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Included
in this Newsletter:
(click on hyperlinks below to jump to news items)
1)
Galileo Gets the Green Light!
A)
Editorial
article by John Beukers, "European Union Moves Ahead
on
Galileo Project"
B)
Prof. Vidal Ashkenazi's "Galileo: Friend or Foe?"
February 28 presentation
C)
"Galileo Takes Off" - link to Genesis Office for
Galileo newsletter subscriptions
2)
2001 Federal Radionavigation Plan (FRP) is Released
A)
Link to the official release notice from U.S. Sec. of
Transportation Norman
Mineta
and U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
B)
Link to the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center notice
C)
Editorial article by John Beukers, "DOT Commits to a Loran
Decision"
3)
Register for Navtech's June Courses in Annapolis!
4)
New GPS Developments from Global Locate
5)
PLANS 2002 Meeting
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1) Galileo Gets the Green
Light!
A)
Editorial article by John Beukers, "European Union
Moves Ahead on Galileo
Project"
European Union Moves
Ahead on Galileo Project
After months of wrangling and indecision
the European Union transport ministers have finally
approved funding to match that of the European Space
Agency giving a green light to the Galileo project, the
European equivalent of the United States Global
Positioning System (GPS).
The project’s justification is founded
on economic grounds but not to be discounted is Europe’s
desire to become independent of the United States for
satellite positioning and timing services. Further,
European ministers look at Galileo in much the same light
as the Ariane launcher and Airbus industry projects that
have provided a technological base for economic growth.
But the technological and implementation
aspects are confused and not without question. The claim
that Galileo will be more accurate than the free GPS
service and there will be added Galileo user benefits is a
thin veil to justify user fees. The pronounced fear that
the United States will suddenly apply user fees is without
foundation and is, in any case, logistically unworkable.
The rhetoric on the U.S. side is equally
voracious. That we don’t need Galileo is false, there
are insufficient satellites in the GPS constellation to
provide the required availability, especially at high
latitudes. That Galileo will interfere with GPS has yet to
be ascertained and demonstrated.
Missing in the European dialogue is any
reference to Galileo vulnerability and the need for
complementary terrestrial systems. In fact, Galileo is
cited as being a backup to GPS, an argument that seems to
contradict Galileo’s place as the primary positioning
and timing system for Europe. Is GPS to be the Galileo’s
backup?
The good news is that Europe is going
ahead with a much-needed second constellation (GLONASS
appears to have died, at least temporarily) to provide the
future GNSS. We should all benefit from Galileo and the
United States must learn to build on this new utility even
if it means developing a jamming capability for selective
denial to our enemies.
The major challenge for the European
consortium building and launching Galileo is the ambitious
schedule. As PriceWaterhouseCoopers has stated, missing
the 2008 window for operation will have a significant
impact on potential revenue with the modernized GPS system
providing the planned Galileo enhancements.
John Beukers
March 27, 2002
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| B)
Prof. Vidal Ashkenazi's "Galileo: Friend or
Foe?" February 28 presentation
Prof. Vidal Ashkenazi of Nottingham
Scientific Ltd. (U.K.) gave a presentation "Galileo:
Friend or Foe?" at the Department of Commerce on
February 28 in Washington, D.C. Ashkenazi's remarks
focused on the user perspective with regard to GPS and
Galileo.
To see a reduced version of his
presentation in PDF format, click HERE.
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To
view the file, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Click the Adobe icon on the left to
download the latest version from Adobe's Web site. |
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| C)
"Galileo Takes Off" - link to Genesis Office for
Galileo newsletter subscriptions
A very detailed newsletter entitled
"Galileo Takes Off" was recently published by
the Genesis Office regarding the March 26 decision to
launch the Galileo program. Click HERE
to subscribe to their informative Galileo newsletter. |
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2) 2001 Federal
Radionavigation Plan (FRP) is Released
A)
Link to the official release notice from U.S. Sec. of
Transportation Norman Mineta and U.S. Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld: www.dot.gov/affairs/dot03102.htm
B)
Link to the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center notice:
www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/frp2001
C)
Editorial article by John Beukers, "DOT Commits to a Loran
Decision"
DOT Commits to a Loran Decision
The March 26, 2002 press release from the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the release of the
2001 Federal Radionavigation Plan and confirmed that a decision
will be made in 2002 whether to include the Loran-C system in
the future mix of federally provided radionavigation systems.
Ever since Loran-C was selected by the DOT as
the radionavigation system for use in the Coastal Confluence
Zone (CCZ) in 1974 it has been on a roller coaster for survival.
Before Secretary of Transportation, Brinegar’s signature was
dry the General Accounting Office was hounding the Coast Guard
to cease and desist on all Loran-C work and shut the system down
by 1990. But in defiance and by user demand the FAA jumped in
and funded Loran-C coverage expansion to cover the
"mid-continent Gap". Then in 1992 the Federal
Radionavigation Plan (FRP) stated that Loran-C would remain as a
component of the radionavigation mix until 2015. Several months
later, in a sea change of policy, the Coast Guard leaked that it
would no longer support the FRP statement. It was no surprise
then that the 1994 FRP stated that Loran-C would be terminated
in 2000.
By the mid 1990s the vulnerability of
satellite transmissions for positioning and timing became an
issue that had to be addressed and culminated in the September
10, 2001 release of the Volpe National Transportation System
Center’s report on its study of GPS vulnerability. The
horrific events of the following day injected real meaning into
the findings of the Volpe study. The terrorist attack on the
United States has galvanized the Administration into action
requiring that all government agencies address the provision of
alternative systems or procedures to maintain essential services
in the event of GPS becoming unavailable.
In the meantime, for the past five years,
Congress has seen fit to appropriate funding to re-capitalize
and upgrade the entire U.S. Loran-C infrastructure that is now
well under way. The year 2000 came and went with Loran-C
continuing to transmit with substantial improvement in signal
quality and continuity. The 1999 FRP was issued in 2001 stating
that Loran-C transmissions would continue, "in the
short-term while the long-term requirement of the system was
being assessed."
The loran language included in the 2001 FRP
released on March 26, 2002 remains the same but there are
indications that the loran language in the 2003 FRP will be
substantially different. With the commitment to make a decision
on the future of the Loran-C system in 2002 it goes without
saying that yet another Loran-C pronouncement will be
forthcoming in the 2003 FRP.
To obtain the unconditional and full benefits
of GPS the system needs to be underpinned. Apart from aviation
specific systems (ILS, DME), Loran-C is the only terrestrial
system that can provide a GPS look-alike service covering all
modes of transportation and a means of distribution of precise
time. In addition, as has recently been demonstrated by the FAA,
the Loran-C data communications channel has the potential of
providing an alternative means of transmission of the WAAS
correction and integrity message.
A DOT task force has been assembled to
deliberate and recommend to the Administration what the future
mix of radionavigation systems should be and is already in
action. Hopefully the work of this group will soon be completed
and the outcome publicly disseminated without delay. As a long
time advocate of the Loran-C system to complement GPS it is my
hope that the greatly improved Loran-C technology can be applied
to overcoming GPS vulnerability restrictions.
And in Europe, after months of dissention and
indecision, on March 18, 2002 the European Union released $484
million to match a similar contribution by the European Space
Agency to proceed with the European GPS equivalent, Galileo. The
political and economic fallout together with European
justification for an alterative to GPS is another story.
John Beukers
March 27, 2002
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...and
be sure to book your hotel room by May 25!
Navtech's
Courses in Annapolis, Maryland June 17-21, 2002
HOTEL INFO:
All of Navtech's June public courses will be held at:
Sheraton Barcelo Hotel
173 Jennifer Road
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Tel (410) 266-3131
Fax (410) 266-6247
www.sheraton.com
Call
by May 25, 2002 and ask for the Navtech room block.
After
this date, rooms are offered on a space available basis.
$90
+ 12% tax for everyone (2nd person in same room is $10 per day).
Rooms
must be guaranteed.
Hotel
has a 24 hour cancellation policy.
This beautiful hotel is conveniently located off Rt. 50 near
major restaurants and shopping (Nordstrom anchored). It is a 5
minute drive from the Annapolis waterfront, and a free shuttle
is provided by the hotel to take you there. Indoor pool,
exercise room, lovely sleeping rooms and meeting space. You'll
enjoy great seafood restaurants in this quaint colonial seaport
town on the Chesapeake Bay. This recently renovated hotel, is 45
minutes (at most) from downtown Washington, DC - also a great
family venue!
In Annapolis, you can see: Chesapeake Bay, Maryland State
Capitol, US Naval Academy, St. John’s College, Colonial homes,
Rent a boat at the marina, Unique shops.
Fly to Baltimore-Washington International (BWI), only 25
minutes from Annapolis, for less expensive flights than those to
Washington Reagan (DCA) (45 minutes) or Dulles International (IAD)(1.5
hrs.) This is a full service, recently renovated hotel with free
parking.
Note: you may mix and match our courses. The maximum total
course fee for attending multiple sequential courses within one
week is $2095.
The five courses
to be presented in Annapolis are:
I) Course
100: Basics of GPS (June 17) - same as Day 1 of Course
135
II) Course
135: Practical GPS for Professional Users (June 17-19)
III) Course
218: Indoor GPS - Wireless Aiding & Low SNR Detection (June
20)
IV) Course
447: Applied Kalman Filtering (June 17-21)
V) Course
536: Advanced Integration of GPS and INS (June 18-20)
Equipment Demo Scheduled:
Franck Boynton, Vice President of Navtech GPS Supply, will be
giving an equipment demonstration Tuesday night, June 18, 2002.
Some of the equipment to be demonstrated in Annapolis will
include:
- CSI DGPS Max which features 300KHz beacon receiver, WAAS
and OmniStar.
- Ashtech ProMark2 L1 cm. level post processing receiver
- Various hand held GPS from Garmin, Magellan and Lowrance
Other equipment will be present and can be shown upon
request.
These include:
- CMC NaviStar
- Rojone Genius 1
- and other receivers
To browse our course outlines and for specific information
about course locations, our 2002 schedule, or to register
on-line, click HERE.
Our paper catalog was mailed in early January. To subscribe
to our mailing list to receive our paper catalog of courses,
click HERE.
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4)
New GPS Developments from Global Locate
Go to www.globallocate.com
to see the latest two press releases on the following topics:
- Global Locate Developer Program Aids E911 Solutions:
Worldwide Reference Network Fully Operational; Aids Wireless
Developers
"SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 20, 2002 – Global Locate,
Inc. announced today that its Developer Program and Worldwide
Reference Network™ (WWRN) are available to provide E911
solutions for wireless carriers and manufacturers..."
- Fujitsu Microelectronics and Global Locate Introduce
GL-16000 IC for Wireless Global Positioning System
Applications: Companies will Co-Brand Low-power Baseband
Processor in New Stage of Ongoing Collaboration
"San Jose, Calif. – Feb. 26, 2002 – Fujitsu
Microelectronics America, Inc. (FMA) and Global Locate Inc., a
leading developer of wireless location technology, today
jointly introduced a fast, low-power receiver that lets
wireless phones receive GPS satellite signals indoors..."
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5)
PLANS 2002 Meeting
PLANS 2002 focuses on electronic system technologies and
applications which are operationally important now, and on those
new developments that will affect the future use of navigation.
The Symposium will be held at the Doral in Palm Springs from
April 15th through April 18th, 2002. http://www.plans-ieee.org.
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SEND
US YOUR NEWS ITEMS, WITH SOURCES!
Carolyn McDonald, Editor
cmcdonald@navtechgps.com
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you for subscribing to our news update emails.
We hope the information will be useful to you!
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