and East Asia. It is a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) for GPS and other operational satellite navigation systems giving differential corrections. It is scheduled to be fully functional by 2013. http://raytheon.mediaroom.com

METIS demonstrates benefi ts of EGNOS in Civil Aviation
The Euro-Med GNSS project named METIS shall demonstrate EGNOS benefi ts in the Civil Aviation domain in October- November 2009. First one shall prove the use of EGNOS for the monitoring of moving assets in the airport of Casablanca (Morocco). Second one will be aimed at performing fl ight trials consisting of EGNOS Approach with Vertical Guidance (APV) operations in the airports of Perugia (Italy) andÇanakkale (Turkey). www.metis-project.eu

New Jersey may ban manual GPS
New Jersey legislator in USA is hoping to ban in-car navigation systems that rely on manual input. Violators would face $100 fi ne per offence that applies to improper cell phone use. Under the proposed law, drivers would be allowed to only use voiceactivated systems to program the devices while a vehicle is in motion. Fox News Boeing’s GPS satellites on schedule Boeing Co. confi rmed the launch of its new GPS satellites to be on schedule. The satellite is the second of 12 satellites called GPS IIF satellites, which will undergo ground tests that are part of the preparation for the fi rst launch, and then will be returned to El Segundo, California for further preparation for its own launch at a later date. www.boeing.com

GPS Satellites exceed 100 years On- Orbit service
The US Air Force's fl eet of GPS Block IIR and IIR-M satellites, designed and built by Lockheed Martin, has accumulated 100 years of successful onorbit operations. The 12 Block IIR and seven IIR-M satellites in service within the overall 30-spacecraft constellation have provided a reliability record of better than 99.9%. In over 100 cumulative years of on-orbit life, this translates to less than one minute of unscheduled outage for every month of operational service. www.lockheedmartin.com

SVN-49 still not usable
The latest GPS satellite - SVN-49 or IIR- 20(M) launched on 24 March - has still not been set 'healthy' due to errors of up to 150m which are dependent on its observed elevation. Its primary aim was to reserve the new L5 frequency with the International Telecommunications Union - time to do this was rapidly running out. Initial fears were that the L5 (1,176.45 MHz) transmissions were interfering with the normal L1 (1,575.42 MHz) and L2 (1,227.60 MHz) broadcasts. This could have upset the entire programme to introduce the third frequency. www.rin.org.uk

Cause identifi ed for error from SVN49
The GPS Wing and its contractors have traced the cause of pseudorange errors on L1 and L2 broadcast by the newest GPS satellite, SVN49, to the manner in which the L5 signal demonstration payload was added to the satellite. Signal leakage between the two input ports of the antenna coupler network for the satellite's array of 12 helical antenna elements, refl ected from the L5 filter and then transmitted, creates a second signal with a delay of approximately 30 nanoseconds, and the appearance of a multipath component. While testing an adjustment to the signalin- space to minimize the effect of the problem on receiver navigation solutions on Earth, the GPS Wing is interested in hearing from manufacturers and the user community concerning the different impacts of SVN49 signals on the wide range products and applications in operation, before reaching a fi nal decision on what to do with the satellite prior to setting it healthy. www.losangeles.af.mil

Russia plans to hike GPS duty
Russia plans to raise by 25% duty for satellite navigation equipment operating with the US GPS, says Deputy Prime Minister Igor Ivanov. He said the duty hike was needed to encourage production of GLONASS-enabled devices. "We need measures to stimulate production of domestic satellite navigators so that they can compete with foreign GPS devices," Interfax News Agency

75% subsidy to fi shing vessels

To ensure the safety of deep-sea fi shermen, the Indian government shall extend fi nancial assistance amounting to 75% of the cost of the GPS kit with echo sounders, search and rescue beacons and other communication equipment. www.dailytimes.com

Measuring the Great Wall of China
Recently, the ISPRS sponsored a project to determine the true length of the Great Wall of China. ISPRS president Chen Jun led a team of about 800 professionals. The team used 1:35,000 air photos to generate a 3D digital model of the topography. This allowed the team to measure the slope length using digital photogrammetric tools. They revealed that the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty era stretched 8851.8 km, further than the previous estimate of around 6000 km. It consists of 6259.6 km of stone wall, 359.7 km of trench wall, and 2232.5 kilometres of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. www.isprs.org