Galileo-Navigationssystem

u-blox AG, the leading Swiss provider of GPS receiver technology, will showcase u-blox 5,
a Galileo-ready A-GPS chip featuring an acquisition performance of less than one second,
at the 2007 CeBIT trade show in Hanover, Germany.CeBIT, which runs from March 15-21, is the world’s leading ICT show and is expected to
attract nearly half a million visitors and over 6000 exhibitors this year. This makes it
the largest marketplace for digital IT and telecommunications solutions, providing a
unique opportunity for product manufacturers, service providers and distributors to meet,
exchange views and do business. u-blox will be promoting its u-blox 5 chip at the event. The new technology boasts an
acquisition and tracking sensitivity of -160 dBm that enables indoor coverage, a
50-channel engine and a power consumption of less than 50 mW. Its energy efficiency and
tracking sensitivity make it ideal for GPS-enabled battery-operated portable devices that
operate in difficult indoor environments like shopping malls, train stations and urban
canyons. “Our ultra fast u-blox 5 chip, with its low power consumption and indoor performance,
enables a whole new range of innovative GPS-enabled applications, from handheld
navigation devices to smart phones,” said Thomas Seiler, u-blox CEO.

PAIGNTON, England– Spirent Communications (NYSE:SPM) (LSE:SPT), the market leader in satellite navigation test equipment, announces the availability of its GSS7900 GPS/Galileo Simulation System. This system allows the testing of advanced multi-system GNSS receivers by supporting the free-to-use signals from both GPS and Galileo systems. The GSS7900 simulates the RF environment to characterise, optimise and validate GNSS receivers under accurate, controlled and repeatable conditions in the laboratory.

“We pride ourselves on our signal fidelity and the comprehensive capabilities of our test systems,” said Peter Boulton, technology director at Spirent’s Wireless and Positioning division. “Spirent’s innovative approach to correctly modelling the wideband ionospheric dispersion across the Galileo E5 frequencies is one example of this. Our Galileo simulators are currently undergoing formal verification with our official Galileo programme customers.”

This new dual-constellation simulator is derived from Spirent’s “industry standard” GSS7700 GPS simulator and the GSS7800 Galileo simulator that Spirent developed in 2006 to support the test needs of the Galileo Ground Mission Segment and Test User Segment programmes. These test systems, including the new GSS7900, benefit from Spirent’s flexible and feature-rich SimGEN for Windows® software suite. SimGEN enables advanced flexibility and control over simulated parameters and is designed to facilitate a wide variety of test configurations and results analysis.

“Spirent is responding to our customers’ desire to perform combined GPS/Galileo receiver development work,” commented John Pottle, marketing director at Spirent. “The release of the Open Service Galileo signal-in-space interface-control-document (SIS ICD) has stimulated interest in the additional capabilities that Galileo will enable. Currently, our Galileo system uses public domain information about Galileo only, as there are restrictions on the use of the Galileo ranging codes and navigation data. When these restrictions are lifted, Spirent will upgrade its GSS7900 customers to full ICD compliance via a simple field upgrade.”

[via press release]

Wladimir Putin hofft, dass sich das Zusammenwirken zwischen Russland und Saudi-Arabien in der Raumfahrtbranche entwickeln wird.„Russische Trägerraketen haben schon sieben saudiarabische Satelliten auf Umlaufbahnen gebracht“, sagte der russische Präsident am Montag auf einem Wirtschaftsforum in Er Riad.

Putin zufolge ist der Start von sechs weiteren Satelliten geplant.

„Im Grunde genommen gibt es schon eine Schlange nach derartigen Leistungen“, betonte der Präsident.

Er verwies darauf, dass in Europa sogar einige Probleme mit dem Einhalten der Starttermine entstanden seien.

„Der Weltraum ist für uns ein sehr interessanter Bereich“, unterstrich Putin.

„Meines Erachtens wäre auch der Anschluss von Saudi-Arabien an unser globales Navigationssatellitensystem GLONASS, das wir gegenwärtig vorfristig entfalten, eine aussichtsreiche Richtung“, sagte der russische Staatschef.

GLONASS, ein Analog zum amerikanischen GPS, wurde 1993 in Betrieb genommen. Der Gruppierung sollen insgesamt 24 Weltraumapparate angehören. Das System ist sowohl für die Militärs als auch für einfache zivile Nutzer auf dem russischen Territorium bereits beim Vorhandensein von 18 Satelliten auf Erdumlaufbahnen interessant.

[mehr hier]