GNSS

U.S. Air Force procures Orolia’s CRPA testing solution

Orolia Defense & Security has been selected by the U.S. Air Force Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility to deliver a BroadSim Wavefront. BroadSim Wavefront is a pillar of innovation among Orolia’s Skydel-powered advanced GNSS simulators. The GWEF provides laboratory testing and simulation tools for developing precision-guided weapon technology, including a comprehensive scope of GPS/ INS systems and integrated components like sensors, signals of opportunity and Controlled Reception Pattern Antennas.

New Vega 34™ Heading and Positioning OEM Board by Hemisphere GNSS

Hemisphere GNSS (Hemisphere) has announced the fourth of the Vega™ series heading and positioning OEM board using the Lyra II™ and Aquila™ chipset technology. Integrators who use predecessor Hemisphere 34-pin products like Crescent Vector H220 and Phantom 34 OEM boards enjoy a quick and easy transition to the improved positioning performance and the superior satellite tracking abilities of the Vega series. The Vega 34 board connectors have no circuitry changes and are identical for all Vector users who can now add Atlas H10 and H30 PPP in their solutions. www.hgnss.com

UNSW Sydney buys nanosatellite bus

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, has contracted mission integrator NanoAvionics to build a nanosatellite bus for UNSW’s satellite innovation laboratory. It will deliver a 6U nanosatellite bus fully assembled and tested on a functional level, ready for its research and educational purposes. Payload integration for laboratory testing, modifications, and mission operations validation will be carried out by UNSW Sydney.

The intended GNSS (global navigational satellite systems) payload named “Harry v2” will consist of two “KEA” GPS receivers, developed by the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research at UNSW, to perform remote Earth sensing operations using GPS reflectometry. Able to host multiple experiments, it will take measurements from reflections coming from the Earth while using navigation signals from other GPS satellites. The receivers, designed for both aircraft and CubeSat operations, are capable of recording intermediate frequency (IF) data and delay Doppler maps (DDM) with its associated metadata. The experiment data can be used to infer sea-state, wind speed, water-land boundaries and many other unexplored applications. www.nanoavionics.com

Smartphones sold in EU now required to leverage Galileo signals

As of 17 March 2022, all smartphones placed in the European single market should be leveraging Galileo signals, in addition to other Global Navigation Satellite Systems. The addition of the EU positioning system to enhance the 112-calls location will result in faster response times and consequently, more lives saved.

The European 112-emergency number is operational in nearly all EU Member States, as well as other countries. People in danger can call it 24/7 to reach the fire brigade, medical assistance and the police.

The majority of phone calls to the 112-emergency number are placed from mobile phones. These calls already support the sending of location information to emergency services. However, this information was not based on GNSS capabilities until recently.

Three years ago, the Commission Delegated Regulation anticipated measures to get advantage of GNSS and WiFi location capabilities in smartphones placed on the European Union market from 17 March 2022 onward. This will enable smartphones to transfer caller location information from GNSS (at least Galileo) to the appropriate emergency service. www.euspa.europa.eu

France enlists Synchrocube’s solutions when GNSS navigation signals are unusable

Syrlinks is at the initiative of this innovative offer and will provide both the payload and the ground receiver necessary to provide this service. Synchrocube brings together several innovative technologies within a single 6U nanosatellite platform. U-Space, ANYWAVES, COMAT and Syrlinks, 4 French companies specializing in NewSpace are joining forces to promote their respective skills around this project.

Synchrocube relies on a consortium of French space industry players. U-Space, as supplier of the nanosatellite platform, has a key role in this in-orbit demonstration project. ANYWAVES and COMAT are also partners in the project, each contributing their own innovative technologies. By pooling their technologies, the companies in this consortium demonstrate their ability to provide effective and competitive solutions to respond to ambitious space programs.

Today, the digital economy requires increasingly complex systems with more and more data exchanges. Synchrocube is part of this evolution by meeting the synchronization needs of telecommunication networks, energy, intelligent transport and finance by providing a precise and secure time reference.

NextNav showcases APNT backup

NextNav has recently participated in the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) alternative positioning, navigation, and timing (APNT) evaluation in Ispra, Italy. According to the JRC, the trial is analyzing the technologies “which could deliver positioning, and/or timing information, independently from GNSS, to be effective backup in the event of GNSS disruption, and if possible to be able to provide PNT in the environments where GNSS cannot be delivered.” The test furthers the European Union’s creation of a backup to the GNSS, such as Galileo or GPS, and is intended to assess which technologies could strengthen and expand the European PNT capacity. https://nextnav.com

Exploring GNSS alternatives for weapon systems

The United Kingdom’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) has launched a new Market Exploration called Alternative Navigation for Weapon Systems, which aims to explore alternatives to GNSS for military navigation.

The Market Exploration is being run on behalf of Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) and seeks to understand the range of technologies used for commercial positioning and navigation systems.

GNSS such as GPS and Galileo are widely used for commercial and military positioning and navigation, but these systems are vulnerable to jamming and spoofing. DASA wants to explore alternative navigation technologies that could be developed and trialed within the next three years.

The potential system should:

• be developed to an operational level in either a civilian or on military application

• currently be at a Technology Readiness Level of 4 or above.

• not be solely reliant on GNSS.

• have the potential to be further developed to meet military specifications.

• have sufficient accuracy to monitor position during deployment to within 5 meters.

The agency is particularly interested in innovations from non-traditional defence suppliers and has a dedicated team of DASA Innovation Partners who can discuss proposals with submitters. The deadline to submit proposals is April 7. www.gov.uk