Reef Support, an automatic warning system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite imagery to detect coral bleaching, algal blooms, sediment plumes and debris caused by humans, won the Copernicus Masters 2020 competition.
The Reef Support team includes Crystle Wee, Yohan Runhaar, Marcel Kempers, Marijn van der Laan and Eilidh Radcliff.
Reef Support addresses both the environmental and economic aspects at hand with state-of-the art technology. Its user-friendly online monitoring and maintenance tool uses AI and satellite imagery to track coastal reef health and also provides guidelines for crowd and pollution control, debris management and coral restoration.
According to the team, different types of data can be combined to form a picture of reef ecology across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. The Reef Support platform can be used for strategic planning and resource management in aquaculture farming, as well. Its deep learning algorithm adapts to user applications and regional tendencies.
The subscription-based service is available on both iOS and Android.
Celebrating its 10th iteration in 2020, the international innovation competition Copernicus Masters awarded prizes in 22 categories to outstanding products and services based on Earth observation data. In total, 591 participants from 47 countries submitted 220 new Earth observation business cases and application ideas.
“Copernicus Masters has proven to be the perfect instrument to reach entrepreneurs to become a reality in Earth observation and tackle challenges such as climate change, technology revolutions, shifts in geopolitical power or humanitarian crises, and to support economic growth, safety and security, quality of life and sustainable development,” said Jan Wörner, director general at the European Space Agency (ESA).
AZO launched the Copernicus Masters in 2011 on behalf of the ESA.
Authors Javier Benedicto (ESA), left, and Rodrigo da Costa (GSA). (Image: ESA)
Throughout 2020, the Galileo Programme under the responsibility of the European Commission, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA), has been delivering continuous and reliable global PNT and Search and Rescue (SAR) services, developed improvements to Galileo First Generation ground and space system infrastructure for increased robustness and new service capabilities, and launched a full modernization program aiming in the future at Galileo Second Generation.
The GNSS User Technology Report 2020 has just been released by GSA, providing a complete overview of the current status and trends of the GNSS worldwide market with focus on user technology and in particular European GNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) applications and services.
In addition to providing a high quality open service based on innovative signals in the E1 and E5 bands, Galileo is also the first GNSS constellation to comprise a SAR capability, including the provision of a return link to users in distress. Galileo also features unique capabilities, such as the provision of Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA) and of an encrypted navigation signal on E6, the Commercial Authentication Service (CAS). These functions will offer the first protection against spoofing available to civilian GNSS users.
Finally, Galileo will provide free access to a High Accuracy Service (HAS) through the use of an open data channel used to broadcast high-accuracy augmentation messages.
Performance Meeting Expectations
The Galileo constellation consists today of 22 operational spacecraft (24 satellites are available for the Search and Rescue service). Two additional satellites (GSAT0201/E18 and GSAT0202/E14) are currently under testing with regard to potential operational as auxiliary usage in the near future.
The long-term evolution of performance parameters reveals that the Galileo system is continuously improving. In particular, an excellent quality of the navigation message in terms of ranging accuracy can be observed. Since the Initial Service declaration in 2016, ranging accuracy has steadily improved reaching a level of ~25 cm (95%) by mid of 2020, see Figure 1.
FIGURE 1. F/NAV SISE as observed by user receivers (constellation average, 30 days moving average). (Image: ESA)
The timing accuracy benefits from the larger number of satellites in service. Figures 2 and 3 present the evolution of the UTC dissemination accuracy and GGTO accuracy performance better than 2.5 nsec and 4.2 nsec (95%) respectively, which are largely within Galileo service commitments.
Probably the most significant discriminator of Galileo versus other GNSS is its capability to broadcast multi-frequency (E1, E6, E5) signal components on all operational satellites. In the high-end and mid-range smartphone chipset market, dual frequency is becoming the norm. All large players have released dual-frequency chipsets, and the first dual-frequency chipsets targeting the budget device market are now becoming available. Dual-frequency receivers offer improved accuracy and robustness, and potential access to high-accuracy techniques. Multi-constellation is now standard for high-volume chipsets and Galileo with its multi-frequency capability is one of the largest GNSS contributors to this emerging dual-frequency PNT market.
Expanding Galileo Services Portfolio
Galileo offers the Galileo Open service (OS) for positioning and timing services, and Europe’s Search and Rescue (SAR) service contribution to COSPAS-SARSAT, equipped with its unique Return Link Message (RLM) declared operational in January 2020. Furthermore, the Galileo system is expanding its infrastructure capabilities such that, once fully operational, it will offer additional high-performance services worldwide.
Public Regulated Service (PRS) is restricted to government-authorized users for sensitive applications that require a high level of service continuity.
Open Service INAV message improvements on Galileo E1-B are under implementation, namely robust symbol level synchronization patterns, additional insertion of clock and ephemeris data with flexible outer encoding and frequent provision of shortened clock and ephemeris for improved robustness in terms of navigation data retrieval in challenging environments, in addition to facilitating a reduced time to first six (TTFF); these improvements ensure backwards compatibility with previously released OS SIS ICDs.
Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA) providing the free authentication of the Galileo Open Service (OS) for geolocation information through the Navigation Message (I/NAV) broadcast on the E1-B signal component.
Commercial Authentication Service (CAS), complementing the OS, providing a ranging authentication function implemented by encrypting the spreading code of the E6C (pilot) channel with a secret key. To ensure backward compatibility, CAS is based on the only civilian signal including cryptographic features (E6). When using both OS-NMA and CAS, users will benefit from data (navigation message) and range authentication, allowing PVT authentication worldwide.
Galileo Batch 3 satellite under test at ESA’s ESTEC facility in the Netherlands. (Photo: ESA)
High Accuracy Service (HAS) complementing the OS by delivering free access high accuracy data and providing better ranging accuracy, enabling users to achieve sub-meter level positioning accuracy.
Support to Safety of Life (SoL) Services through Dual Frequency Multi-Constellation (DFMC) SBAS and supporting the provision of integrity through the concept of Horizontal Advanced Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (H-ARAIM). In this context, the Galileo Integrity Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (IFMEA) Process is implemented through measurements and review of the system design, including characterization of feared events.
Galileo Batch 3 satellite under test at ESA’s ESTEC facility in the Netherlands. (Photo: ESA)
Infrastructure Modernization
The Galileo System infrastructure is being upgraded and modernized to support the full service portfolio, provide additional robustness and resilience, ensure security and improve operations.
The Galileo Ground Segment is being upgraded implementing ground segment virtualization technologies. This modernized infrastructure will make it possible to easily accommodate technology refresh and will minimize impact to Galileo service operations, under the responsibility of Spaceopal GmbH, during future deployment activities.
Current ground segment upgrades under production by prime contractor Thales Alenia Space in France (in charge of Ground Mission Segment and Security Monitoring) are addressing the deployment of improved robustness of the navigation and precise timing solutions, the full scope of PRS service capabilities, the expansion of the sensor station and up-link ground station networks, and additional security monitoring coverage to protect Galileo ground and space assets.
Ground segment upgrades under production by prime contractor GMV in Spain are addressing the deployment of a new Ground Control Segment providing increased constellation monitoring and control capabilities up to 38 satellites, enhanced operability features, expansion of the TTC network and additional security protection capabilities.
Upgrades of the Galileo Service Facilities are underway as well, notably the evolution of the GNSS Service Center toward the integration of the OS-NMA and HAS capabilities, and the extension of the reference measurement capabilities of the Galileo Reference Centre, by the prime contractor GMV in Spain. The robustness of the SAR service operations, under the prime contractor CNES in France, is also under improvement.
The production of 12 additional Batch 3 Galileo first generation satellites is proceeding, aiming at readiness for launch from mid 2021 onward. Batch 3 satellites are comparable to the 22 FOC satellites launched previously and built by the same prime contractor OHB Systems in Germany. With Batch 3 satellites, Galileo will reach its full constellation capability, including a number of in-orbit spares.
Galileo Batch 3 satellites will be progressively launched with the new Ariane 62 launcher vehicle, the two strap-on solid booster variant of Ariane 6, currently undergoing the final stages of development led by prime contractor ArianeGroup. Meanwhile, France’s space agency CNES is preparing the Ariane 6 launch facilities at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Ariane 6 is scheduled for its first launch in 2022.
Europe’s new Ariane 6 launch vehicle. (Artist’s concept: ESA)
Toward Galileo Second Generation
The Galileo Programme is fully engaged in the process of developing Galileo 2nd Generation (G2G). Procurement activities for system, satellite and ground segment have been initiated in 2020 with the ambitious goal of starting deployment of the new infrastructure in 2024.
The design of G2G is driven by overarching principles, including backward compatibility, providing an extended portfolio of services and the quality of services, but also the absolute need to meet user demands in a timely and effective manner. The European Commission, in close consultation with EU member states, has converged onto an ambitious set of long term PNT goals for the future European GNSS infrastructures.
G2G Service Portfolio and High-Level Mission Objectives agreed with Programme Stakeholders Service include service evolutions in the areas of signals evolution for increased performance and reduced complexity and power consumption at the user receiver level, time to first-fix, accuracy, authentication and other service attributes, PRS evolutions, advanced timing services, enhanced integration with terrestrial systems (5G/6G), complementarity with external sensors (such as INS, barometer, lidar) and application environments (such as low power devices and internet of things), SAR service evolution, Emergency Warning services, Space Service Volume and Ionosphere Prediction Service.
G2G will build on advanced navigation technology developed over the past 10 years under ESA’s European GNSS Evolution Programme (EGEP) and EU’s Horizon 2020 Programme. This technological leap will allow the early introduction of novel Galileo system features:
Open service capabilities (reduce power consumption and convergence time)
High-accuracy evolution (integrity, availability)
PRS robustness and transmit power
System and SIS in-orbit flexibility, reconfiguration and time-to-market
Inter-satellite links (ranging, mission dissemination, command and control)
SAR second-generation beacons
Reduce operations and maintenance cost
Accelerate time-to-market of new services
Ground technology virtualization and modernization
Acknowledging the changing nature of user requirements, the Galileo second-generation is designed to evolve incrementally and with sufficient flexibility to provide new services or signal features, if and when required, by dynamic reconfiguration of space and ground infrastructure.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a contract to London-based CGI to develop a GNSS Event Notification Service (GENS) capable of monitoring the United Kingdom (U.K.) GNSS spectrum to enable effective alerting and reporting of position, navigation and time (PNT) disruption.
GENS will integrate CGI’s PNT Incident Event Monitoring (PNTIEM) system with existing U.K.-developed sensors from Ordnance Survey’s network (OS NET) of GNSS receivers and GMV NSL’s Detector, GISMO and Strike 3 interface technologies.
Bringing together existing systems will build on proven technologies, reducing the cost of development of a large-scale monitoring network while providing the ability to introduce new services for detecting GNSS events and disruption, according to a CSI press release.
Supported by the OS and GMV NSL, CGI will lead the delivery of GENS using an agile software delivery experience, supported by system design and DevSecOps development and integration skills. An open interface will be offered for future providers of GNSS measurements or spectrum event data.
Alongside the GENS system technical delivery, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) will develop a GNSS guidance document in partnership with U.K. government departments, agencies, CNI operators, professional institutes, academic institutes and commercial organizations to enable informed requirements development, procurement, deployment and support of HMG GNSS-reliant services.
Reviewed alongside events identified by GENS, the combined offering will highlight and inform stakeholders on risks posed by the loss of PNT services as identified by the PNT Strategy Group Interim Report in April 2020.
GENS will also respond to HMG’s “Satellite-derived time and position: a study of critical dependencies” report which identified the need for mitigation to GNSS disruption and estimated the economic impact to the U.K. economy of a five-day disruption to GNSS at £5.2 billion.
The full GENS system will enable users across both commercial and public sector services to subscribe to be informed of both GNSS quality and interference events for regions of interest. By focusing on these events and the improved understanding of the risk posed by disruption, stakeholders will be better informed to enable them to build system resilience or to respond to the disruption of GNSS within the U.K.
‘‘Detecting and monitoring GNSS is core to better understanding the scale and risk posed by PNT disruption in the U.K. and across all ESA member states,” said Rafael Lucas Rodriguez, technical officer for GENS, European Space Agency. “ESA is supporting CGI to develop effective tools enabling a system to be created utilizing previous ESA and UK HMG work. This will bring direct benefits for U.K. public and private stakeholders.”
“The U.K. is a leading investor in GNSS research,” said Andy Proctor, U.K. lead delegate to the ESA Programme Board for Navigation. “Understanding GNSS spectrum quality is vital for the stability of PNT services in the U.K. This program will help promote and address GNSS disruption affecting PNT services while supporting the U.K.’s thriving space sector and the wider economy.”
“This is an exciting project that brings together CGI’s navigation and spectrum domain expertise supported by scaled agile and DevSecOps delivery experience,” said John Hanley, vice president of secure and assured space solutions at CGI in the U.K. “After talking to both public and private stakeholders for GNSS, it became clear that one of the initial challenges is understanding the scale of PNT disruption. GNSS services touch every part of society across finance, utilities, transport and defense and need to be protected.”
CGI has been delivering complex, mission-critical space software systems for clients across Europe, Asia and North America, supporting satellite navigation, communications, operations and space enabled applications for more than 40 years.
Taoglas has unveiled active, multiband GNSS antennas engineered for applications that require critical high-accuracy positioning and timing, including autonomous driving and precision agriculture. Both the MagmaX2 AA.200 and Colosseum X XAHP.50 add to Taoglas’ high-precision GNSS range.
“Safety standards for autonomous vehicles (UAVs, robotics and vehicles) and precision agriculture is an ever evolving arena,” said Ronan Quinlan, co-CEO and founder of Taoglas. “However, it’s increasingly apparent that high-precision positional accuracy is critical for both. At Taoglas we’re continuously innovating our GNSS antennas to deliver the very best precise location capabilities, but in more lightweight, compact structures, compared to larger counterparts already on the market. We look at the impact the antenna has on the actual positioning performance of your system, not just the antenna itself.”
The MagmaX2 AA.200. (Photo: Taoglas)
The MagmaX2 AA.200 is designed for space and weight constrained applications, such as robotic lawnmowers, Quinlan said. Embedded antenna versions are also available.
The AA.200 is a low-profile active multiband GNSS magnetic mount antenna for use across most major constellations including GPS (L1/L2/L5), GLONASS (G1/G2/G5), Galileo(E1/E5a/E5b) and BeiDou(B1/B2). It exhibits excellent gain and good radiation pattern stability leading to a reliable GPS fix in areas of weaker signal strength.
Positional accuracy better than 60 cm (DRMS) is achievable, even without RTK corrections services. Accurate positioning down to 1.4 cm has been demonstrated with today’s multiband GNSS receivers and RTK services in the field.
The Colosseum X XAHP.50 antenna. (Photo: Taoglas)
The Colosseum X XAHP.50 is a geodetic-quality small-dome antenna suitable for a vehicle roof mount or pole mount. “Every element and aspect of the antenna performance has been optimized during the design of this antenna,” Quinlan said. “This includes many deep interlocking rf parameters for true accurate centimeter-level positioning, compared to legacy meter-only level systems. Phase center variation, group delay, multipath rejection, axial ratio over angle all become critical considerations and performance targets.”
The XAHP.50 is engineered to operate with incredibly high precision capabilities on the full GNSS spectrum. Sub meter positional accuracy better than 55cm (DRMS) is achievable, even without the use of RTK correctional services. This allows the user to achieve higher location accuracy, as well as stability of position tracking in urban environments.
The XAHP.50 has excellent performance across the full bandwidth of the antenna and its design has an even gain across the hemisphere giving excellent, broad axial ratio which in turn makes it resilient to multipath rejection and excellent phase centre stability. Accurate positioning down to 1.4 cm has been demonstrated with today’s multiband GNSS receivers and RTK services in the field.
Antenna Development
“In the design phase we simulate using electromagnetic analysis software and tweak every parameter,” Quinlan said. “Once we are happy with the results, we build our prototypes and test in scientifically controlled chamber and test environments validated by the European Space Agency, with repeatable GNSS signals.
“We then move onto field testing in open-sky conditions and in non-line of sight environments to verify real-world performance with today’s state-of-the-art receiver systems from such leading companies as u-blox and Septentrio.
What’s more, every single antenna coming off our production line goes through strict in-line sensitivity testing to ensure consistent validated performance. We take our commitment to quality and safety very seriously in the coming age of autonomous operation,” Quinlan concluded.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a call for proposals to demonstrate the capabilities of new 5G cellular networks to support positioning and timing applications to complement satellite navigation.
5G will bring higher speed, larger traffic capacity and ultra low-latency (or signal delay) communications. 5G will also usher in a range of new possibilities for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT).
ESA is inviting proposals to implement pilot projects to demonstrate the viability of 5G PNT solutions in a number of use cases:
Indoor PNT for Industry 4.0, as needed to support the operations of smart warehouses and factories or smart city applications requiring transition from indoor to outdoor environments.
Outdoor applications where a robust back-up to satellite navigation is essential to meet safety requirements, such as autonomous driving or drone navigation.
Applications where robust time and frequency synchronization is necessary, both in outdoor as well as indoor environments, like smart energy grids or the 5G networks themselves.
5G networks will allow new types of measurements made possible by advanced antennas and by new positioning signals at higher frequencies, at both base stations and the user receivers. 5G networks will also bring enhanced connectivity to improve cloud-based positioning applications and value-added services.
While satellite navigation works optimally in outdoor environments with a wide view of the sky, 5G PNT has the potential to bring PNT to deep urban canyons in high-rise city centers and indoor warehouses, wherever 5G networks are deployed.
The combination of satellite navigation and 5G brings the promise of high performance, secure and resilient PNT services, as well as a seamless application of PNT applications from outdoor to indoor environments and from rural to urban areas, ESA said.
This call for ideas is supported through ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP), working with European industry and academia to develop innovative navigation technology.
Webinar on PNT 5G
To support the call, an information webinar is being held on 21 October, in which the various PNT 5G use cases will be presented by key speakers from each sector. Details of the call and how to apply will also be presented by ESA.
A networking platform has also been established to allow webinar participants and general stakeholders interested in the call to get in touch and discuss possible cooperation. This platform will be kept open during the entire period of the call’s duration.
For more information on the call and the agenda of the webinar visit ESA’s NAVISP website.
To register for the webinar and the networking platform, click here.
To pinpoint a location accurately, a receiver — in smartphones or on a spacecraft — needs to collect and combine signals from at least four navigation satellites. The receiver determines its distance from each of the satellites by measuring the time that it takes for the signal to travel from the satellite to the receiver.
Navigation satellites aim their antennas directly at Earth. Satellites orbiting above the navigation (GPS in this image, but Europe’s own navigation system is Galileo) constellation could only hope to detect signals from Earth’s far side. Now spacecraft can make use of signals emitted sideways from navigation antennas, within what is known as “side lobes.” Just like a torch, they shine energy to the side as well as directly forward.
Navigation satellites orbit 22,000 kilometers above Earth’s surface. As they point in the direction of Earth, any spacecraft between them and Earth are served well by their signal. But around 10 years ago, engineers started demonstrating that spacecraft outside the orbit of navigation satellites could also navigate in space using “spill over” signal from the satellites.
Then in 2012, two discovery and preparation studies explored a seemingly radical question: could this spillover signal even be used to navigate our way around the moon, and if so, what kind of receiver would we need to build to be able to use these signals?
The studies found that the signal from navigation satellites orbiting Earth could be used to navigate the moon’s surface. But with the signal being so weak, they found that a new type of receiver would need to be built, and at the time there was no clear application for this.
Eight years later, ESA invested in the development of such a receiver, and is exploring whether it could be demonstrated on the Lunar Pathfinder mission. ESA is collaborating with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. and Goonhilly Earth Station on this mission, which will provide exciting new opportunities for science and technology demonstration. In particular, it will help lay the groundwork for providing navigation services around the moon, currently studied through two ESA NAVISP activities and culminating in the Moonlight initiative.
“We have now accurate simulation results that show that navigation signals may be used at moon orbit and provide good performances,” said Dr. Javier Ventura-Traveset, head of the Galileo Science Office and in charge of coordinating all GNSS moon activities for ESA’s Navigation Directorate. “And with an innovative receiver in Lunar Pathfinder, we could have the first ever experimental evidence of this.
Artist’s impression of the Lunar Pathfinder mission. (Image: SSTL)
“Furthermore, we are also studying how existing navigation constellations may be complemented by additional moon-orbiting satellites, providing additional ranging signals for an optimal navigation service including moon landing and moon surface operations. This is being done as part of the ESA NAVISP program and through the ESA Moonlight initiative.”
“The discovery and preparation studies have been eye-openers and they are currently being followed up by a NAVISP activity aiming to develop the highly sensitive spaceborne navigation receiver planned to fly on board Lunar Pathfinder,” said ESA Radio Navigation Engineer Pietro Giordano. “This technology will enable improved performances and much more cost-effective ways to navigate and operate missions to and around the moon.”
Earth-imaging and scientific payloads have arrived in French Guiana, both designed for Ariancespace’s Vega mission in November.
The spacecraft were delivered by a chartered Antonov AN-124 cargo jetliner that touched down at Cayenne’s Félix Eboué Airport. They were then transported by road to the Spaceport, where processing is now underway in separate clean room areas of the S5 payload processing facility.
According to Arianspace, the Vega’s mission with these satellites is designated Flight VV17 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system.
The two satellites include SEOSAT-Ingenio, Spain’s optical observation satellite, and Taranis.
SEOSAT-Ingenio
Arianespace’s launch services contract for the SEOSAT-Ingenio satellite was signed with the European Space Agency for Spain’s Center for Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI). The satellite features optical technology, developed primarily by the Spanish space industry with Airbus in Spain as the prime contractor. Its liftoff mass will be approximately 840 kg.
High-resolution imagery from SEOSAT-Ingenio is to be used for civil and military purposes in such applications as security, land management, natural resources, border surveillance, agriculture and natural disaster crisis management, Arianspace said. The satellite is owned by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology, with the CDTI leading the spacecraft project by delegation and also assuming its cost.
Spain’s SEOSAT-Ingenio (left) is readied for the startup of its checkout process in the Spaceport’s S5 payload preparation facility, which will begin after the external wrapping is removed. The French Taranis scientific satellite (right) undergoes an initial inspection in another of the S5 clean room areas. (Photos: Arianspace)
Taranis
Taranis, or Tool for the Analysis of RAdiation from lightNIng and Sprites, is named after the god of thunder in Celtic mythology. It will study impulsive transfers of energy between the Earth’s atmosphere and the space environment that occur above thunderstorms.
Funded by the French CNES space agency, this satellite will have a liftoff mass in the 200-kg. category and is to provide data on the transient luminous events that have been observed in the past 30 years, particularly such phenomena that are called sprites, jets and elves.
According to Arianspace, both SEOSAT-Ingenio and Taranis will operate in similar orbits at an altitude of approximately 700 km. In ride-sharing this launch on Arianespace’s light-lift Vega launcher, the two spacecraft will be deployed by a VESPA payload dispenser, produced by Airbus in Spain for Avio.
Service opens a new era of satellite navigation performance augmentation in the Africa and Indian Ocean Region
The Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) has started to broadcast a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) signal over Africa and the Indian Ocean (AFI) region.
This is the first SBAS open service in this part of the world, according to Thales Alenia Space. The signal is broadcast via the NIGCOMSAT-1R satellite managed and operated by Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd. under the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy of Nigeria.
The early open service is provided as part of the “SBAS for Africa & Indian Ocean” program, which pursues the autonomous provision over the continent of SBAS services to augment the performances of the satellite navigation constellations GPS and Galileo.
With improved accuracy to within a meter — and boosted integrity, availability and continuity of safety-related applications — the SBAS services will improve flight safety and efficiency in Africa. It will also benefit the economy in land, sea and rail transport areas, as well as mass-market applications, supporting user safety, cost-effectiveness and sustainable development.
Early Service Goals
The launched open service aims to carry-out technical trials, and to undertake with partner airlines field demonstrations for aircraft to demonstrate the benefits of the future operational safety-of-life SBAS services, expected in 2024. It will also include early precise point positioning (PPP) and emergency warning service, both to be demonstrated.
The signal in space is generated by a dedicated system testbed, developed as part of the “SBAS for Africa and Indian Ocean” preliminary design phase, financed by the European Union and awarded to a Thales Alenia Space joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%). The system prototype uses the SAGAIE reference station network deployed by CNES and ASECNA with the support of Thales Alenia Space.
The signal is broadcast via the SBAS payload on Nigcomsat-1R GEO satellite of the Nigerian Communications Satellite and an uplink station deployed in Abuja (Nigeria). It is compliant to the Standards and Recommended Practices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, and the Minimum Operational Performance Standard developed by the RTCA (Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics) organization. It will be visible in the whole Africa and Indian Ocean, up to the West Australian coast, and also in Europe.
“We are proud to be part of this ambitious program to provide satellite navigation services in the Africa and Indian Ocean region. The use of our geostationary communication satellite Nigcomsat-1R navigation payload to broadcast the first signal will be Africa’s premier contribution to SBAS as a regional satellite-based augmentation system for the continent,” said Abimbola Alale, MD/CEO of NIGCOMSAT Ltd.
“Our long-standing expertise acquired with the development of EGNOS SBAS in Europe and KASS SBAS in Korea combined with our new leading-edge satellite positioning technologies makes Thales Alenia Space the ideal partner to best support countries to implement their own SBAS efficiently. The equatorial region represents also a key engineering challenge for such a system due to difficult ionosphere conditions, for which Thales Alenia Space has developed a proven solution,” said Benoit Broudy, vice president of the Navigation business at Thales Alenia Space in France.
“The provision of the first African SBAS early service is a crucial major step forward in the development of satellite navigation in the AFI Region, and in the deployment of the ‘SBAS for Africa and Indian Ocean’ system, the navigation solution for Africa by Africa. It demonstrates the ambition and commitment of ASECNA to enhance air navigation safety for the benefit of the whole continent, in line with my vision for the unification of the African Sky,” stated Mohamed Moussa, director general of ASECNA.
About ASECNA
ASECNA is an international public organization. Its main mission is to provide air navigation services within an airspace of 16,500,000 square kilometers, divided into six flight information regions (F.I.R) as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
ASECNA also develops solutions for airport management, aviation infrastructure studies and construction, equipment maintenance, calibration of air navigation instruments and training for civil aviation staff.
Its 18 Member States are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad and Togo.
Mobile GIS Services (MGISS) is working with the European Space Agency (ESA) to showcase the potential of satellite positioning systems and imagery in tackling some of the environmental and societal challenges being faced by the water industry.
The two organizations joined together to develop multimedia experiences, group exercises and real-world case studies, which will be shared at the Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival, taking place Sept. 15.
The four-day festival, which has attracted more than 6,500 visitors across previous events, will take place virtually from Sept. 14-17.
“Under the theme ‘We Need Space to Innovate,’ we are aiming to explore how we can use satellite services to improve asset management for organizations such as Northumbrian Water, alongside the wider water and critical infrastructure sectors,” said Mike Darracott, MGISS managing director.
A highlight of the organizations’ participation will their Daily Dashes. The Daily Dashes will be rapid, sprint-style workshops that run through all stages of the subject and include music, video, live demonstration and hands-on workshops to explore specific topics relevant to the water industry. According to MGISS and ESA, the Daily Dashes will provide a better understanding of how satellite services can be used to improve asset insight and operational performance.
“Satellite positioning systems are extensively used for asset location, and yet do users really understand the full array of technology on offer or the additional potential that can be derived from earth observation data?” Asked Alan Cross, regional ambassador for ESA. “By working with MGISS, we will demonstrate how improved positioning and asset insight has the potential to deliver benefits for operational resilience, improved safety and higher productivity.”
GPS World’s November 2020 issue will focus on water applications, so stay tuned for that issue.
A new monitoring system developed through an ESA-backed project works like a bodyguard for satellite navigation in use at strategic or safety-critical sites. Known as GIDAS, the scalable system immediately detects, identifies and pinpoints satnav interference sources in its vicinity.
It is estimated that there are currently the same number of satnav receivers on Earth as there are people. Positioning, navigation and timing signals from space-based constellations such as Galileo and GPS form an invisible, essential infrastructure, underpinning numerous modern aspects of modern life: communications, power and transportation.
Satellite navigation helps guide a growing number of aircraft, boats, trains and autonomous vehicles. Meanwhile satnav-based time stamps authentic multi-billion euro financial transactions, and coordinate the synchronised running of power grids. Satellite navigation is always on, available everywhere on Earth, so it is easy to take its availability for granted. But as crucial as these signals from space are, they are also vulnerable to ground-based interference.
“It’s simply a matter of output power,” said Andreas Lesch of Austria-based OHB Digital Solutions. “A navigation signal on the ground is equivalent to the light from a 60-watt lamp aboard a satellite, some 23,222 km away in space in the case of Galileo. So these faint signals can be jammed by more powerful local radio signals, either accidentally or deliberately, or even misleading fake navigation signals, known as spoofing.”
“Our new GNSS Interference Detection and Analysis System, GIDAS, is designed to safeguard critical infrastructure against jamming or spoofing, by performing continuous monitoring of key signal bands. By doing so, GIDAS can raise the alarm in real time, identify the type of interference then pinpoint the location of these dangerous portable devices causing the interference so the authorities can take immediate remedial action.”
GIDAS can provide interference detection and directionality with a single reporting station, although a minimum of three stations are required for pinpointing interference sources, linked to an overall monitoring center. Monitoring centers can also be connected together, making the GIDAS system easily scalable, from safeguarding an individual harbour, airport or system critical site up to an entire city or region.
GIDAS can provide interference detection and directionality with a single reporting station, although a minimum of three stations are required for pinpointing interference sources, linked to an overall monitoring center. (Photo: ESA)
“People are only now catching up to the seriousness of this problem,” adds Andreas. “Surveys of the highest-density parts of Europe surveys report around three to four jammers hourly.
“These small devices are technically illegal but are easily available online for a few hundred euros or less, often marketed as personal privacy devices. Jammers are sold as having a range of only a few metres, but can turn out to have a practical range of dozens of metres or more — leading to unintentionally widespread interference, like the famous jammer-equipped U.S. truck driver who shut down Newark Airport navigation systems whenever he drove past.
“Spoofing is more serious still, with a strong criminal element, where false satellite navigation signals replace real ones, to mislead receivers about their position, employed in the past to down put drones or divert boats.
“Working in this field for eight to nine years, we have seen a strong growth in interference, even as GNSS becomes ever more crucial. With our passion for GNSS and signal processing, we decided to something practical to combat this development, delivering rapid detection, classification and localisation of interference to our customers.”
GIDAS was developed by OHB Digital Solutions and Joanneum University through ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP), working with European industry and academia to develop innovative navigation technology.
“The company initiated the project through NAVISP’s second element, focused on strengthening European competitiveness in the navigation arena, proceeding on a co-funded basis,” said engineer Thomas Burger, overseeing GIDAS project for ESA. “The plan was to enable a commercially attractive business to get started, and I’m happy to say we made it.”
“Considering the budget, the project had a wide scope, including the development of a multi-constellation GNSS receiver with all processing stages, an extended digital front end for jamming and spoofing detection, processing blocks transferred to a parallel processor based on a customised fully programmable gate array.
“And that was only one ingredient of the overall GIDAS system, also including the actual interference detection machinery, the interference locating subsystem, and all the communication, database, and graphical user interface elements needed to create a distributed, human-usable system — which is able to go on working autonomously, only asking for human involvement when events are detected.”
Now that its two-year NAVISP project has concluded, GIDAS is now being rolled out to several Europe-based governmental and private sector customers.
Members of Congress were not pleased with the new U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report on positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), saying the long-delayed report contained numerous errors and failed to address many of the things Congress had required.
On the April 8, DHS submitted to Congress the brief, 26-page report on the nation’s PNT requirements. It took more than three years to produce and was delivered more than two years late.
In comparison, just two weeks earlier a team of eight British organizations sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA) issued a 1,174-page report on the PNT needs of maritime commerce. The report from the Maritime Resilience and Integrity of Navigation (MarRINav) project was produced in less than a year.
House Transportation Committee Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee Chair John Garamendi (D-CA) and Representative Alex Mooney (R-WV) expressed their disappointment this week in a letter to DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf. In addition to outlining their concerns, it asked that the report be retracted, rewritten and resubmitted within six months.
While the letter did not specifically mention the contrast between the DHS and British efforts, it did use the MarRINav report as a reference. And it was clear that the disparity in length and quality of the reports accentuated the disappointment for those who had hoped for a better product from DHS.
The letter asked that the report be retracted, rewritten and resubmitted within six months.
Factual errors
Factual errors in the DHS report, according to the letter, included getting the mandated timing for financial systems wrong, and mischaracterizing coverage areas and capabilities of various technologies including several that had been recently demonstrated for the Department of Transportation (DOT).
The letter also observed that DHS focused on commercial PNT users to the detriment of most Americans. It failed to consider the needs of public service organizations, governmental entities, and individual citizens in its analysis.
The lawmakers contend the report did not recognize that PNT provided by GPS is frequently a safety-of-life service and a public good that must be reinforced to protect economic vitality and national security.
Suspending operations, subscribing are flawed options
Two of the solutions to temporary GPS disruptions suggested in the DHS report are for users to suspend operations until the disruption is over, and to have purchased commercial PNT services as backups in advance of a disruption.
Suspending operations for emergency services and other critical functions is unacceptable, say the congressmen. And commercial PNT services to provide needed wide area PNT backups are not available.
Even if they were available, questions of affordability for the many non-profit and public entities that needed them, whether it would be more cost effective for the federal government to support such services, and similar issues would need to be addressed before the department could make a recommendation.
Suspending operations for emergency services and other critical functions is unacceptable.
No national backup
The letter also observed that the department has discounted the value of a national backup system, a position that seems to conflict with both longstanding and recent presidential policy. Having a backup for GPS has been policy since President Bush established the requirement in 2004. President Trump’s recent Responsible Use of PNT Executive Order called for a national research program on non-space-based PNT and “…mandates the Department of Commerce make available a GNSS independent source of Coordinated Universal Time for all users.”
DHS’ recommendation against a national backup also differs from the Europe/UK MarRINav report. In addition to calling for improvements to be made by commercial entities such as port and ship operators, MarRINav identifies the need for “terrestrial and sovereign” eLoran and VHF DES Ranging mode systems to support reliable maritime commerce. Establishing such systems will require support by the national government.
Most members of industry agree that some government involvement is needed. A CEO of one of the companies demonstrating its backup technology for DOT observed that the market would never solve the problem on its own.
“We have tried for 16 years to figure out a business case, and it’s just not there,” the CEO said. “GPS is too good and it’s free. You can’t compete with that. If America is going to have one or more new wide-area capabilities that most people can use — not just niche solutions for high-demand, well-heeled customers — the government is going to have to prime the pump.”
DHS did propose some efforts that resonated with the Congressmen, such as encouraging use of GPS receivers that resist spoofing and jamming. The lawmakers described these as “necessary but grossly insufficient” before requesting the report be withdrawn and redone.
DHS’ “Report on Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Backup and Complementary Capabilities to the Global Positioning System (GPS)” is available here.
The letter from Congressmen DeFazio and Garamendi is available here.
The Maritime Resilience and Integrity of Navigation (MarRINav) project report is available here.
In 2018 the first-ever European Radionavigation Plan said “It is recognized that [..] GNSS should not be the sole source of PNT information. Alternative PNT systems, not necessarily using radio frequencies, should thus be put in place where the criticality of the application requires it.”
Graphic from MarRINav report showing system of systems approach to PNT resilience and reliability. (Image: Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation)
In 2019 the European Space Agency (ESA) published a permanent open call for proposals for positioning, navigation, and timing studies and systems, including those that had nothing to do with space.
“Maritime navigation and port operations are critical for almost every nation,” said Jonathan Turner, one of the MarRINav project team. “As an island nation with a strong maritime heritage, we in the United Kingdom perhaps have an even greater appreciation of this.” Turner is co-founder of the blue economy solutions company NLA International, which led a team of eight organizations cooperating on the project.
While MarRINav focused its analysis on the United Kingdom, the intent was to provide information, and an analysis framework, that could also be used by other nations.
Maritime is one of sectors most dependent upon GNSS, according to the project reports, and a sector with great awareness of GNSS vulnerabilities and their consequences. MarRINav concludes that integrity and resilience are two of the most important parameters for maritime navigation.
Maritime is also one of the sectors most ready to integrate space and terrestrial navigation systems, according to the report’s authors. The International Maritime Organization has already introduced a performance standard for a multi-system receiver, or MSR, that will incorporate a wide variety of navigation signals.
Despite the distractions of Brexit over the last four years, the United Kingdom has been particularly focused on its vulnerability to GNSS outages.
In February of this year the UK government announced it was establishing a virtual National Timing Centre to protect the nation from the risk of GNSS failure, and in March the final MarRINav report was published.
Among the project’s findings are that:
The United Kingdom needs a comprehensive maritime PNT architecture with multiple, diverse sources to ensure continuity of maritime operations
Such a “hybrid solution” could benefit other sectors, especially if non-maritime needs were considered early in the design
New PNT systems should be terrestrial and sovereign
Establishing such a system for the UK has a very positive benefit to cost ratio
Important aspects of the new architecture are E-GNSS (Galileo and EGNOS), Enhanced Loran (eLoran) and the Ranging Mode (R-Mode) of the VHF Data Exchange System (VDES), and complemented by the development of a specific Maritime Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (M-RAIM) algorithm.
LOCATA or a similar local positioning system should be implemented at UK ports to provide a backup for container operations.
Satelles Satellite Time and Location may have potential, but its utility has yet to be demonstrated for maritime.
