GNSS

USAF Announces selection of GPS III follow-on contract

The U.S. Air Force announced selection of Lockheed Martin for a fixed-price-type production contract for 22 GPS III Follow- On satellites with a total estimated contract value up to $7.2 billion.

The Air Force operates a total of 77 satellites vital to US national security that provide communications, command and control, missile warning, nuclear detonation detection, weather and GPS for the world.

The Air Force’s acquisition strategy for this solicitation achieved a balance between mission success, meeting operational needs, opportunities for technology insertion, lowering costs and introducing competition for National Security Space missions. www.af.mil

Orbital cluster Glonass now has 23 operational satellites

Russia’s space satellite Glonass-M number 754 has been withdrawn from the orbital group, which now consists of 23 operational satellites, as follows from information available on the website of the information and analysis center of temporal, coordinate and navigation support.

According to earlier reports, global coverage will require 24 operational GLONASS satellites, including 18 covering the territory of Russia. Thirteen of the 26 satellites in the cluster are beyond the warranty date.

Satellite number 754 was withdrawn from operation for maintenance. It was launched on March 24, 2014 and commissioned on April 14, 2014. Its guaranteed service life is seven years.

Earlier it was announced that Glonass-M space satellite number 756 joined the orbital cluster on August 29. Launched on June 17, it is to replace Glonass-M number 734. Satellite number 734 has been suspended for maintenance. Last April it went out of order and it took nearly one month to restore the satellite to normal operation.

It was announced that with the commissioning of satellite number 756 satellite number 734 will be transferred to the orbital reserve. Glonass-M number 734 was put in orbit in December 2009 and commissioned in January 2010.

At the moment the GLONASS group consists of 26 satellites, including 23 operational ones (number 701 is undergoing flight tests). http://tass.com

ESA awards Galileo ground control upgrade to GMV

ESA has awarded a new work order for the Galileo Control Segment – that part of the Galileo system responsible for the monitoring and control of all the satellites in orbit – to GMV Aerospace and Defence, Spain.

The Galileo Control Segment has been designed to allow the automatic execution of routine operations. It also includes elements supporting flight dynamics analyses, constellation operations short-term planning as well as operations preparation.

This work includes upgrading the system architecture to manage a constellation of up to 41 Galileo satellites, updating obsolescent elements in the current system, improving operability linked to the provision of services and the addition of a new, second TT&C station to be based in Kourou, French Guiana.

British companies, academics excluded from EU Galileo space project

British companies and academics will be excluded from the future development of the European Union’s Galileo space project if the country leaves the bloc without a deal in March 2019. The UK government said in the notice that companies currently involved in Galileo may face difficulties completing their existing contracts and should contact authorities to try to ensure they can comply with the conditions of their contracts.www.reuters.com

Iran plans to unveil new navigation system soon

According to the Chairman of the Board & CEO of Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company (IAC), Iran plans to unveil a new navigation system in the near future.

Several Iranian knowledgebased firms and academic centers are working together to unveil a new navigation system.

Iran is located in a geopolitically important region, between Europe and Asia Pacific, and has the potential to be one of the most important aviation hubs in the world.

Iran has 54 airports and 80 percent of air traffic activities are concentrated in eight major airports. https://en.trend. az/iran/society/2949379.html

Danish Tech firm launches robot system for construction sites

Construction sites could soon include mini manufacturing units where robots custom-make building components at the push of a button – at least that’s if Danish tech firm Odico has its way.

The robotic system, currently a functional prototype, would be shipped to projects inside a standard shipping container then use locally sourced materials to custom-fabricate a range of products, including formwork, insulation, reinforcement or tiles.

Factory-On-The-Fly is based on Odico’s signature robotic manufacturing system, which is able to quickly produce formwork molds for concrete with complex double-curved geometries. Two robots dynamically bend a flexible heated blade, while a third robot moves a block of EPS foam through it. www.bimplus.co.uk