Wow that was a busy week with respect to GNSS launches. The week was started by the GPS system launching its 9th block IIF satellite on March 25. It was followed by the second Galileo FOC launch on March 30. There was quite some anxiety about the Galileo launch as the first FOC launch did put the two GALILEO satellites in a wrong orbit due to an issue with the fregat upper stage. The week was completed by a very secretive BeiDou launch by the Chinese.

The GPS launch is basically just a continuation of the IIF launches and from that point of view nothing new. But of course very important to keep the GPS constellation alive and kicking.

The Galileo and BeiDou launch are certainly more interesting. For Galileo although being the second FOC launch it is actually the first as the initial launch resulted in the satellites ending up in the wrong orbits. And although the orbits have been adjusted they are still very far from nominal. So these will be the first Galileo FOC satellites in their nominal orbit.

The BeiDou satellite, although very little is known about it, seems to be the first satellite of what is called the phase III in the BeiDou programme. This means that the signals of this satellite will be completely different from the previously launched BeiDou satellites. For both the B1 and B2 signals the frequency is now slightly different, i.e., bringing B1 to the same frequency as used by the GPS L1 signals and the Galileo E1 signals. The change of the B2 signal frequency makes it use the identical frequency as the Galileo E5 signal.

The GPS IIF already started to transmit its first signals and will be included in the products of the International GNSS Service very soon. When the first signals of the other two satellites may be expected is unclear. But if they come they will be much more exiting!

I am at least very much looking forward to them!

Labels: BeiDou, Galileo, GNSS, GPS, Launch

The first two GALILEO In Orbit Validation (IOV) satellites have been launched successfully from the European Space Port in Kourou, French Guyana, on Friday October 21, 2011. This launch was a double success as besides being the very first true GALILEO launch it was also the first launch of a Soyuz rocket from Kourou. Despite all these "firsts", which is always a bit exciting in the aerospace industry, everything worked picture prefect. The satellites were injected into the planned orbits.

The satellite are now in what is called the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP). Currently the satellites are slowly drifting towards their orbital positions and therefore also drifting apart. To get their relative positions correct the two satellites will have to be separated by 40 degrees in their argument of latitude. This will take a couple of days of "drifting" to accomplish. After this drifting phase both satellites will make a number of small manoeuvres to get into their nominal orbit position with very high accuracy. Once in their nominal orbits the GALILEO satellites are expected to need at most one station keeping manoeuvre in their nominal life time of 20 years.

At long last Europe has become one of the players in the GNSS field! Personally I am very much looking forward to working with the first observational data of these brand new satellites which mark a new era for the GNSS industry.

Labels: Galileo, GNSS, IOV, Launch

The GALILEO IOV launch has been delayed by 24 hours. No information on the cause if this delay. Will keep you posted!

Labels: Galileo, IOV, Launch

At long last the launch of the first two real GALILEO satellites is near. This Thursday, October 20, 2011, the first real GALILEO satellites will be launched. This phase of the GALILEO developments is called the "IOV" phase which stands for "In Orbit Validation".

An interesting feature of this launch is that although it is from Kourou it is not with an Arianne launcher. The launch is with a Soyuz rocket and this is actually the very first Soyuz launch from Kourou. So a number of firsts are coming together, so lets keep our fingers crossed that all goes smooth!

For detailed information please look at the ESA web-site.
Special ESA IOV website.

Live coverage of launch will be supplied on the ESA website and a number of other websites, e.g., European parlement and DLR Oberpfaffenhofen

GALILEO IOV Artist Impression Picture from European Space Agency (ESA)

Labels: Galileo, IOV, Launch

Today, 27-April-2008, Giove-B was launched succesfully!

You can watch the launch at:
http://www.videocorner.tv/giove-b/popup.html

The Giove-B satellite, which weight is only 500 kg, was lofted into a medium altitude orbit around the earth by a Soyuz/Fregat rocket departing from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan by launch operator Starsem. Lift-off occurred at 04:16 local time on 27 April (00:16 Central European Summer Time). The Fregat upper stage performed a series of manoeuvres to reach a circular orbit at an altitude of about 23,200 km, inclined at 56 degrees to the Equator, before safely delivering the satellite into orbit some 3 hours and 45 minutes later. The two solar panels that generate electricity to power the spacecraft deployed correctly and were fully operational by 05:28 CEST.

Giove-B will continue the demonstration of critical technologies for the navigation payload of the future operational Galileo satellites. Like Giove-A, Giove-B carries two redundant small-size rubidium atomic clocks, each with a stability of 10 nanoseconds per day. But it also features an even more accurate payload: the Passive Hydrogen Maser (PHM), with stability better than 1 nanosecond per day. The first of its kind ever to be launched into space, this is now the most stable clock operating in earth orbit.

GIOVE-B also incorporates a radiation-monitoring payload to characterise the space environment at the altitude of the Galileo constellation, as well as a laser retroreflector for high-accuracy laser ranging. Signal generation units will provide representative Galileo signals on three separate frequencies broadcast via an L-band phase array antenna designed to entirely cover the visible earth below the satellite. The satellite is now under the control of Telespazio's spacecraft operations centre in Fucino, Italy, and in-orbit checking-out of the satellite has begun.

The next step in the Galileo programme will be the launch of the first four operational satellites, to validate the basic Galileo space and related ground segment, by 2010. Once that In-Orbit Validation (IOV) phase is completed, the remaining satellites will be launched and deployed to reach the Full Operational Capability (FOC), a constellation of 30 identical satellites.

Galileo will be Europe's very own global navigation satellite system, providing a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civil control. It will be interoperable with the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russia's GLONASS, the two other global satellite navigation systems. Galileo will deliver real-time positioning accuracy down to the metre range with unrivalled integrity. Numerous applications are planned for Galileo, including positioning and derived value-added services for transport by road, rail, air and sea, fisheries and agriculture, oil-prospecting, civil protection, building, public works and telecommunications.

I am looking forward to the first real observations from Giove-B and to compute its first accurate orbit and especially accurate clock corrections. The passive hydrogen maser is the real "special" that Giove-B offers. Accurate clocks in space may offer a substantial benefit in all areas of GNSS. For the work I do, high precission GNSS at the mm level, I hope that the accurate Galileo clocks will offer an accuracy improvement of a factor of at least two, maybe more....

As soon as I have some first results I will post a new Blog here.

For more general info on Giove-B and Galileo have a look at:
http://www.esa.int/esaNA/galileo.html

Labels: ESA, Galileo, Giove, Launch