GPS World

Tag: Korea

  • Korea’s KASS now certified and operational

    Korea’s KASS now certified and operational

    Image: imaginima/ iStock / Getty Images Plus/ Getty Images
    Image: imaginima/ iStock / Getty Images Plus/ Getty Images

    The Korea Augmentation Satellite System (KASS), designed and implemented by Thales Alenia Space, has been officially certified by Korean national authorities and has entered operational service. The system was developed in partnership with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) on behalf of the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT).

    The project has received support from various international and European entities, including the European Commission, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the French Space Agency (CNES).

    KASS, operational via the MEASAT-3d geostationary satellite launched in 2022, will soon be enhanced by the addition of KOREASAT 6A. It is currently under development by Thales Alenia Space for KT SAT Corporation, South Korea’s leading satellite communications operator.

    The addition of KOREASAT 6A — equipped with a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) payload by Thales Alenia Space — aims to improve the system’s service continuity and operational availability.

    Designed to meet international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), KASS will initially prioritize aircraft applications and focus on Safety of Life services critical during flight phases, including landing. This focus is intended to enhance flight safety and efficiency while minimizing the environmental impact of aviation. Additionally, KASS is designed to be interoperable with other SBAS satellite navigation systems worldwide to offer seamless flight safety across different zones.

    KASS, the second SBAS system developed by Thales Alenia Space following EGNOS (the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System), is designed to optimize GPS constellation performance and includes upgrades compatible with the Galileo and Korean Positioning System (KPS) constellations. By enhancing the integrity, availability, continuity of services and positioning accuracy, KASS aims to reduce GPS positioning errors from the current 15 to 33 m to approximately 1 m across Korea.

    Future expansions of the KASS services are anticipated to include public safety, road transport, shipping, and scientific applications.

  • Korea will launch its own satellite positioning system

    Korea will build its own navigation satellite system by 2034, providing independent positioning and navigation signals over an area spanning a 1,000-kilometer radius from the country’s capital, Seoul.

    The Ministry of Science and information and communications technology (ICT) announced that it would finalize a plan for the Korean Positioning System (KPS) at a Space Committee meeting on Feb. 5.

    According to a preliminary statement from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the KPS initiative will develop a ground test in 2021, core satellite navigation technology by 2022 and begin actual satellite production in 2024. The system will comprise a total of seven navigation satellites, three of them geostationary above the Korean Peninsula.

    Figure from the 2016 paper shows a conceptual view of real-time WADGPS operation. The reference station transmits observation data at 1 Hz frequency to the master station. The master station is operated in real time and creates correction information and basic integrity information thereby configuring a message. A message is sent to the satellite communication simulation device according to its own transmission protocol. The satellite communication simulation device performs broadcasting of WADGPS correction information into the L1 band. A message created in every sec is coded with reserved GPS PRN C/A code and modulated with L1 frequency. Since additional correction information transmission medium such as geostationary orbit satellite or pseudolite is not considered in this study, radio frequency (RF) signals are created using simulation devices and performance was verified while connecting the signal with user receivers via cable. Additionally, a commercial communication network was used to transfer correction messages in order to verify user performance, which is located remotely. (Image: Korean Journal of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing)
    Figure from the 2016 paper shows a conceptual view of real-time WADGPS operation. The reference station transmits observation data at 1 Hz frequency to the master station. The master station is operated in real time and creates correction information and basic integrity information thereby configuring a message. A message is sent to the satellite communication simulation device according to its own transmission protocol. The satellite communication simulation device performs broadcasting of WADGPS correction information into the L1 band. A message created in every sec is coded with reserved GPS PRN C/A code and modulated with L1 frequency. Since additional correction information transmission medium such as geostationary orbit satellite or pseudolite is not considered in this study, radio frequency (RF) signals are created using simulation devices and performance was verified while connecting the signal with user receivers via cable. Additionally, a commercial communication network was used to transfer correction messages in order to verify user performance, which is located remotely. (Image: Korean Journal of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing)

    Korea currently relies on the U.S. GPS system, which has suffered repeated local area jamming emanating from North Korea.

    “As the GPS becomes a necessity in everyday life, broken signals for any reason can set off a nationwide chaos,” said an official for satellite navigation at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).

    Officials stated the the KPS will also improve  available un-aided accuracy of GPS in its service area from about 10 meters now to less than one meter.

    “Advanced nations are trying to secure strong GPS capabilities by sending up satellites to prevent a chaos that can take place while they depend on other nations’ satellites,” stated the KARI spokesperson.

    The initiative appears to be separate from the Korean Wide Area Differential GPS System, whose development was the subject of a 2011 paper presented at the Institute of Navigation (ION) International Technical Meeting. The abstract for that paper stated:

    “[The] project is scheduled for 2010 to 2014 under the contract with the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime affairs (MLTM). After that, Korea will launch a geostationary multifunctional satellite with a navigation payload which will be broadcasting augmenting signals for GPS.”

    In March 2016, the Korean Journal of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing published a paper titled “Performance Analysis of WADGPS System for Improving Positioning Accuracy,” by Hyoungmin So , Jaegyu Jang, Kihoon Lee, unpyo Park and Kiwon Song. Its conclusion section stated:

    “In this paper, configuration of observation reference stations and master station and initial experiment results were presented to verify accuracy correction performance of the WADGPS. The wide area correction algorithm was implemented using eight reference stations and one master station. For the initial performance verification, static and dynamic experiments were conducted. The experiment result showed that the static experiment had a horizontal accuracy performance with a level of 1 m (95 percent). In the dynamic experiment using a vehicle, performance degradation occurred compared to that of static experiment. The reason for this was due to the measured value error at the user receiver caused by multipath and visibility limitation. In summary, the implementation and performance of the algorithm of early stage were verified. For the future study, user operation characteristics will be considered and additional performance analysis on created correction information will be conducted.”

  • Korean SBAS contract awarded, 2022 set as service launch

    The Korea Aerospace Research Institute and Korean telecom company KT will co-develop Korea’s first satellite-based augmentation system, reports The Korea Herald. The SBAS is expected to bring technological advancements to transportation, defense and science.

    A consortium led by KT has been selected as the preferred bidder for the project by Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which commissioned the project to improve the safety of flights during takeoffs and landings.

    The government has been devising measures to cut the error range of the current GPS system from 30 meters to 1 to 2 meters, offering more precise location information for flights, helping improve safety and cutting fuel costs, the Herald reports.

    The KT consortium, comprised of mobile carrier KT and satellite manufacturer KT SAT, is planning to integrate its fifth-generation (5G) wireless network system with satellite-related technologies for the project.

    By 2020, the consortium will complete the installation of the required network equipment and run test services for various industries for two years, with the ultimate goal of launching the GPS service in about October 2022.

  • State Department issues notice on North Korean jamming

    On April 7, the U.S. Department of State issued a notice about the recent jamming experienced in South Korea.

    Korean Peninsula GPS Jamming Notice

    A continuing series of incidents have been reported in the general location of Incheon, Republic of Korea and the surrounding Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces out to approximately 100 nautical miles beginning on or about 0000Z31March16.

    The nature of the events appear to be Global Positioning System (GPS) jamming emanating from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea causing signal disruptions to airplanes, ships, and buoys in the area.

    Exercise caution when transiting this area. If appropriate, further information may be forthcoming. Vessels experiencing disruptions in the area are urged to report them to the point of contact (POC) below.

    The notice was forwarded by the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center’s Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC).