Korea to establish satellite data center
Korea will establish a global navigational data center. The center will be linked to a global system of satellite tracking stations called IGS. The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute has said it has won a bid to establish the data center in Daejeon, southwest of Seoul. The center will collect data from more than 350 navigational satellite observatories worldwide and relay it to users. Korea hopes the new center will become a satellite navigation hub for Asia.
http://english.chosun.com

India to Use Russian GLONASS Navigation System
Russia and India are planning to cooperate in the sphere of satellite navigation, Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced at a Moscow recently. He said this was a momentous decision for India, but that the specifics of cooperation in the area had yet to be discussed. Russia’s satellite navigation system, called GLONASS, is operated for the government by the its Space Forces. An improved GLONASS-K satellite, with a reduced weight and an increased operational lifetime of 10-12 years, is due to enter service in 2008. Following a joint venture deal with the Indian government, which will launch two GLONASS-M satellites on its PSLV rockets, it is proposed to have the system fully operational again by 2008 with 18 satellites and by 2010 with all 24 satellites.

OS seeks partners for GPS correction service
Ordnance Survey is offering Licensed Partners and other interested parties the chance to develop positioning services based on a revolutionary national framework for correcting signals from orbiting satellites. OS Net is a network of more than 80 GPS base stations designed to enable different levels of improved real-time accuracy from the Global Positioning System (GPS) anywhere in Great Britain. OS Net is already delivering efficiencies for Ordnance Survey field staff where it is enabling centimetre-level positioning for their data-collection operations. Now, Ordnance Survey is planning to make the service publicly available through a tier of partner organisations. www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business/technical/osnet.html

Misdirecting GPS maps appear in Chinese markets
A number of people in China are having trouble with GPS navigation systems in their cars, because they are installed with counterfeit electronic maps, but authorities are doing nothing about the problem as there are no laws regulating the industry. Over the past six months, the Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping has granted eight companies across the country a certificate allowing them to produce electronic navigation maps.
Industry sources, however, say the number of fake maps on the market far exceed the number of genuine ones.. The electronic maps allow the system to tell drivers the best route to take to any destination. Legal maps cost more than 1,000 yuan (US$123) a piece, while counterfeits can sell for as little as 15 yuan.
www.shanghaidaily.com

Bangkok to introduce GPS to its fleet of taxis
Bangkok has opened the first of 150 new electronic taxi stands that will allow pedestrians to summon a taxi by pressing a green button, signaling a dispatcher to send a taxi. The devices will display the estimated arrival time and license plate number of the approaching taxi. Taxis will be equipped with GPS as part of the service. The first arch-roofed electronic taxi stand was unveiled last week outside a superstore on the city’s Phahonyotin Road, while the remaining stands are expected to be installed across the city by November. Besides helping Bangkok pedestrians easily hail taxis, the stands are meant to keep cab drivers from wasting fuel by driving around the city in search of fares. www.chinapost.com.tw

USS Cape St. George is first ship using digital mapping system
Sailors on the USS Cape St. George is the first in the U.S. Navy fleet to switch from paper maps to a new digital charting system, linked to GPS and instant updates on ocean obstructions. The Navy, which has been working on the new technology since 1998, plans to install and use the new digital maps on the entire flee by 2009.
http://www.estripes.com

GPS surveys to resolve Sir Creek dispute
Top scientists from India and Pakistan conducted geologic surveys in the disputed region and a seal of approval is likely soon for a newly demarcated boundary. The decades-old Sir Creek boundary dispute between India and Pakistan is on the verge of a final settlement. Following the ongoing composite dialogue between the two countries and general improvement in relations, both New Delhi and Islamabad have exchanged final documents related to the boundary dispute after detailed surveys were carried out by joint teams in the Rann of Kutch. www.deccanherald.com

Tsunami shifts Bangkok southwest…
Bangkok has moved about nine centimetres (3.5 inches) horizontally southwestwards because of the December 26 earthquake that measured 9.0 on the Richter scale and sent devastating tsunamis across the Indian Ocean. The tourist island of Phuket also moved 32 centimetres (12.6 inches) southwestwards since the quake, said the Chulalongkorn University researchers, who used GPS satellites to measures the shifts during a January 20-24 survey. Researcher Itthi’s survey engineering department at Chulalongkorn is collecting data from six other locations in Thailand to get a better picture of how the nation’s geography has changed, the Nation newspaper reported.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com