GPS World articles from November 2008

GPS World archives from November 2008

IIR-M and Delta launcher update: the delayed launch of IIR-20(M) and IIR-21(M) until an indefinite 2009 date is a problem that needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.(NEWSLETTER EXCERPT)
November 1, 2008... When I received the call from the GPS Wing concerning this September's IIR-M launch delays (already postponed from May), I was told that the launches would be put off a few weeks at.most. Those weeks became months, from October to November,...

Controversy! Stimuli! The roar of the hustings, the thrill of the crowds!(OUT IN FRONT)
November 1, 2008... The first election to capture my passionate attention, the Johnson-McCarthy-Kennedy-Humphrey- Daley- Nixon-Agnew debacle, proved a harsh mistress. Soaring idealism crushed against the reality of two massive political machines. Since then,...

Put to a vote: GPS world's leadership dinner convoked a lively debate: would the community gain more from new signals, or from more satellites? A made-up scenario that elicited important insights.(GNSS Election '08)(Global Positioning System)
November 1, 2008... Richard Langley: First question: Since handhelds with SBAS can now get 1-meter accuracy, and many cell phones have assisted GPS, just give us more satellites for increased visibility and signal availability in urban areas; we don't need any...

Interoperability, from signals to integrity.(EXPERT ADVICE)
November 1, 2008... The vision for the future of GNSS in aviation is based on a multi-constellation and multi-frequency GNSS that will become a true system of systems. Such a GNSS will improve overall performance and robustness, but integrity will become more...

Who really made the payloads.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... You state that"Boeing decided for reasons of its own not to have the full IIF payload built by ITT, the first GPS satellite for which this is the case, but to handle the work itself, in-house. ITT built part of the IIF payload, but not the...

Sunspots declining, may vanish.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... Solar Cycle 24 has not lived up to any of its advance billing. In fact, so far, it's been quite a dud. A maximum in 2011 is now virtually impossible, and one in 2012 is unlikely. The 11-year solar cycle usually comprises four years of rise time...

L5 at risk from malfunctioning fuses.(Policy and system news and developments)(Launch and Range Space Wing)
November 1, 2008... For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. --Proverb dating to the 14th...

GPS Performance Standard document updated.(THE SYSTEM)
November 1, 2008... The National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) released an updated GPS Standard Positioning Service Performance Standard, committing the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to an improved level...

JAMFEST in January.(THE SYSTEM)
November 1, 2008... The 746th Test Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base has rescheduled its sixth JAMFEST at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, to mid-January, 2009; it had originally been slated to take place in October. The 746th, which serves as the...

NOAA adds CORS, WAAS tracking sites.(THE SYSTEM)
November 1, 2008... The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Geodetic Survey has incorporated 43 new GPS tracking sites into the Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) network, including 13 sites established by the Federal...

Precision market to reach $8b by 2012.(SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION)
November 1, 2008... In the next five years, a number of important milestones in the evolution of precision GNSS will transform it from a niche technology to an essential productivity tool in globally important industrial sectors such as mining, agriculture, and...

Motorola rolls out in-vehicle computer.(TRANSPORTATION)
November 1, 2008... Motorola Inc. SSShas rolled out an in-vehicle, fixed-mount mobile computer that provides both GPS-based asset tracking and vehicle monitoring, as well as navigation and other location-based services. The VC6096 provides asset visibility needed...

Trade Commission to review SiRF/Broadcom ruling.(MASS MARKET OEM)
November 1, 2008... The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) said October 10 that it will review the determination of one of its administrative law judges that previously found that SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc., infringed on patents held by Broadcom...

Two "smallest ever" modules released.(MASS MARKET OEM)
November 1, 2008... Two companies released in October what they claimed was the smallest GPS front-end module made to date. TriQuint Semiconductor of Hillsboro, Oregon, unveiled its integrated RF front-end module for GPS-based navigation systems on October...

Northrop Grumman gets U.S., Euro Aviation approval.(AVIONICS & TRANSPORTATION)
November 1, 2008... The LCR-100 Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS) developed by Northrop Grumman Corp.'s German navigation systems subsidiary, Northrop Grumman LITEF GmbH, has achieved certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the...

In memoriam.(Obituary)
November 1, 2008... Natale Peter Raimondo died in Salt Lake City on October 3 at the age of 71. "Nat was very active in Transit and GPS in the old days at Magnavox," said Len Jacobsen, president of Global Systems and Marketing, Inc. "I brought him into L-3...

A step ahead human motion, machine learning combine for personal navigation; A system being tested could someday enable emergency and military crews to precisely pinpoint their on-foot navigation, using a network of sensors worn by individuals.(UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS)
November 1, 2008... A personal navigator is typically described as a system designed to provide continuous navigation of a mobile user within a certain positioning accuracy. Personal navigators have been studied for about a decade in different fields and...

First AGPS - now BGPS: instantaneous precise positioning anywhere.(INNOVATION)
November 1, 2008... In an Expert Advice column in the October 2006 issue of this magazine, one of us wrote: "With hundreds of navigation satellites in the sky, and a handful of GNSS-enabled gadgets, the taxpayer would expect to get the resulting service --...

Navigating denial.(SEEN+HEARD)
November 1, 2008... Don't plan on navigating to the Sphinx with your GPS on your next visit to Egypt. A government ban on the use of GPS technology outlaws the import of GPS-equipped mobile phones, including the Nokia N95 and N82, iPhones, and some 3G phones,...

Hey, warden! It's me, Kimani.(SEEN+HEARD)
November 1, 2008... Kenyan elephants are sending text messages to park wardens when they stray too close to family farms, says Discover magazine. Save the Elephants devised the method to stop the endangered animals from leaving the geofence of the OI Pejeta...

Immediate wrong.(SEEN+HEARD)
November 1, 2008... Immediate Wrong. For the second time, a car got stuck on the Metro-North tracks in Bedford Hills, New York, because a driver insists his GPS told him to make a right turn, reported WCBS-TV. The driver's inability to realize "immediate right"...