News courtesy of the CANSPACE Listserv.
The launch of the next BeiDou satellite is predicted to occur at about 13:45 UTC on Monday, March 30.
The new BeiDou satellite would be the fifth GNSS satellite planned for launch by the end of the month, joining GPS Block IIF-9 (launched Wednesday), Galileo 7 and 8 (planned for launch Friday) and IRNSS-D (planned for launch Saturday, March 28).
The seventh and eighth Galileo satellites are scheduled for launch Friday, March 27, at 21:46:18 GMT (22:46:18 CET) atop a Soyuz ST-B rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Streaming starts at 21:24 GMT (22:24 CET) at the European Space Agency website.
The first three stages of the Soyuz rocket will take the Galileo satellites and their Fregat upper stage into low orbit. Then the reignitable Fregat, as much a spacecraft as a rocket stage, will take over the task of hauling the satellites higher through a pair of burns. The satellites will be released in opposite directions by their dispenser once they reach their set 22,522 kilometer-altitude orbit 3 hours, 47 minutes, 57 seconds after launch.
The webstream will cover the launch and orbital insertion in two parts. The first part begins at 21:24 GMT (22:24 CET) and ends at 22:19 GMT (23:24 CET). The second part begins at 01:22 GMT (02:22 CET) and ends at 02:17 GMT (03:17 CET).
UPDATE: The GPS satellite has been deployed by the Delta IV rocket, completing today’s launch. The deployment occcurred as scheduled about 3 hours after launch.
The U.S. Air Force’s ninth GPS Block IIF satellite (GPS IIF-9) launched on time Wednesday at 2:36 p.m. EDT (1836 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
The GPS IIF-9 rode aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket, which has been the workhorse of the GPS fleet for successful launches.
GPS IIF-9 is one of the next-generation GPS satellites, incorporating various improvements to provide greater accuracy, increased signals, and enhanced performance for users.
The Air Force and the 45th Space Wing supported the successful launch of the ULA rocket. This launch is the fourth ULA launch this year and the 95th launch since the company was formed in December 2006.
GPS IIF-9 launched aboard a Delta IV Medium-plus (4,2) Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, using a single ULA common booster core powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68 main engine, along with two ATK GEM 60 solid rocket motors. The upper stage was powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10B-2 engine with the satellite encapsulated in a four-meter diameter composite payload fairing.
GPS Launch Workhorse. The launch marks the 29th Delta IV launch and the 57th operational GPS satellite to launch on a ULA or heritage launch vehicle. Delta IV has delivered numerous satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), as well as GPS satellites for the Air Force and weather satellites for NASA, according to a ULA media release.
“Many thought the Delta IV and GPS days were long gone, but the recent questions concerning reliable and proven launch vehicles have brought them back online, so to speak, for GPS,” said GPS World Defense Editor Don Jewell. The upcoming (April 27) 20-year milestone for GPS space vehicles on orbit translates to approximately 500 orbital years just for the IIR and IIF constellations alone,” Jewell said. “The IIAs may account for that many orbital hours as well. Quite a record, and something of which the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and all the companies involved should be very proud.”
Yet Another USAF Success. Jewell points out that this is another successful government launch in a long string of successive launches, without a failure. “It is by far the most successful launch record ever put together by any nation or government. No other space-faring nation even comes close. The U.S. Air Force and all the players should be proud of all these records and more, plus we have one more GPS asset on orbit, providing GPS signals to the world and all they enable, courtesy of the USAF.”
“I’m elated with today’s successful launch, the GPS constellation remains healthy, strong and robust and in over 20 years since initial operational capability, GPS has never failed to deliver on its global positioning, navigation, and timing commitments,” said Brig. Gen. Cooley, director of Space and Missile Systems Center’s Global Positioning Systems Directorate.
“Each new generation of GPS satellites provides enhanced capability over the prior generations, and has delivered reliable performance demonstrating our commitment that GPS remain the Gold Standard space-based positioning, navigation, and timing service for the future,” Cooley said. “Thanks to the men and women of SMC, the 45th, 50th 310th Space Wings, Boeing, United Launch Alliance, the Aerospace Corporation, GPS IIF and Delta IV launch teams, the GPS IIF program continues to meet GPS enterprise needs.”
45th Space Wing. Once again, the 45th Space Wing team of military personnel, government civilians, and contractors provided support to the ULA launch of the Air Force Space Command mission, including weather forecasts, launch and range operations, security, safety, and public affairs.
The 45th Space Wing commander was both proud and pleased with the team she works with on the Eastern Range. “First, let me offer my heartiest congratulations to ULA, Boeing, Space and Missile Systems Center, the Launch Systems Directorate, the Global Positioning Systems Directorate, and all the mission partners who made this happen,” said Brig. Gen. Nina Armagno, 45th Space Wing commander, who also served as the Launch Decision Authority.
“What a treat — and an honor — it is to know that we have played such a significant part in something that we will celebrate two decades of helping people all around the world,” Armagno said. “Every GPS satellite since the program’s inception has been launched right here from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station safely and reliably by members of the 45th Space Wing.
“And that’s because we continue to take a ‘one launch at a time’ mentality and focus on our number one priority — 100 percent Mission Success. I am so very proud to be part of Team Patrick-Cape.”
Constellation Changes. The Air Force Second Space Operations Squadron (2 SOPS) indicates that IIF-9, SVN-71/PRN-26, will replace SVN-35 (currently being operated in Launch, Anomaly Resolution and Disposal Operations [LADO]) in the B plane slot 1F. SVN-35 is a GPS 2A-22 satellite originally launched aboard Delta 222 on August 30, 1993. It was decommissioned from active service in 2009, remained in orbit as a spare, then was set usable again in 2011. The satellite was declared unusable in 2013 and decommissioned a second time, reports Spaceflight Now. It was tested again in 2014.
SVN-38/PRN-08 will be taken out of the operational constellation prior to SVN-71 payload initialization and sent to LADO. PRN-08 will be assigned to SVN-49 in May and set to test, but is tentatively scheduled for assignment to IIF-10 to launch June 16.
SVN-35, launched on August 30, 1993, has been in a residual status since March 2013 in an expanded node slot in the B plane and successfully served 21.5 years, 14.0 years beyond its designed service life, due to the diligent efforts of the men and women of the U.S. Air Force.
SVN-51 is still in a re-phase journey from E1 (GLAN=146 °) to an auxiliary node at E7 (GLAN=60.7 °) scheduled to arrive sometime this summer.
World Congress 2015, sponsored by the International Association of Institutes of Navigation (IAIN), has extended its deadline for abstract submissions to March 31.
The event will be held October 23-25 at the Clarion Congress Hotel in Prague, Czech Republic.
After abstracts are reviewed, authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection by April 15.
Speakers include Satoshi Kogure of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, GPS World author Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska of the Institute of Navigation and The Ohio State University, Günter Hein of the European Space Agency, and more.
Topics of the event include:
IAIN says it is a “non-governmental, nonprofit organization with the objective of uniting national and multinational institutes and organizations which aim to foster human activities at sea, in the air, in space and on land, and who may benefit from the development of the science and practice of navigation and related information techniques.”
Visitors from non-European countries must possess a valid passport for at least three months after the event date.
Learn more at the Congress website.
By the European Space Agency
Thousands of engineers have worked on the seventh and eighth navigation satellites of Europe’s Galileo constellation in recent years, but last Friday marked the very last time the spacecraft were glimpsed by human eyes.
The team from ESA and builders OHB in the S3B building of Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana looked on as the focus of their work disappeared from view.
The pair of satellites — already resting atop their Fregat upper stage and attached to their dispenser — was enclosed within the halves of the Soyuz rocket’s protective fairing.
This unit was moved yesterday to the launch site, where it will be lifted atop the first three stages of the Soyuz ST-B to complete the vehicle for Friday’s launch.
Last week saw the two satellites being fuelled in the Spaceport’s S5A preparation hall and then brought together atop the dispenser that will support them during the rigours of ascent.
The dispenser’s final task is to release them in opposite directions once their 22 522 km-altitude orbit is reached. The satellites themselves will then gradually lower themselves to their working 22 322 km orbit.
After fueling, the satellites plus dispenser were moved to the S3B processing building, where their Fregat was already fueled and waiting.
The reignitable Fregat is as much a spacecraft as a rocket stage. Once the Soyuz reaches low orbit, Fregat will take over the task of hauling the satellites higher through a pair of burns.
The two Galileos and their dispenser altogether weigh more than one and a half tonnes, so the attachment operation took place with great care and precision.
Then the fairing halves were slowly slid into place around them and closed. Enclosed in this way, the satellites will be protected from the harsh slipstream and vibration of the first few moments of launch, when the Soyuz is still travelling through the thickest layers of atmosphere.
The fairing is due to be ejected 3 min 29 sec after liftoff. Until liftoff, the satellites remain connected to the outside world via power and data links, allowing ESA’s Galileo team keep a check on their battery charging and the health of their atomic clocks.
The satellites stay switched off during launch, and will be activated automatically on separation from the dispenser.
Launch is due at 21:46:18 GMT (22:46:18 CET, 18:46:18 local time) on 27 March. The satellites are scheduled for release upon reaching their set orbit 3 h 47 min 57 sec after launch.
By Javad Ashjaee
25 years ago, while the Soviet Union still existed, I began efforts that led me to become the first to combine United States’ GPS and Russia’s GLONASS satellites. Later I hosted many GPS and GLONASS authorities, fostered friendships among them, and promoted concepts such as “compatibility” and “interoperability” of satellite systems. See the details in the GPS World article, “How GPS and GLONASS Got Together.” The whole world now benefits from the combined GPS and GLONASS system.
As with GPS and GLONASS, we need to get together again. Just because I am passionate about technical issues does not mean that I ignore human issues. This time it is not about technology. This time it is about We the People.
For citizens of the United States, founded on this concept, it is inconceivable that we might one day wake up and learn that one of our States had been “gifted” to a neighboring country. But this is exactly what happened to the people of Crimea. Since 1784, Crimea was part of Russia and its people lived peacefully and happily as part of Russian culture and heritage. In 1954, approximately 75 % of the Crimea population were ethnic Russians. One day they woke up and learned that Nikita Khrushchev, the successor to Stalin, had “gifted” their land to Ukraine (reportedly for his own political gain).
Anyone familiar with the history of the Soviet Union knows that the people of Crimea were not able to raise objections. They were ruled under the dictatorship of Khrushchev who is known in the West for pounding his shoes on the table in the United Nations and threatening the United States. Those who claim Crimea does not belong as part of Russia give credence to the action of Khrushchev.
Should people have a ‘say’ or ‘voice’ in their future? Contrast the actions of Khrushchev in 1954 with that of Scotland and Quebec in more recent years. Crimeans had no choice about their fate, it was decided by the unilateral action of one man. Whereas, when some people in Scotland and Quebec wanted to secede, all people were allowed to vote to determine their fate.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the establishment of better relations between Russia and the Western world, East and West Germany rightfully reunified after an imposed ‘wrong’ of separation, but at no time did anyone come to the aid of the Crimean people to correct their ‘wrong’. Even worse, when the current issue surfaced, the US and Europe stood opposed to them.
It is not only my personal observation that Crimeans love their motherland of Russia. Forbes magazine contributor, Kenneth Rapoza, in his March 20, 2015 article writes that: “[…] poll after poll shows that the locals […] are all in agreement: life with Russia is better than life with Ukraine.”
The position of the West regarding Crimea has exacerbated the problem of Ukraine, and despite financial hardship in Russia, Putin’s popularity has skyrocketed while the United States’ standing has plummeted among the Russian people.
One can argue that President Putin and Russia could have used a better approach to help the people of Crimea achieve their goals and aspirations, but many believe that the West did not leave him a better choice. I don’t agree with many of President Putin decisions, but on this issue Vladimir Vladimirovich is exactly right.
I once worked to bring together GPS and GLONASS; I wish I had the opportunity to invite Presidents Obama and Putin to my California or my Moscow facilities to see if we could put an end to this situation.
Dr. Javad Ashjaee
JAVAD GNSS
March 21, 2015, San Jose, California
For the story of how Ashjaee “hosted many GPS and GLONASS authorities, fostered friendships among them, and promoted concepts such as compatibility and interoperability of satellite systems,” see the cover story of GPS World’s June 2011 issue, “How GPS and GLONASS Got Together.”
The Soyuz for Arianespace’s next medium-lift mission is in the launch zone at French Guiana, where it stands ready to receive the two spacecraft passengers that will join Europe’s Galileo global navigation satellite system.
Applying procedures that have been followed since the workhorse Soyuz launcher inaugurated the Space Age, the basic three-stage vehicle for Arianespace’s March 27 flight emerged today from its MIK integration building in the Spaceport’s northwestern sector.
Riding horizontally on a transporter/erector rail car, Soyuz was transferred to the ELS launch zone — which was followed by its erection to the vertical orientation and positioning over the launch pad, suspended in place by four large support arms.
With this step completed, all was ready for the purpose-built 53-meter-tall mobile gantry to be moved into position around the launcher — a phase of the processing in French Guiana that differs from Soyuz operations at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. The gantry provides a protected environment for installation of the “upper composite,” which consists of the two Galileo spacecraft, the Soyuz’ Fregat upper stage and a two-piece protective payload fairing.
The March 27 launch — designed VS11 in Arianespace’s numbering system — is scheduled to lift off at precisely 6:46:18 p.m. local time in French Guiana, with its Galileo satellite passengers to be deployed during a flight lasting approximately 3 hrs., 47 min. Total payload lift performance is estimated at 1,597 kg., which includes a combined mass of some 1,428 kg. for the two spacecraft.
Flight VS11’s passengers — built by OHB System, with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. supplying their navigation payloads — are the third and fourth Full Operational Capability (FOC) satellites in the Galileo program, which is creating a European-operated space-based navigation system.
The European Commission is managing and funding Galileo’s FOC phase, during which the network’s complete operational and ground infrastructure will be deployed. The European Space Agency has been delegated as the design and procurement agent on the Commission’s behalf.
Follow Arianespace’s launch activity at: www.arianespace.com.
The launch of India’s fourth Navigation Satellite, IRNSS-1D, is now scheduled for 17:19 IST (11:49 UTC) on Saturday, March 28, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
The launch was previously scheduled for March 9, then postponed until March 29 to replace a faulty telemetry transmitter on the satellite, according to the Indian Space Research Organization.
IRNSS-1D will be fourth in the seven-spacecraft Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System constellation. It will be flown into space in the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL.
The space segment of the IRNSS consists of seven satellites: three in geostationary orbit and four in inclined geosynchronous orbit. The ground segment consists of infrastructure for controlling, tracking and other facilities. The entire IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is planned to be completed by 2015.
Both IRNSS-1A and 1B are functioning satisfactorily from their designated geosynchronous orbital positions. The first three satellites in the IRNSS series were launched from Sriharikota on July 1, 2013, April 4, 2014, and October 16, 2014. IRNSS-1E and IRNSS-1F satellites are expected to be launched before year end.
IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1,500 kilometers around the Indian mainland. IRNSS will provide two types of service: Standard Positioning Services (SPS) — provided to all users — and Restricted Services (RS), provided to authorized users.
The U.S. Air Force’s ninth GPS Block IIF satellite (GPS IIF-9) is set to launch Wednesday at 2:36 p.m. EDT (1836 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
The GPS IIF-9 will ride aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket, marking the 29th Delta IV launch and the 57th operational GPS satellite to launch on a ULA or heritage launch vehicle.
To follow the launch countdown, dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321 or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. A Delta IV GPS IIF-9 Mission Overview Brochure is available here. See images of the launch preparations here.
GPS IIF-9 is one of the next-generation GPS satellites, incorporating various improvements to provide greater accuracy, increased signals, and enhanced performance for users.
UPDATE (April 17, 2015): The USCG Navigation Center has confirmed that SV-10 was launched instead of SV-9. The Air Force discovered a problem with SV-9, so it was pulled from the launch and SV-10 was sent into orbit in its place. SV-9 will be used in a future launch.
Constellation Changes. The Air Force Second Space Operations Squadron (2 SOPS) indicates that IIF-9, SVN-71/PRN-26, will replace SVN-35 (currently being operated in Launch, Anomaly Resolution and Disposal Operations [LADO]) in the B plane slot 1F. SVN-38/PRN-08 will be taken out of the operational constellation prior to SVN-71 payload initialization and sent to LADO. PRN-08 will be assigned to SVN-49 in May and set to test, but is tentatively scheduled for assignment to IIF-10 to launch June 16. SVN-35, launched on August 30, 1993, has been in a residual status since March 2013 in an expanded node slot in the B plane and successfully served 21.5 years, 14.0 years beyond its designed service life, due to the diligent efforts of the men and women of the U.S. Air Force. SVN-51 is still in a re-phase journey from E1 (GLAN=146 °) to an auxiliary node at E7 (GLAN=60.7 °) scheduled to arrive sometime this summer.
The U.S. Air Force is working to resolve a technical error that affected some Boeing GPS satellites, according to a report by Reuters.
The error does not affect the accuracy of GPS signals. It involves the ground-based software used to index some messages transmitted by GPS IIF satellites built by Boeing, Air Force Space Command said according to Reuters. Still, officials are investigating other possible causes.
Lockheed Martin runs the GPS ground control segment, which enables Air Force officials to operate all GPS satellites, including the IIF satellites built by Boeing.
Air Force Space Command Public Affairs released the following statement:
“A GPS message indexing issue was recently identified that affects a limited number of active GPS IIF satellites, but does not degrade the accuracy of the GPS signal received by users around the globe. The result is an occasional broadcast not in accordance with U.S. technical specifications. The issue appears to be related to the ground software that builds and uploads messages transmitted by the GPS constellation during regular system operations, although the Air Force continues to investigate all possible causes.
“Although the issue was brought to light in the last few days, a close examination of archived GPS message data reveals that the message indexing error has gone unnoticed since 2013. Air Force Space Command has implemented a workaround to prevent further message indexing violations and is taking steps to permanently correct the error.”
The U.S. Air Force will be launching the ninth Boeing Block IIF satellite on Wednesday.
MemSQL, which specializes in real-time databases for transactions and analytics, has announced new geospatial capabilities for its in-memory, distributed SQL-based database. By bringing together geospatial and operational data in the same high speed database, customers can achieve unprecedented agility for geospatial analysis, MemSQL said.
Unlike segregated solutions, MemSQL integrates geospatial data as a primary data type, making it as easy to use and operate at scale with as much speed and high throughput as any other class of data.
Previously, enterprises were forced to segregate their geospatial data into separate data stores. With the rise of IoT and mobility, nearly all data is location-specific. As data volume increases, maintaining geolocation information outside of the primary datastore leads to longer latency and synchronization challenges.
By integrating geospatial functions, MemSQL enables enterprises to achieve greater database efficiency with a single database that is in-memory, linearly scalable and supports the full range of relational SQL and geospatial functions. With MemSQL, geospatial data no longer remains separate and becomes just another data type with lock-free capabilities and powerful manipulation functions.
Taxi Scenario with Esri. Working with MemSQL and Apache Spark, Esri analyzed data compiled from 170 million real-world New York City taxi rides around the GPS coordinates of pickups and dropoffs, as well as distance and travel time. Slicing by hour of the day, Esri can calculate the average speed of a taxi ride and find the best and worst places for traffic jams. Slicing by day of the week, the ebb and flow of traffic during workdays and weekends becomes visible.
For a city planner, this data insight can be used to redirect traffic at specific times in an effort to unclog traffic congestion. For the taxi business, this data can improve efficiency with supply and demand of cabs during times of high or low traffic for any given region.
“MemSQL is enabling companies to consolidate many niche solutions into fewer, more capable multi-purpose solutions. By making geospatial data a primary part of in-memory, operational databases, our customers can rely on one solution to make their data more valuable,” said Eric Frenkiel, MemSQL co-founder and CEO. “We’re delivering on our promise of easy access to database innovation and are quickly becoming the go-to-company to help enterprises operationalize analytics.”
MemSQL will showcase the MemSQL, Apache Spark and Esri demonstration at Spark Summit East 2015 on March 18-19 at The Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel. Visit MemSQL at Booth 13 during show expo hours.
The early access MemSQL geospatial capabilities are available now and will be generally available in calendar Q2. Read the technical blog post here.
Pocket Systems Ltd. has released PocketGIS for Android. PocketGIS is a professional mobile geographical information system for field data capture and surveying, which can capture and edit map geometry and enter data using forms.
PocketGIS runs on Android 4.0 and later and is designed for tablet and handheld screens.
GPS/GNSS. PocketGIS can be linked to a device’s internal GPS or GNSS receiver, or an external receiver via Bluetooth. This provides real-time location tracking and data capture. The GPS position is projected to the chosen coordinate system in real time offering instant verification of survey results.
The GPS trail function specifies a time or distance interval to automatically create points from the current GPS position. This let’s users capture points automatically while walking a line or route. Advanced settings allow filtering of GPS quality to ensure the accuracy of captured points. Users can also take an average of a number for GPS position readings and compensate for antenna heights. National grid datum corrections are supported, and these are added on request (such as OSTN02, ETRS89, RH2000 and OSGM02).
PocketGIS can be connected to a laser rangefinder or total station and provides a comprehensive set of laser survey functions. The laser functions integrate with GPS to survey offset positions and calculate height differences. Photographs can be taken from within the data-collection form using the device’s built-in camera to link the picture to captured points, lines or areas.
Edit, Measure, Search. Users can tap on points, lines areas or text (features) to display and update information. Users can measure distances or areas and display grid references, move points and edit lines, and search for data by type or value.
Data Exchange. PocketGIS can import and export data from cloud services such as Dropbox or Google Drive or via email. Shape, Comma Separated Values (CSV) and TIFF raster are supported. Additional formats will be supported in the future. Users can specify capture features, design data capture forms and customize imported data from within the application. No additional software or servers are required.
PocketGIS was first released in 1997 or the Newton MessagePad. Having run on a succession of Windows CE devices, PocketGIS has evolved again and is now available for Android.
For more information and a demo version of the software, go to http://www.pocketgis.com/android.