Richard B. Langley

The two BeiDou-2/Compass satellites launched on April 29 became active on May 6. Several tracking stations in the Asia/Pacific area began tracking the satellites at about 08:00 UTC.

Proposals made at a December 27 Moscow meeting on the status and future of the satellite constellation included one to expand the GLONASS constellation to 30 satellites using six orbital planes. Five other options for upgrading the constellation were also aired.

A press conference on the Beidou/Compass navigation system was held at the State Council Information Office in Beijing December 27 to announce the official start of operational positioning, navigation, and timing services to China and surrounding areas and the public release of a "beta" or test...more >>

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, has launched the Luch-5A geostationary relay satellite. The satellite was propelled into space on a Proton-M rocket with a Breeze-M upper stage from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sunday, December 11, at 11:17 UTC. Luch-5A was accompanied by the Israeli Amos-5...more >>

For the first time in more than 15 years, GLONASS is fully operational, with 24 satellites in their designated orbital slots, set healthy, and providing world coverage.

Orbit Data and Resources on Active GNSS Satellites

The first two satellites for Europe’s Galileo global navigation satellite system were lofted into orbit October 21 by the first Russian Soyuz vehicle ever launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana in a milestone mission, reports the European Space Agency (ESA). The launch occurred one...more >>

The second GPS Block IIF satellite, SVN63/PRN01, was finally set healthy on October 14, after operators switched from a poorly functioning cesium clock onboard the satellite to a rubidium clock.

Multipath is real and omnipresent, a detriment when GPS is used for positioning, navigation, and timing. The authors look at a technique to reduce multipath by using a pair of antennas on a moving vehicle together with a sophisticated mathematical model. This reduces the level of multipath on...more >>

The launch of the Indian geostationary communications satellite, GSAT-8, on an Arianespace rocket from Kourou, French Guyana, has been postponed for one day due to additional inspections of the rocket and its payloads. The launch is now scheduled for May 21 at 02:08 Indian Standard Time or May 20...more >>