GPS World

Tag: Directions 2018

  • Directions 2018: Galileo ascendant

    Directions 2018: Galileo ascendant

    By Paul Verhoef
    Director of the Galileo Programme and Navigation-related Activities,
    European Space Agency

    Paul Verhoef, director of the Galileo Programme addresses the audience at ESA's annual Navigation Days, held Jan. 26. (Photo: ESA)
    Paul Verhoef, director of the Galileo Programme. (Photo: ESA)

    The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) are starting 2018 with the commissioning and In-Orbit Testing (IOT) of four new Galileo satellites.

    This work is fairly routine for us as we have achieved the process successfully many times. But the impact of four new satellites for Galileo services is a different story.

    This batch of satellites provided by OHB of Germany — 19, 20, 21 and 22  — will bring our constellation to 22 satellites. Together with the necessary ground segment delivered by Thales Alenia Space (TAS) and Airbus Defense and Space (ADS) and their many subcontractors throughout Europe, this will be providing availability to users anywhere in the world in order to achieve a high-quality position solution 99.8% of the time. “High quality” is hereby meant that the position dilution of precision (PDOP) will be smaller than 5, with our final accuracy for a full 24 FOC satellites operating at full potential being PDOP ~ 2.4.

    This achievement will create a step change in the ability of service providers and equipment manufacturers to utilize the Galileo service. For all intents and purposes, it means the Galileo signal can always be relied upon to be there, and industry can sell products and design the power budget of devices based upon that fact.

    Dual Frequency. The first mass-market GNSS receiver chip for smartphones and mobile devices that is able to utilize dual-frequency Galileo signals was released by Broadcom in September, able to employ both L1/E1 and L5/E5 signals. In 2018, dual-frequency technology like this will provide an order of magnitude increase in the performance of mobile device location-based services (LBS), especially in urban environments, and Broadcom advertises a 50% reduction in power consumption. The world of mobile-device LBS is going to change in 2018, and it will be due to the availability of Galileo.

    It will not be the first time the partnership of ESA, the European Commission (EC) and the GSA has made a service available that has changed the nature of the marketplace. The GSA already has in service the ESA-designed EGNOS LPV200 aircraft approach service performing so well that countries like France have taken the decision to phase out the terrestrial Instrument Landing System that has burdened the capital expenditure budgets of airports in the past.

    We have had discussions with several commercial organizations that are interested in building products around Galileo, and I am excited to see what they are going to come up with. With Galileo Initial Services the world had a new navigation signal to study and trial. In 2018 the world will have a new star to navigate by — well, a new constellation of 22 to 24 stars, I should say!

    FOC. In the summer of 2018 we will launch the final part of the Galileo FOC constellation (geometrically speaking) with four more satellites taking us beyond the 24 needed for 100% coverage and minimum performance limitation from satellite geometry. The launch will also provide our first in-orbit spares, enabling us to plan for the end of life of our old validation phase satellites or otherwise supplement the constellation to improve performance.

    What might we do with these in-orbit spares? Our first priority is to complete a constellation of 24 satellites in the correct orbits for minimum PDOP; as you know, a Fregat upper-stage malfunction left GSAT 0201 and 0202 in orbits too elliptical to correct fully, so the current plan is to complete the 24-satellite geometry. 0201 and 0202 are foreseen to be fully integrated in the Galileo operational system in 2018 following further testing and preparations, allowing us to have a 24+2 constellation with “hot back-up” from 0201 and 0202 contributing at around current GPS satellite levels of accuracy.

    “It will not be the first — nor the last — time the partnership of ESA, the EC and the GSA has made a service available that has changed the nature of the marketplace.”

    Of course, as is known to the community, the validation-phase satellite GSAT 0104 is down to single frequency, and we routinely monitor the health of all satellites. 0104 is the only satellite that has lost part of its function; designed-in redundancy has managed all other problems.

    However, obviously we will be examining all options for deployment to ensure that the Galileo schedule is not impacted by in-orbit failures, and those we have experienced we have learned from and mitigated successfully without impacting the service.

    The first two spares are not the end of our ability to maintain the constellation and our system performance. All four validation phase satellites will need to be replaced, and so the “Batch 3” satellite procurement will continue to regularly roll out satellites for replenishment of the constellation.

    Enhancements. That won’t mean we will be resting on our laurels. In 2018 we also plan to release enhancements to the ground segment for Galileo, a process that will be a first as the system is already being operated by the GSA.

    The process of managing an in-service upgrade program with the GSA is going to be new and challenging, but we have a strong engineering support team deployed as part of our working arrangement with the GSA to help ensure the process goes smoothly.

    Of course, the need for GSA to be able to continue smooth operations imposes extra discipline and imposes on us a balance between stable operations and continued build-out of the infrastructure. We do not consider this to be a problem; on the contrary, the focus will be on robust operations and availability to the user.

    Back at base (ESTEC in the Netherlands for Galileo and Toulouse, France, for EGNOS) we are full steam ahead on preparing the future. We are moving forward at considerable pace with our next-generation designs that develop new functionality for continuous service improvements.

    Free PPP. Galileo was designed to broadcast a Commercial Service signal providing services such as precise point positioning to paying customers, but we are pleased to able to report that the EC has confirmed that this service will be provided for free by the European Union. In 2018/2019 the GSA will select the providers and get that unique, free service on the air.

    In 2017 the EC confirmed the decision to implement the commercial service using E6-B with both encrypted and open components so all users could benefit for all frequency bands. Now, with the decision to make the service available free of charge, all users of Galileo, with the right type of receiver, will be able to achieve position fixes with an accuracy around 10 cm from Galileo’s first-generation constellation by 2020/2021.

    The Galileo Public Regulated Service will also be a focus, with the EC soon to decide upon release dates for the first milestones on the service roadmap. The infrastructure and equipment to support a secure service is being put in place, and I can’t say more for security!

    The next generation of European GNSS technology will include multi-constellation EGNOS, Galileo 2nd Generation (G2G) and a transition batch of satellites between the first and second generations to get the best technology proven in flight and working for Galileo users as soon as possible. G2G will reach its System Requirements Review stage in the first half of 2019. To be ready for that we are looking at:

    • clock technology and ensembles
    • inter satellite links
    • propulsion technology
    • flexible payloads and power allocation
    • 5G telecoms networks standards and what we need to do ensure we provide the timing services those networks will need and new signals with time to first fix (TTFF) and power requirements for acquisition of signal that are compatible with 5G devices. Look out for a new pilot signal E1-D to move forward on this.
    • Open Service authentication and support for ARAIM (Advanced Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring).

    Finally, 2018 will see the first contract awards of the Navigation Innovation Support Programme. This is a programme specifically designed to encourage R&D, new concepts and new products and to ensure that 2018 is not the last time ESA with the EC and its industrial partners deploy a GNSS service for GSA to operate that changes the world.

  • Directions 2018: GLONASS focuses on user needs

    By Sergey Karutin, GLONASS designer general;
    Nicolay Testoedov, Director General, SC Information Satellite Systems;
    and Andrey Tulin, Director General, SC Russian Space Systems

    This year has marked the 35th anniversary of the first GLONASS launch. During these years, the world has made great strides through high tech, and now no modern society can progress without satellite-based navigation.

    Today’s urban resident can hardly do without a smartphone planning his route through traffic, determining the paid parking site location or getting a reminder of parking session completion once he has left the parking lot.

    The search for the nearest pharmacy, gas station, restaurant or any other point of interest is of vital necessity today. The growing dependence of modern society on navigation signals-in-space increases the responsibilities of GNSS providers. At the same time, users long for simplicity in getting quality services. That is why this year the GLONASS team is going to set up its most ambitious program: improving the quality of the GLONASS services at a user level.

    The traditional GLONASS conception of signal-in-space accuracy is now being augmented by the user level performance estimation. Due to the fact that the signal propagation environment contributes a lot to the positioning error budget, it is obvious that users need information that would reduce the influence of signal propagation path on the positioning accuracy.

    Glonass-M satellites currently form the core of the GLONASS constellation, and with six ground spares now in stock, they will continue to do so for at least the next eight years. Therefore, in 2018 the new edition of L1 and L2 FDMA Interface Control Documents are to be published which will include the ionospheric and tropospheric models recommended in the recently released GLONASS CDMA Signals ICDs.

    Glonass-K2 satellite (artist’s rendering).

    We plan to use the spare bits within the navigation superframe of FDMA signals to transmit ionospheric parameters described in the General Description of the GLObal NAvigation Satellite System with the Code Division Multiple Access Signals ICD.

    Studies being performed demonstrate up to 70 percent reduction in impact of ionospheric refraction when using the adaptive model transmitted by the three parameters: the numerical factor for the peak TEC (Total Electron Content) of F2 ionosphere layer, the solar activity index and the daily geomagnetic activity index. In the new CDMA signal message, these parameters are initially provided.

    To enable the unanimity of technologies for reducing the hydrostatic component of the tropospheric delay, which accounts for 80 percent of its value, the both FDMA and CDMA Signals ICDs will include the latitudinal tropospheric model based on the preliminary set tabular values.

    The preliminary design review for the technical baseline of the fourth-generation Glonass-K2 satellite has been passed this year. The new cubic arrangement of the platform enables mitigation of unmodeled forces and transition of propellant tank to the satellite’s center of mass.

    This provides for the relative position constancy for the satellite’s center of mass and the satellite’s antenna phase center during the satellite’s lifetime. This platform arrangement also accommodates the whole ensemble of navigation signals (both CDMA and FDMA) on the single phased-array antenna system.

    Glonass-K2 is equipped with the new atomic frequency standard composed of the legacy quantum frequency standard based on the cesium beam tube and the passive hydrogen maser. The miniature PHM with the relative daily stability of 5×10-15 will be installed onboard the satellite to be launched in 2020.

    Introduction of the new satellite will enable a new constellation sustainment strategy — through the both dual launches by Angara-A5 launcher from Vostochny and single launches by Soyuz from Plesetsk — to provide on-demand replenishment of the constellation.

    By 2020, when we celebrate the 25th anniversary of GLONASS full operational capability, all the efforts mentioned above will offer new quality of services to GLONASS users prioritized as per their needs.

  • Directions 2018: Resiliency key to new GPS

    Col. Steve Whitney stands beside a statue of General Schriever at Los Angeles Air Force Base, home of the GPS Directorate. (Photo: U.S. Air Force/Joseph Juarez, Sr.)
    Col. Steve Whitney stands beside a statue of General Schriever at Los Angeles Air Force Base, home of the GPS Directorate. (Photo: U.S. Air Force/Joseph Juarez, Sr.)

    By Col. Steven Whitney
    Director, Global Positioning Systems Directorate

    The most discussed theme in the U.S. Air Force space community over the last year has been “resiliency.” But what does that actually mean, and how can the Air Force increase resiliency in space?

    The GPS Directorate took these questions to heart and thought long and hard about resiliency in our Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) service. I am pleased to report that we have made significant progress in the past year in our quest to bring a new generation of PNT technology to reality.

    More importantly, our investments in space, ground, and user equipment developments are bringing real, tangible benefits towards providing a more resilient PNT service worldwide. We stand on the cusp of delivering modernized civil and military GPS signals which provide critical pieces to the puzzle.

    Farther into the future, the Air Force is already exploring new, emerging technologies and capabilities to even further advance the robustness of the GPS enterprise, with the vision that GPS will always remain the “Gold Standard” for the worldwide PNT community.

    Resiliency Begins with Signals

    Modernized GPS signals will be the first piece of the puzzle for an overall resilient PNT solution. The community has long anticipated the beginning of the multi-GNSS era.

    The GPS Directorate has embraced this future with a new L1C signal, designed cooperatively from the ground up to be interoperable with international satellite navigation systems. The signal design will greatly improve GPS reception in cities and other challenging environments.

    Another important GPS signal was introduced with our GPS IIF satellites. The L5 signal is designed specifically to meet the demanding requirements for safety-of-life transportation and other high-performance applications.

    This signal is broadcast in a radio-frequency band reserved exclusively for aviation safety services to ensure it has optimal spectrum protection. Together, these two new additions greater improve PNT resilience for civil users around the globe.

    “The need to improve cyber security and protection quite honestly cannot wait until delivery of the Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX). To that end, the Directorate has focused on high payoff updates for the existing operational system.”

    Other measures already improve resiliency by leveraging existing signals. For example, the L2C signal, when combined with L1 C/A in a dual-frequency receiver, will enable ionospheric error correction and improve positioning and timing accuracy.

    For the military, the directorate has been focused on bring Military Code (M-code) into operations. The M-code signal features advanced anti-jam, anti-spoof, and encryption features that will ensure resilient and dependable PNT solutions for the United States and its allies.

    The rollout of an operational M-code capability involves all segments of the GPS enterprise, and while it has been a long time in coming, the GPS Directorate made big strides this year (see “2017 in Review”). I will touch on the progress we are making in each of our development programs.

    Resiliency in Space

    The GPS space segment is the next step towards a more resilient PNT architecture. Our constellation remains robust and healthy, albeit aging, with 31 operational satellites providing worldwide coverage at the time of this article. The GPS III satellites will bring additional robustness with increased power and accuracy over previous generations of satellites.

    We made big strides towards launching the first GPS III satellite in 2018, and just as importantly, production is in full swing on the rest of the ten satellites. I am incredibly proud of the entire government and contractor team that is meticulously acquiring, assembling, and testing these complex machines.

    GPS IIIF. Farther into the future, the directorate is preparing for the GPS III follow-on program. The Air Force will be adding important new resiliency capabilities, with added signal flexibility via a reprogrammable, digital payload and increased anti-jam support to theater with a Regional Military Protection capability. Over the coming years as the follow-on GPS III satellites join the constellation, they will revolutionize GNSS with the full complement of operational L1C, L2C, L5 and M-code signals.

    Resiliency in Control Segment

    As important as the satellites are, the control segment is just as integral to the overall resiliency of the GPS enterprise. The need to improve cyber security and protection quite honestly cannot wait until delivery of the Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX).

    To that end, the directorate has focused on high payoff updates for the existing operational system.

    For example, we acquired and deployed software-based GPS monitor station receivers, known as Monitor Station Technology Improvement and Capability (MSTIC) receivers, to replace the aging fleet of existing monitor-station receivers.

    The functionality and expandability of the MSTIC receiver design will facilitate adding further capabilities such as M-code signal monitoring, and even civil L1C, L2C, and L5 signal monitoring.

    The GPS Directorate also deployed a new cybersecurity monitoring suite to enhance cyber defenses. This new suite is in operation today at the GPS Master Control Station (MCS).

    Beyond just improving our cyber protection, the Air Force has also stepped out on several OCX off-ramps to support the launch and operation of the GPS III satellites and mitigate risk of further OCX delays.

    The Contingency Operations (COps) program modifies the existing Operational Control System (OCS) to allow the first GPS III satellites to join the operational constellation. The Air Force also initiated a companion program, M-code Early Use (MCEU) to further update OCS to provide limited M-code operations.

    Together, these two programs provide critical interim steps towards fielding a more resilient constellation.

    See also by Col. Steven Whitney,

    Directions 2018: The GPS year in review

    The OCX program provides the ultimate cyber protection and assurance needed for the GPS enterprise. After emerging from program recertification this year, the program has focused heavily on improved software system engineering and embracing software industry best practices, such as adopting DevOps and greater software automation.

    The program has even leveraged Amazon Web Services’ Gov’t Cloud capability to provide more responsive development and test environments. While the program has a long ways to go, the government and prime contractor, Raytheon, are committed to delivery to ensure a robust and secure ground infrastructure.

    User Equipment: Final Piece

    The final piece of the resiliency puzzle for military customers is our user equipment segment. The directorate has made big strides in delivering the first set of modernized receiver cards for the Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 1 program.

    These advanced cards will enable platforms across the U.S. Department of Defense to leverage the new M-code signal, providing a tremendous boost in both anti-jam and anti-spoof capability.

    They will also provide the latest in cryptography to ensure secure, robust protection for the United States and its allies.

    Down the road, the Department of Defense is evaluating additional capabilities and platforms for the MGUE Increment 2 program.

    Currently envisioned to address precision guided munitions, space receivers, and a modernized handheld unit, the Increment 2 program will be laying out an acquisition plan in this coming year to further adoption of M-code signals throughout the military.

    A consideration for the future of user equipment will be exploring processing multi-GNSS signals. While no decisions have been made, multi-GNSS could offer opportunities for even additional resiliency.

    Final Thoughts

    This is an exciting time for the GPS enterprise.

    We stand on the cusp of a new generation of capabilities that will usher in a huge increase in PNT resiliency and robustness. I am astounded at the quality of work that is presented at the many GNSS and PNT conferences around the world, and it is both exciting and humbling to see the community continuing to innovate ways to increase accuracy, integrity, availability, continuity, and performance.

    Likewise, I am honored to lead the men and women of the GPS Directorate as we strive to deliver on our commitments and find new, innovative ways to provide robust and resilient PNT to the world.

    This dedicated team is poised and ready to lead us into the future, and we look forward to working with the entire community to continue delivering the GPS “Gold Standard” in space-based PNT.

  • Directions 2018: The GPS year in review

    Directions 2018: The GPS year in review

    Lockheed Martin’s GPS III clean room in Littleton, Colorado.

    By Col. Steven Whitney
    Director, Global Positioning Systems Directorate

    This year saw the GPS enterprise take big strides towards completing major acquisition and development milestones and overcoming significant program challenges.

    As we close out the year, the GPS Directorate stands poised to launch the first GPS III satellite in 2018.

    The GPS III prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, successfully placed GPS III Space Vehicle (SV) 01 into storage in late February. Following a comprehensive engineering review, SV-01 was determined to be Available For Launch in September.

    Road to Launch. The GPS Directorate also kicked off its inaugural Road to Launch campaign this year, and the satellite recently completed a final factory mission readiness test in November. Just as importantly, production is in full swing on the remaining nine satellites with the SV-02 Available For Launch declaration expected early in 2018.

    The GPS Directorate was also hard at work preparing the request for proposal (RPF) for a follow-on production contract that will add up to 22 additional GPS III satellites. As the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) finalizes requirements for the program, we stand ready to release the RFP by the end of the year.

    For more perspective on the GPS Directorate from Col. Whitney, see Directions 2018: Resiliency key to new GPS.

    OCX. While the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) continued to be a focal point for the DoD, the program has made progress in 2017 following a program restructuring. OCX completed the first integrated live-satellite launch rehearsal with GPS III in August.

    A fitting capstone to the year’s achievement was the long awaited delivery in November of the initial version of OCX, known as the Block 0, to support launch and checkout of GPS III satellites. But while these are encouraging signs, there is still a long road to delivery of the full suite of capabilities in 2022.

    The Contingency Operations (COps) program remained on track this year for delivery in 2019 to support interim GPS III operations. The program completed two (out of three) major software builds this year. The U.S. Air Force initiated a companion program, M-Code Early Use (MCEU), to enable limited M-code operations. MCEU is on target to complete its Preliminary Design Review in November 2017.

    MGUE. Early this year, our Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) program achieved acquisition Milestone B, allowing it to enter the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase.

    Just as importantly, MGUE successfully completed two major risk-reduction events. First, the U.S. Army successfully demonstrated 81-mm mortar precision-guided munitions integrated with MGUE receiver cards to complete the first ever M-code guide-to-hit tests in March.

    The Air Force then demonstrated a prototype MGUE navigation unit integrated into the B-2 bomber in four successful flight tests. These tests are an important step towards anti-jam, anti-spoof GPS capability, ensuring secure, robust protection for the United States and its allies.

    So, as we close this year, I am encouraged by our recent successes, but with a clear understanding of the many challenges ahead on the road to GPS modernization. We remain fully committed to meeting our program commitments with transparency.