Posted on 09/26/2005 6:29:43 PM PDT by LibWhacker
The most advanced navigation satellite yet developed was launched on Sunday. It is the first in a new fleet of Global Positioning System spacecraft designed to help commercial users and the US military pinpoint their locations and targets with greater accuracy.
The $75 million satellite was launched on a Boeing Delta 2 rocket at 2337 EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US. Over the next few days, it will deploy its solar panels and antennae and fire an onboard rocket to reach its final orbit, about 18,000 kilometres above the Earth.
It joins an existing network of 28 GPS satellites that enable users to determine their location to within a few metres. But the new satellite, the first of eight GPS IIR satellites built by Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, Maryland, US, aims to improve the precision of the GPS system.
The new spacecraft carries a beefed-up antenna panel, providing a stronger signal to ground users, as well as three entirely new signals. Two will help the US military prevent its GPS signals on ground vehicles, aircraft and ships from being jammed and also improve the accuracy of GPS-guided "smart weapons".
Navigation errors
The third new signal will be a second frequency for civilian users, reducing the navigation errors caused by the layer of charged particles in the Earth's upper atmosphere.
"This is a pretty huge step," said Air Force Colonel Allan Ballenger, head of the GPS programme office, speaking to the Associated Press. "The military has been using two frequencies from day one of GPS. This will be first time that we are adding a second frequency for civilian users."
The Air Force is expected to launch three more GPS IIR satellites in 2006. Then, in 2007, the first of 12 even more advanced spacecraft will launch. Those satellites, called GPS IIF, will be built by Boeing and will offer a third civilian signal for use in aircraft.
Europe is planning a non-military network to rival GPS. The first Galileo satellites began ground tests in August and are due to launch in December from Baikonur in Kazakhstan.
What was launched from Edwards last week? More interesting I'de bet.
I don't think anything was launched into space from Edwards last week.
Vandenberg had a launch - think it was DARPA related.
Nest week a magma-genesis satellite goes up ....Mt Fuji is about to go boom-boom!
Tinfoil hat off.
"Vandenberg had a launch"
Thanks.
Land surveyors will be pleased to have this new system online. Others who don't need to know their geographic coordinates to a couple centimeters are already okay.
Damn, I wonder if this means my GPS units are obsolete?
Check this link
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1489136/posts
I think that there are also some agricultural users. Primarily to control and track application of fertilizer, pesticide, seed. Trimble I think has been serving that market.
That's right. They put GPS on farm equipment. It makes sense.
In archaeological surveying and site data recording, I need all the accuracy/resolution I can get. Looks like I'll be trading in my SportTrak Topo for a new unit soon.
However, I may wait until the new generation of big flash memories is applied to palmtops. Then I will be able to load detailed topo maps onto the palmtop, and use a separate IIR GPS unit that communicates with the palmtop via Bluetooth.
Now the best I can do is use my (WAAS-enhanced) GPS connected via cable to my laptop to get 3-meter mapping accuracy...
Gotta love technology: what you spend a bundle on is already obsolete -- almost before you get a chance to use it... :-(
GPS is fabulous, it never ceases to amaze me.
I guess our missiles will become even more accurate now.
"I guess our missiles will become even more accurate now."
So instead of hitting the ventilation shaft, they can pick the left eye or the right eye of Abdul.
Yep. At present, I'm working on a "road atlas" of early trails and traces via which Texans in the pre-Republic and Republic of Texas eras traveled around northeastern Texas.
I use a huge collection of historic maps -- digitally matched to modern topo maps using IR DOQQs (IR aerial photos covering a quarter of a USGS 7.5 minute quad map) as intermediaries. I do what I can from my desktop, (quite a bit, actually) then head into the field with the GPS. ( In many cases, vestiges of the old roads are still visible on (suitably enhanced) aerial photos.)
Last Sunday afternoon, for grins, I mapped-in a now-vanished (8-mile long) narrow-gauge railway line from Atlanta, TX to Bloomburg, TX for some folks who are intererested in creating a "Dummy Line" RR museum.
(They called it the "Dummy" line -- because it was mute -- no whistle...)
TXnMA
Texas Archeological Stewards Network
(Yes, the official Texas spelling is without the "ae" diphthong...)
Good for them, everything to be safe and functional. Great stuff.
OK, but substitute "gonad" for "eye".....
Now that is truly cool. My hat is off to you.
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