Really Rocket Science - Navigation/GPS

FAA NextGen: Now Landing in Philly

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:40:39 -0700

Yes, Philadelphia. The hometown of W.C. Fields, who was alleged to have said "Philadelphia, wonderful town, spent a week there one night," is one of four cities to have the FAA's NextGen system installed. The others are Houston, Louisville and Juneau. The system does it all: navigation, surveillance, and communication.

Of course, they use satellite technology. The Philadelphia Inquirer did a nice piece on it yesterday:

"Philadelphia is a pioneer site," said Federal Aviation Administration vice president Victoria Cox, announcing that Philadelphia controllers now have the capability to track planes equipped with the technology, known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast, or ADS-B.

It's part of a nationwide aviation overhaul - called Next Generation, or NextGen - that the FAA hopes will be largely operational by 2018.

By 2020, all aircraft flying in U.S. airspace must have the ADS-B devices in their cockpits.

Philadelphia is a demonstration site because United Parcel Service is here and has equipped 100 aircraft with satellite-technology. US Airways Group Inc. is in the process of equipping some of its planes, the FAA said.

Philadelphia controllers also use a computer system, called STARS, that takes information, including the ADS-B signals, and translates it to the screens controllers look at.

In addition, Philadelphia was selected to get some of the first satellite-surveillance radios because of its location in congested East Coast air space. The other test sites are Louisville, Ky., where UPS is based; Houston; and Juneau, Alaska.

Seven ground radios - each about the size of two refrigerators - have been installed around Philadelphia, including two on airport property. They will be part of a network of 813 radios by 2013, the FAA said.

Once airplanes get specialized GPS devices in cockpits, pilots will transmit via satellite to ground radios, which will bounce information to control towers. Controllers, in turn, will transmit to the radios, which will broadcast up to the cockpit.

The new technology will allow pilots, for the first time, to see what controllers see: other aircraft in the sky around them, bad weather and terrain, and information such as temporary flight restrictions.

Need more detail? Check out the FAA's NextGen Implementation Plan (84-page PDF). There are basically five elements to this system:

Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B). ADS-B will use the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite signals to provide air traffic controllers and pilots with much more accurate information that will help to keep aircraft safely separated in the sky and on runways. Aircraft transponders receive GPS signals and use them to determine the aircraft's precise position in the sky. This and other data is then broadcast to other aircraft and air traffic control. Once fully established, both pilots and air traffic controllers will, for the first time, see the same real-time display of air traffic, substantially improving safety. The FAA will mandate the avionics necessary for implementing ADS-B.
System Wide Information Management (SWIM). SWIM will provide a single infrastructure and information management system to deliver high quality, timely data to many users and applications. By reducing the number and types of interfaces and systems, SWIM will reduce data redundancy and better facilitate multi-user information sharing. SWIM will also enable new modes of decision making as information is more easily accessed.
Next Generation Data Communications. Current communications between aircrew and air traffic control, and between air traffic controllers, are largely realised through voice communications. Initially, the introduction of data communications will provide an additional means of two-way communication for air traffic control clearances, instructions, advisories, flight crew requests and reports. With the majority of aircraft data link equipped, the exchange of routine controller-pilot messages and clearances via data link will enable controllers to handle more traffic. This will improve air traffic controller productivity, enhancing capacity and safety.
Next Generation Network Enabled Weather (NNEW). Seventy percent of NAS delays are attributed to weather every year. The goal of NNEW is to cut weather-related delays at least in half. Tens of thousands of global weather observations and sensor reports from ground-, airborne- and space-based sources will fuse into a single national weather information system, updated in real time. NNEW will provide a common weather picture across the national airspace system, and enable better air transportation decision making.
NAS Voice Switch (NVS). There are currently seventeen different voice switching systems in the NAS, some in use for more than twenty years. NVS will replace these systems with a single air/ground and ground/ground voice communications system.

Yeah, there's a video...

Outdoors at the Satellite Show

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:11:48 -0700

This Mini outfitted with a mobile antenna is pretty cool, although it may not be as practical as the "command vehicle" put together by CAMMS.

CAMMS™ (Command Anywhere Media Management System) was developed to enable a totally secure, scalable mobile mesh (ad hoc) network and provide the necessary tools for Command Anywhere.

The CAMMS™ mobile mesh software program is a patent pending Windows-based program, which provides the foundation for an ad hoc, self-forming / self-healing wireless mobile mesh network. It provides interoperability and allows real time communications with any others users in the mesh.

Mobile mesh (ad hoc) networks offer many advantages over other types of communications networks. Chief among these is the ability of the mesh to function independently of a land-based infrastructure.

When communication is linked solely to a land-based infrastructure an acute vulnerability exists. By utilizing a mesh, the network infrastructure becomes decentralized, avoiding a central point of failure and control. Command can be located anywhere with hand off from first responder to others when required instantly.

The CAMMS™ mobile mesh software does not require servers or fixed access points (FAP’s) and is compatible with existing mesh AP's. The software may be purchased separately to maximize existing communications systems or as part of complete interoperable communications solution that includes software and AP.

Technorati Tags: satellite+show satellite camms command+center

WBMSAT Satellite Industry News Bits 03/05/2010

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:10:36 -0800

Orbital Sciences reaches agreement to acquire spacecraft development and manufacturing business of General Dynamic's subsidiary GD Advanced Information Systems.
[SatNews - 03/05/2010]

Air Force accepts WGS-3 from Boeing.
[UPI - 03/05/2010]

RRsat Global Communications Network signs agreement with ISG Media of India to provide fiber connectivity, playout and distribution for satellite broadcast in Europe and North America.
[SatNews - 03/05/2010]

SatMAX and TLC Engineering offer SatMAX repeaters to aid Chile.
[CNN Money - 03/05/2010]

GlobecCast's new Content Acquisition and Distribution division signs agreement with Chinese content provider ZN Animation to deliver content to Video on Demand viewers throughout Europe.
[SatNews - 03/05/2010]

GOES-P satellite, NASA and NOAA's environmental satellite completing the N -O series, is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral.
[NASA web site - 03/04/2010]

OmniGlobe Networks EMEA signs Letter of Intent to acquire entire issued share capital and assets of privately-held Sat-Comm Ltd.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

Telesat expresses support for Canadian government's commitment to remove foreign ownership restrictions on Canadian satellite operators.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

Iridium provides satellite voice and data communications for 2010 Iditarod sled dog race.
[Market Watch - 03/04/2010]

European Satellite Operators Association representative takes part in Commercial Satellite Critical Infrastructure Protection workshop with experts working on critical national security and emergency programmes from the European Commission, the US Department of State, and Department of Defense and others.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

TiVo wins court ruling against Dish Network and EchoStar for patent infringement with Digital Video Recorder software.
[Business Week - 03/04/2010]

Global VSAT Forum called upon to expand reach of the GVF VSAT Installation & Maintenance Training Programme.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

Texas senator proposes bill to extend space shuttle program.
[Space.com - 03/04/2010]

U.S. Air Force investigates electrical mini-thrusters for possible use in satellite propulsion.
[PHYSORG - 03/03/2010]

Secretary of State Clinton delivers satellite phones in Chile following earthquake and tsumani.
[Kaiser Family Foundation - 03/03/2010]

Gilat is chosen by Satcom Systems to deliver SkyEdge II network for broadband internet connectivity in Africa.
[Market Watch - 03/03/2010]

iDirect announces launch of Talia Home by Talia Limited, providing consumer-focused internet and telephone communications service in MENA, using iDirect Evolution technology.
[SatNews - 03/03/2010]

Tachyon Networks announces availability of new end-to-en d fixed and mobile broadband satellit solutions for Southwest Asia using ultra-small aperture terminals.
[SatNews - 03/03/2010].

Earth's day is shortened by earthquake in Chile.
[Time - 03/02/2010]

UN and Iridium rush satellite phones to Chili to help restore vital communications links.
[PC World - 03/02/2010]

MTN supplies satellite communications system for Oasis Of The Seas, the world's largest cruise ship.
[Space Daily - 03/02/2010]

Upstar Comunicacoes selects Eutelsat to broadcast ZAP, the new satellite TV bouquet of Angola.
[PR Newswire - 03/02/2010]

New satellite mobile broadband service OverHorizon, based in Arlington, VA, selects Arianespace to launch its first satellite.
[Space News Examiner - 03/01/2010]

Millions of tons of water ice found at North Pole of Moon.
[Space.com - 03/01/2010]

Russia launches 3 navigation satellites.
[Space Daily - 03/01/2010]

NASA announces plans to launch small cube-shaped satellites for educational and not-for-profit organizations.
[Space Daily - 03/01/2010]

SES WORLD SKIES announces plans to join leading broadcaster, programmers, TV makers, and technology providers in series of extensive tests aimed at accelerating delivery of 3DTV.
[SatNews - 03/01/2010]

Soldiers provide communications support in Haiti, working with a variety of networks and satellite links.
[DVIDS - 03/01/2010]

SatMAX receives 2nd U.S. Navy order for its satellite communications repeater system.
[CNN Money - 03/01/2010]

EchoStar to purchase SatMex.
[Multichannel News - 02/28/2010]

TRA grants Al Yah Satellite Communications Company a Satellite Services License.
[WAM - 02/28/2010]

Antarctic satellite broadband project wins funding under Australian Space Research Program.
[Computer World - 03/01/2010]

WBMSAT PS - Satellite Communications Consulting Services

Technorati Tags: satnews satellite+today via+satellite satellite+week

Apps for the Army

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:37:32 -0800

It was bound to happen: using an "app phone" in a combat zone. We've seen the DishPointer app in use in Aghanistan, and it probably won't be long before a "tough" unit is out for warfighters in the field. Sure, there must be some proprietary software to keep it secure, but does it have to be so complicated?

Now the U.S. Army is throwing its considerable weight behind it with their "Apps for the Army" program:

Ever since we launched Apps for Democracy for DC’s Office of the CTO back in September 2008 the world has been a-buzz with “Apps for” contests. We recently released a guide for how to create your ownin order to make this kind of innovation method more accessible to people around the world. There are now about a dozen of these innovation contests being run by cities, national governments and various non-profits.
Today I’m happy to announce a new Apps initiative – one which iStrategyLabs has been contracted to create with the Army’s CIO/G6. A special thank you goes out to Tim O’Reilly – who envisioned this program and served as an advisor/connector to make it happen. Below you’ll find full details from the Army’s official media advisory (download as .DOC), and a summary is as follows:

A media and bloggers’ roundtable will take place March 3 at 1:30 pm in the Pentagon, Room 1E462. Lieutenant General Jeffery Sorenson (Army CIO) will discuss Apps for the Army and take questions. To attend the roundtable in person, or if you plan to call in, please contact: Ms. Ashley McCall-Washington at 703-614-1649 or ashley.mccall1@us.army.mil

The competition runs from March 1st to May 15st 2010

There are 40 employee cash awards totaling $30,000 for mobile and web apps

Only 100 initial teams can participate

Awards will be announced in June, with public demonstrations at LandWarNet

Registration forms and other details can be found on AKO: http://www.army.mil/ciog6/armyapps

Forge.mil will serve as a collaborative software repository

RACE – a cloud based development sandbox will be provided. Participants can access a Windows server, Linux server and mobile app emulation software for Android and Blackberry. iPhone apps will need to be developed outside of RACE.

MilBook’s Apps for the Army group will serve as the core collaboration space for all participants

If you’re on twitter, use the hashtag #apps4army to follow the conversation

Video summary...

Cool approach by reaching to developers with real cash prizes.

For more on what's happening out there, it's always a good idea to keep up with Wired's Danger Room:

In the military’s vision of future, the real trick will be getting information down to the individual soldier on the battlefield. Now the Army plans to test a smartphone for soldiers that will have mobile applications that could — in theory — access everything from technical manuals and maintenance records to maps and cultural intelligence.
In a discussion yesterday with reporters, Maj. Gen. Keith Walker, director of the Army’s Future Force Integration Directorate at Fort Bliss, Texas, said that around 200 soldiers would receive an “iPhone-like device” with digital apps installed.
Walker said the devices would have “various apps for system maintenance, instruction manuals — that we can all remotely upgrade. Also, we’re working to allow soldiers to have a distributed way of getting feedback to us on the equipment, where they can do Wikipedia-style upgrades to tactics, techniques and procedures, and comments on performance of hardware and software.”
Further down the road, Walker said he could envision tactical applications, like an app with GPS capability that could pinpoint the user’s location, or a digital tool that would allow troops to analyze terrain.
“This initiative we are moving out on,” Walker said. “We will see this happen this year.”
It’s part of a larger project called Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications. While there is not yet a definite plan to procure and field a combat iPhone, troops at Fort Bliss will experiment with the handset to test ways that some of these new technologies might actually be integrated into the force.
It’s not the only experiment underway at Fort Bliss. Soldiers of the service’s 5th Brigade, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss are testing and evaluating pieces of the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization plan — a more streamlined successor to the service’s now-defunct Future Combat Systems program. Other items being tested include a common controller, a Nintendo-style control that can be used to maneuver both the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle robot and the Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (affectionately known as the “flying beer keg”).

Need some imagination? Check out these gadgets and robots...

Technorati Tags: istrategy apps+for+the+army app+phone apps dishpointer iphone flying+beer+keg ffid

Smokin' Radio

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:50:05 -0800

Pioneer came out with a smokin' car radio -- actually a super device -- at CES last week. The AVIC-X920BT can do everything you can think of in a car.

Engadget picked up on one feature: streaming Pandora via your iPhone:

Your car's dash just got a tad bit more interesting with the introduction of Pandora music streaming in Pioneer's latest navigation unit. The double-DIN in-dash device exploits your iPhone's cellular connection to glean tunes from the ether and comes with a 6.1-inch display, Bluetooth, 3D video accelerator, and 4GB of built-in memory expandable by MicroSD.

Interesting. I do that with my iPhone, too. Slacker, Last.fm and many other apps let your stream audio. Do I lose signal? Sure I do. Not as much as with satellite radio under tree cover, however. Pandora is essentially free. Sirius XM is not.

The folks at TheStreet.com see more than just a neat product. They see the beginning of the end for Sirius XM:

A long-feared, potential threat to Sirius XM Radio has become real for many tech-sector observers, prompting them to wonder whether the satellite radio company has reached the beginning of its end.

At last week's kick-off of the 2010 annual Consumer Electronics Show, one of the world's largest tech-trade shows, Pioneer unveiled a new car stereo that can detect Pandora Internet radio settings from iPhones or iPods -- which could then be translated into convenient access for the users to their favorite Pandora channels while driving.

Pandora's potential has been tantalizing from the moment it was launched in 2000, much of it owing to its Music Genome Project -- an ongoing compilation of painstakingly-detailed musical data analysis that Pandora has been using to create customized music stations for individual users.

Through the project, the company has steadily added listeners every year, doubling to more than 40 million in 2009, compared to Sirius' roughly 18 million subscribers as of December.

Through Pandora, users can access tunes via their Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm Pre and Windows Mobile phones.

Ted Cardenas, a Pioneer director of marketing, told the Wall Street Journal that he sees the creation as an opportunity to reach out to an entirely new group of consumers. This has led some observers to conclude that the new Pioneer AVIC-X920BT will threaten the very survival of Sirius, once it becomes available to the market in March.

The choice for the marketplace will therefore be one between a selection of free, Internet radio programming automatically customized to one's personal tastes versus the subscription-based services of a commercial-free satellite radio company.

Sirius currently offers various subscription packages ranging from about $13 to $20 a month.

Drivers and car owners have represented a large portion of Sirius' subscriber base, given that vehicles come with the radio installed. Therefore, much of Sirius' profits have been tied to the success of the auto-industry, which has yet to make a full recovery.

The poll agrees with what I think: Sirius XM will hold on to their subscribers.

Audio streaming to mobile devices is a good alternative, but it's not a substitute for satellite radio. No cell service, no audio stream. With satellite radio, you get it everywhere.

Technorati Tags: pioneer pandora slacker last.fm sirius+xm sirius+radio xm+radio hd+radio

Yo, That TomTom is Fly!

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:36:42 -0800

F'shizzle, sat-nav! Snoop Dogg's voice -- and phrases -- are now available for your TomTom GPS navigation unit via VoiceSkins.

The program formats the user's GPS system so that it gives directions in Snoop's unmistakable voice and using his trademark slang. It offers crucial driving tips like, "Turn around when possible and keep it 'G', ya d-i-g?" and "Thanks for the ride man, I had the time of my life. Oowee!" The application also offers a downloadable "Points of Interest" file, which uses GPS to inform the user of Snoop's favorite local L.A. spots.

Great idea. Love the extras, too. Here he is, in the studio, explaining why...

He's quite the entrepreneur, which is why he rang the bell at the NYSE to begin Global Entrepreneurship Week recently. The WSJ recorded this interview...

Technorati Tags: snoop+dogg doggfather tomtom gps satnav voiceskins

WBMSAT News Bits for September 11, 2009

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:38:52 -0700

GeoEye wins $50m National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency contract extension.

[Satellite Today - 09/11/2009]

NASA and Alliant Techsystems conduct successful stationary firing test of the five-segment solid development motor for the first state of the Ares 1 crew launch vehicle in development for the Constellation program.
[R&D Magazine - 09/11/2009]

Artel leases four full Ku-band transponders from SES World Skies on Astra 3B to be launched next year.
[Satellite Today - 09/11/2009]

Japan's H-2B rocket successfully launches an H-2 Transfer Vehicle, Japan's first unmanned cargo vehicle, designed to transport supplies to the International Space Station.
[SatNews - 09/10/2009]

Globecast leases occasional use capacity from Intelsat, spanning the operator's entire satellite fleet.
[SatNews - 09/10/2009]

Expand Networks enhances Clear Satellite managed service offerings with its WAN optimization technology.
[SatNews - 09/10/2009]

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates will provide RADARSAT-2 satellite imagery to the European Space Agency to provide information on ice and disaster mapping in support of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security program.
[SatNews - 09/10/2009]

Thales Alenia Space and Indosat announce successful placement of the Palapa-D satellite into geostationary orbit; solar panels and antennas have been deployed and In Orbit Testing will begin.
[SatNews - 09/10/2009]

NHK Global Media Services signs multi-transponder, multiyear renewal and expansion contract with Intelsat.
[SatNews - 09/10/2009]

First Advance Extremely High Frequency military communications satellite built by Lockheed Martin for U.S. Air Force begins final test phase at Lockheed's Sunnyvale, California facilities.
[Reuters - 09/10/2009]

Eutelsat Communications Receives Award as Fixed Satellite Services Operator of
the Year by Euroconsult for Second Consecutive Year.
[Reuters - 09/10/2009]

Faster more affordable broadband satellite services attract backup, mobile, and continuity applications, and U.S. government announces joint military/civilian agency purchase of estimated $5b worth of commercial satellite services over next five years.
[Network World - 09/10/2009]

U.S. and Canada sign framework to collaborate on activities for peaceful exploration and use of outer space.
[SatNews - 09/09/2009]

SpaceX Falcon-1e wins launch contract with Astrium to launch an Earth observation satellite.
[Satellite Today - 09/09/2009]

Telespazio Brasil selects Gilat for 1,200-site broadband satellite communications network to serve major financial institutions.
[Reuters - 09/09/2009]

NASA award contract modification to L-3 Communications Integrated Systems for further development engineering in support of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy mission (SOFIA).
[SatNews - 09/09/2009]

Harris Corporation receives 'Type Approval' certification from Inmarsat for new RF-7800B Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) satellite terminals to provide Global high-speed IP based communications.
[Reuters - 09/09/2009]

Nagravision conditional access system to be used by HD PLUS GmbH, and SES ASTRA company, to support its new HD offering in Germany
[SatNews - 09/09/2009]

Recent Hubble telescope repair is called "an extreme makeover" and the telescope "now is significantly more powerful than ever, well-equipped to last into the next decade."
[SatNews - 09/09/2009]

SIRIUS XM announces SIRIUS FM-5 satellite has been placed into service, increasing broadcast power and delivering improved reception to SIRIUS subscribers.
[Reuters - 09/09/2009]

STM announces its subsidiary, STM Norway AS, will build a new SatLink DVB-RCS hub for Telenor Satellite Broadcasting.
[SatNews - 09/09/2009]

U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing successfully launches a government communications satellite from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle.
[Patrick Air Force Base News - 09/08/2009]
[SatNews - 09/08/2009]

Globecast contracts with Eutelsat for two 36 Mhz transponders on the ATLANTIC Bird 1 and W2A satellites for three years.
[SatNews - 09/08/2009]

Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group will host three-day conference in Cannes, France for satellite interference problem solving discussions.
[SatNews - 09/08/2009]

Argentina's ARSAT-1 payload will be built by Thales Alenia Space.
[SatNews -09/08/2009]

Harris Corporation adds broadband satellite capability to Falcon III(R) RF-7800M multiband manpack radio, extending its range through integration with the Harris RF-7800B BGAN satellite terminals.
[Reuters - 09/08/209]

SES rejects idea of building dedicated broadband satellite, saying terrestrial broadband rollout will challenge viability of satellite broadband in the long run.
[RapidTVNews - 09/08/2009]

SES WORLD SKIES - the new name for SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES is announced.
[SatNews - 09/07/2009]

Eutelsat announces signing of contract with International Launch Services for mid-November 2009 launch of W7 satellite, following notification by Sea Launch that it would be unable to meet the required time frame for the launch.
[Reuters - 09/07/2009]

Baltimore native leads University of Vermont team in development of thrusters on a chip (using steam) for maneuvering future NASA 'nanosatellites' (10 - 20 lb satellites).
[Baltimore Sun - 09/07/2009]

SES sees stimulus plans as threat to satellite Internet service, giving the edge to terrestrial technology.
[Financial Times - 09/07/2009]

WBMSAT PS - Satellite Communications Consulting Services

Technorati Tags: satnews satellite+today via+satellite satcom news

GAO on GPS to USAF: WTF?

Wed, 20 May 2009 05:53:52 -0700

The GAO's report on the state of the GPS system is causing some alarm among those in the satellite navigation and geolocation community:

It is uncertain whether the Air Force will be able to acquire new satellites in time to maintain current GPS service without interruption. If not, some military operations and some civilian users could be adversely affected. (1) In recent years, the Air Force has struggled to successfully build GPS satellites within cost and schedule goals; it encountered significant technical problems that still threaten its delivery schedule; and it struggled with a different contractor. As a result, the current IIF satellite program has overrun its original cost estimate by about $870 million and the launch of its first satellite has been delayed to November 2009--almost 3 years late. (2) Further, while the Air Force is structuring the new GPS IIIA program to prevent mistakes made on the IIF program, the Air Force is aiming to deploy the next generation of GPS satellites 3 years faster than the IIF satellites. GAO's analysis found that this schedule is optimistic, given the program's late start, past trends in space acquisitions, and challenges facing the new contractor. Of particular concern is leadership for GPS acquisition, as GAO and other studies have found the lack of a single point of authority for space programs and frequent turnover in program managers have hampered requirements setting, funding stability, and resource allocation. (3) If the Air Force does not meet its schedule goals for development of GPS IIIA satellites, there will be an increased likelihood that in 2010, as old satellites begin to fail, the overall GPS constellation will fall below the number of satellites required to provide the level of GPS service that the U.S. government commits to. Such a gap in capability could have wide-ranging impacts on all GPS users, though there are measures the Air Force and others can take to plan for and minimize these impacts. In addition to risks facing the acquisition of new GPS satellites, the Air Force has not been fully successful in synchronizing the acquisition and development of the next generation of GPS satellites with the ground control and user equipment, thereby delaying the ability of military users to fully utilize new GPS satellite capabilities. Diffuse leadership has been a contributing factor, given that there is no single authority responsible for synchronizing all procurements and fielding related to GPS, and funding has been diverted from ground programs to pay for problems in the space segment. DOD and others involved in ensuring GPS can serve communities beyond the military have taken prudent steps to manage requirements and coordinate among the many organizations involved with GPS. However, GAO identified challenges to ensuring civilian requirements and ensuring GPS compatibility with other new, potentially competing global space-based positioning, navigation, and timing systems.

Cost overruns and a diminishing number of spacecraft engineers are likely the root causes.

Technorati Tags: usaf gps gao satellite+navigation

GPS Beats Speeding Ticket

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:54:00 -0700

Rocky Mountain Tracking's device is accurate. So good, in fact, it beat a police radar in court:

Eighteen-year-old Shaun Malone has a few people to thank for being able to plead "Not Guilty" to a speeding offence - his parents, who installed a GPS device in his car, and Rocky Mountain Tracking, the service provider of that device.

"Because of our GPS tracking data, Malone and his parents can protest the imposition of an unfair speeding ticket," says Brad Borst, Founder and President of Rocky Mountain Tracking, and who is also a former Police Officer.
A police radar had found Malone driving at 62 mph in a 45-mph zone. However, Malone's parents, who had installed the Rocky Mountain Tracking GPS device in his car to monitor his driving, found that the device tracked him driving at, and not above, the speed limit.
The most telling testament to the accuracy of the Rocky Mountain Tracking Rover GPS tracking device came, ironically, from a GPS expert who originally helped find Malone guilty in a trial-by-affidavit. Dr. Stephen Heppe, the expert, had written a report affirming that, going by the GPS data, Malone had to have been traveling faster than 45 mph.

Read their blog for more detail. And Hot Hardware gets more from the expert:

While the police clocked him going 62-mph, the GPS's data in fact showed him driving at the 45-mph speed limit. In an initial trial-by-affidavit, Malone was found guilty of speeding. GPS expert, Dr. Stephen Heppe wrote a report that essentially said that the GPS data was not accurate enough to contest the accuracy of the radar gun. Malone appealed the decision and had his day in court. At trial, things played out differently:
"However, when he took the stand to begin his testimony, Dr. Heppe corrected that written report, saying that the Rocky Mountain Tracking device was "very" accurate, to within a couple of meters on location and to within 1 mph on speed. Dr. Heppe also pointed out that the GPS device released instantaneous data, and not data averaged over a distance."
Needless to say, with Dr. Heppe's revised testimony, Malone was found innocent of speeding.

Teenagers. Some learn about the danger of speeding the hard way, some know better before they start driving. Check out this kid in Kentucky:

Landon Wilburn, 11, grew tired of speeders zipping through his subdivision, so after growing hoarse shouting at them, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
The youngster, who used to shout at speeders to slow down as they drove through the Stone Lakes subdivision in Louisville, now has taken matters into his own hands.
Dressed in a reflective vest, wearing a bicycle helmet and armed with an orange Hot Wheels brand radar gun, he points and records the actual speed of passing traffic.
Landon also carries a flashlight with a built-in siren.
"When I saw it happening, I got the biggest kick out of it," said resident George Ayers, 61. "People were locking up their brakes when they saw him."

You can hack these toy radar guns, or you could really have some fun as-is.

Technorati Tags: gps police+radar radar+gun hot+wheels gps+tracking rocky+mountain+tracking

Pool Hopping

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:57:06 -0700

It's officially summer, and I'm feeling a bit nostaligic.

Like many kids who grew up in the suburbs, my memories are filled with ice-cream trucks, slip-and-slides, and…oh yeah…petty crime. Before images of vandalism start running through your mind, let me explain. My misdemeanors were of a more innocuous variety, namely pool-hopping:

pool hopping
Hoping from pool to pool; usually done at night, or during the day when people (pool owners) are working. It is the act of running to one neighbours pool jumping in, then running to another pool to jump in,, and continue the cycle.This is all done without getting caught(hopefully).

We all knew which houses in the neighborhood had the best pools, and, after some fence-scaling and other secret-agent-worthy tactics, we'd be cannon-balling into the deep end.

But these days the childhood pasttime is going high-tech. Groups of kids are using Google Earth to find pools and organizing their outings on Facebook.

Call me old-fashioned, but I agree with this guy. Between creating facebook groups and dodging motion detectors, all the technology has taken the fun out of it.

Technorati Tags: Google+Earth Pool+Hopping

Atlas Launches ICO G1 Satellite

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:59:37 -0700

Yesterday at 4:12 pm at Cape Canaveral, an Atlas 5 rocket successfully lifted ICO Global Communications' ICO G1 North American geosynchronous satellite, "a mobile communications satellite to assist and entertain Americans on the go."

The launch marked the first commercial flight in two years of an Atlast 5, and the carrying of its heaviest payload ever:

Weighing 14,625 pounds, the ICO G1 spacecraft was the heftiest payload ever launched by an Atlas rocket. Built by Space Systems/Loral, the craft stands over 27 feet tall, features a 39-foot-diameter mesh reflector antenna that will be unfurled in space and a pair of power-generating solar wings to span over 100 feet tip-to-tip once extended in orbit.

It's a pretty bird, the G1:

The ICO G 1 satellite belongs to the 2-GHz mobile systems, which are driving a growing segment of today's satellite manufacturing industry.
ICO's G 1 satellite is based on SS/L's space-proven LS-1300 platform, which has an excellent record of reliable operation. Its high efficiency solar arrays and lightweight batteries are designed to provide uninterrupted electrical power. In all, SS/L satellites have amassed almost 1,200 years of reliable on-orbit service.

ICO G1 is a next-generation satellite designed to deliver a wide variety of interactive services to mobile and portable devices using ICO's Mobile Interactive Media (ICO mim™).

The launch marks the first deployment of DVB-SH service in North America. DVB-SH is short for Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite services to Handhelds; it's "a physical layer standard for delivering IP based media content and data to handheld terminals such as mobile phones or PDAs, based on a hybrid satellite/terrestrial downlink."

ICO mim addresses a wide variety of consumers' entertainment, information and two-way communication needs, including live and stored mobile TV in vehicles, interactive navigation, and roadside assistance, all with nationwide coverage.

ICO mim will also initially provide 10-15 channels of premium television content to portable, larger-screen (4.5- to 10-inch) user devices. Initial partners for the trial phase of ICO mim include Alcatel-Lucent.

For a demo video of ICO mim click here. To see the current state of DVB-H reployments, click here.

Here's the launch video...

Technorati Tags: mccaw dvb-h dvb-sh space rockets cape+canaveral NASA satcom ICO broadcasting PDAs gadgets atlas

Host My Payload

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:24:05 -0800

Very interesting news from California this morning about Space Systems/Loral and Northrop Grumman's Space Technology division getting together to go after U.S. government business. Building spacecraft for fully-funded government projects can be more profitable than going after commercial projects. Sounds like a simple agreement:

"The agreement with Northrop Grumman will allow SS/L to cost-effectively add capacity to address increased near-term commercial satellite opportunities," said Pat DeWitt, chief executive officer, Space Systems/Loral. "The agreement will also streamline the process for our companies to collaborate on providing the world's best satellites for both civil and defense applications."
"The resulting strategic agreement will be important to increasing our competitiveness. These initiatives will present win-win opportunities for both companies and our U.S. government customers," said Alexis Livanos, corporate vice president and president of the company's Space Technology sector. "For some of our mission areas, we believe that assured access to SS/L's 1300 bus and bus subsystems would improve our cost and delivery schedule competitiveness. In addition, hosted payloads hold the promise of providing us greater ability and flexibility to rapidly respond to our government customers' evolving needs."

Some of these new opportunities included "hosted payloads" where specialized instruments or entire subsystems can be added on to a satellite bus whose primary mission is paying most of the build cost. Given the importance of the role space plays in today's C4ISR systems (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), and the expected ends-of-life of the spacecraft currently in orbit, we'll need a bunch of new launches in the short term. Factor in programs being behind schedule -- with some going way over budget -- and you might conclude we have a problem, Houston. Intelsat General is going after this market, too.

Northrop Grumman is involved in a new moon mission for NASA, the LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite):

Technorati Tags: space+systems/loral ames nasa loral intelsat hosted+payload northrop+grumman grumman northrop ss/l lcross c4isr

DIY Friday: GPS Tracking

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:04:34 -0800

GPS systems appear to be the newest must-have gadget. They were flying off the shelves in December:

Personal navigation devices are a hot gift to give this holiday season. Unit sales of GPS systems rose 488% over last year, according to the latest point-of-sale information from market research firm NPD Group.

And GPS providers are not planning to sit on this past year's successes. Forbes.com list GPS chipsets as one of five "emerging technologies" of 2008:

GPS chipset provider, SiRF Technology Holdings is the company to beat in the personal navigation device space, with over 50% market share. The company is one of several gearing to battle it out for a piece of the next-generation cellular handset market.

Mobile phones are only starting to emerge as a high-growth market for GPS chipsets, which include the basic radio-frequency (RF) and GPS base-band chips. True, most handsets already incorporate the technology, but it goes largely unused because most network operators have been slow to roll out location-based services with broad consumer appeal.

The other reason GPS chipset suppliers have ignored the current generation of mobile handsets is Qualcomm, which has been packaging GPS capability into its mobile phone chips for the last seven years. The industry, however, is shifting from today's global system for mobile communications and CDMA network standards toward 3G, or W-CDMA standards, and next generation-compatible handsets are forecast to see a compound annual growth rate of 22% over the next five years.

But you don't need to wait for the market to marry GPS and cell-phone handsets. Turn your cell-phone into a GPS tracking device:

DIY GPS tracking with "disposable" phones - Mod a GPS enabled Nextel and fauxjack yourself...or your car, or your kid, or a big dog, or an elephant. We really, really want to track an elephant. Mologogo is a free service that will track a "friends" GPS enabled cell phone from another phone(gps not required) or on the web. It currently works on pretty much any Nextel phone with Java and GPS - even a $60 no-contract Boost Mobile phone.

Using any GPS-enabled phone with java and a supported provider (Nextel, Sprint, or Boost), you can install a free service called Mologogo and turn your phone into a tracking device.

What can Mologogo do?

From your phone or the web, Mologogo shows you where you and your friends are at any moment. If you are on the go, Mologogo can alert you when friends are close, search around for points of interest, and keep you updated with local traffic and weather. Mologogo even supports mobile chat, so you can reach out to your nearby friends instantly. If you are on your PC, you can see all of your friends - locations, sign up new friends, bookmark locations, and show your Mologogo location on your own web page or blog.

You control who can see your location – anything from the entire Mologogo community to a few select friends. The applications for this are endless: track your kid; use an old phone and a prepaid data plan to track your car or a package; see where friends are in a city; or track mobile employees. (I'm smelling a good marketing opportunity for a quick-delivery pizza chain.)

If you don't have a Mologogo-capable phone, you can buy one for $80 bucks, maybe less. And, unlike some stand-alone commercial tracking solutions, the service is free (as long as your cell-phone has a data plan).

And the locator works very, very fast, as one MAKE commenter explains:

As for the phones: The reason you get GPS lock so quickly (which might make you think it's fake) is that the tower gives the phone a breath-of-life packet, containing the current satellite almanac and possibly even the position of the PRN sequences, so the GPS chip can achieve lock almost instantly.

You can test this by taking the phone to an area with no Nextel towers (Montana and Mississippi work well) and telling it to acquire a GPS fix. It'll take much longer (30-50 seconds typically), just like your Garmin, because it's not getting help from a tower. But even in the complete absence of towers and service, the phone's GPS chip does work just fine, and will happily feed NMEA 0183 data over the serial cable for your laptop's mapping software.

Technorati Tags: Mologogo GPS tracking Google Maps

Big GPS Gift

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 08:49:09 -0800

Gorgeous day at the Cape last week, punctuated by a spectacular Delta launch for the USAF by the United Launch Alliance:

United Launch Alliance successfully launched a Delta II expendable launch vehicle today from Space Launch Complex 17-A at 3:04 p.m., EST carrying the Air Force’s GPS IIR-18(M) satellite. This launch marks the fifth mission for the Air Force this year and the 13th and final mission for ULA in 2007.
Following a nominal 1 hour and 8 minute flight, the rocket deployed the GPS IIR-18(M) spacecraft, the fifth modernized NAVSTAR Global Positioning System Block II R-M military navigation satellite. GPS is a space-based radio-positioning system nominally consisting of a minimum of 24-satellite constellation that provides navigation and timing information to military and civilian users worldwide.
"With the launch of GPS IIR-18(M), ULA completes a tremendously successful first year of operation and demonstrates its commitment to 100 percent mission success," said Mark Wilkins, vice president of Delta Programs. "As we continue to provide safe, cost-effective, reliable access to space, we are privileged to serve an important role in critical missions, such as GPS, which are force multipliers for our men and women in uniform serving our country throughout the world."
Designed to operate for 10 years, GPS satellites orbit the Earth every 12 hours, emitting continuous navigation signals. With the proper equipment, users can receive these signals to calculate time, location and velocity. In addition to its military use, GPS satellites provide directional assistance to civilian users around the world.
The ULA Delta II 7925-9.5 configuration vehicle featured an ULA first stage booster powered by a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and nine Alliant Techsystems (ATK) strap-on solid rocket motors. An Aerojet AJ10-118K engine powered the second stage. A spin-stabilized Star-48B solid-rocket motor built by ATK boosted the third stage. The payload was encased by a 9.5-foot-diameter metallic payload fairing.
ULA began processing the Delta II launch vehicle in Decatur, Ala., nearly two years ago. In August 2007, the first stage arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station from Decatur, followed by the second stage Sept. 19. The vehicle was erected on the stand at Pad 17-A, Nov. 5, with solid rocket motor installation completed by mid-November. Hundreds of ULA technicians, engineers and management worked to prepare the vehicle for the GPS IIR-18(M) mission.

Here's the video:

Technorati Tags: ula united+launch+alliance boeing lockheed-martin gps usaf cape+canaveral delta delta+rocket

Where the heck am I?

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:16:43 -0800

Wow, now I know. Thanks to a new "killer app" from Google called My Location. The folks at AppleInsider see it:

New Google Maps feature could simulate GPS on iPhones
By Slash Lane
A new version of Google Maps introduced this week includes a beta feature dubbed My Location that was designed to simulate the GPS experience on mobile phones and handheld devices that do not include GPS hardware, like Apple's iPhone.
Essentially, the My Location feature takes information broadcast from mobile towers near non-GPS equipped mobile phones to approximate the device's current location on the map down to about 10 city blocks.
"It's not GPS, but it comes pretty close (approximately 1000m close, on average)," the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant explained on its website. "We're still in beta, but we're excited to launch this feature and are constantly working to improve our coverage and accuracy."
The My Location feature is currently available for most web-enabled mobile phones, including Java, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Nokia/Symbian devices. However, it is not yet compatible with Apple's iPhone.
Still, Apple has promised to continuously update and improve upon the feature set of its inaugural mobile handset, making it more than likely that the feature will turn up once it emerges from the beta stage.
For a more detailed explanation of My Location and a visual demonstration, please see the video below.

Just downloaded it on a BlackBerry and it works. Amazing.

Technorati Tags: google+maps my+location mylocation iphone+gps gps free+gps