Eric D. Colburn, PLS

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News: USAF Begins Test  Satellite GPS IIF Transmission of L5 Signal

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, El Segundo, Calif. – Officials from the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Global Positioning Systems Wing announced that the first GPS IIF satellite, launched May 27, 2010, has begun test transmissions of the new Safety-of-Life (L5) navigation signal.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News: Air Force Upgrades GPS Constellation

SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — The 2nd and 19th Space Operations Squadron will soon take control of the Air Force’s newest GPS satellite following its tentative launch into orbit May 27 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

The GPS IIF SV-1 satellite represents a substantial upgrade for the GPS constellation. Thanks to improvements with the cesium-based atomic clocks used for timing, the IIF is expected to provide more accurate navigation signals than those of its predecessors.

The new IIF satellite will also broadcast two new signals: a jam resistant military code signal and a third civil signal known as the L5.

This latest addition is part of an ongoing modernization effort for the GPS constellation by the Air Force.

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New England Section ACSM - To promote geomatics education and to advocate for the advancement of surveying and mapping in New England.

GNSS Positioning Short Course Sponsored by New England Section ACSM and CALS

The New England Section ACSM and CALS are proud to present a GNSS Positioning Short Course offered on five consecutive Saturdays this summer starting on July 10, 2010 and ending on August 7, 2010. Each Saturday class begins at 8 am and ends at noon, and will be held at the University of Connecticut located in Storrs, Connecticut.

Summary:

This course will present the foundation information needed for a GNSS positioning professional to understand how their equipment works, with guidance to its proper usage. It is not a course on GNSS processing software or GNSS orthometric heighting.

Preparation:

Attendees are expected to be familiar with the operation of GNSS positioning equipment and to be proficient in surveying and mapping. Although the course will start with the basics of GNSS technologies, some prior knowledge of GNSS technology is assumed because of the speed of the presentation.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News: GeoEye Receives U.S. Government Contract Award for New Web Mapping Service

GeoEye, Inc., announced this week that it has signed a modification to a contract with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to provide Web mapping services under the NGA’s Rapid Delivery of Online GEOINT (RDOG) program. This contract modification was made so that GeoEye can provide for Rapid Delivery of High-Resolution Commercial Satellite Imagery to Department of Defense Users.

GeoEye reports that this Web hosting and dissemination contract modification is in addition to ongoing production work being done under the RDOG contract originally awarded in June 2009 and under GeoEye’s Service Level Agreement with the NGA.

About GeoEye Read the rest of this entry →

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News: GeoTagging is Illegal in China

Today I found this interesting article by Expert Reviews, which reveals that the Communist China Government has made GeoTagging illegal. This is a fascinating story and union of two unlikely pairings – a camera review and surveying in China.

It seems that Expert Reviews was, well, doing an expert review on the Leica V-LUX 20 Geo-Tagging camera when they found out that the GPS features of this camera may not work in China. Surprised by this, they looked into it more and are reporting that the “Chinese government has made such devices illegal for use.”

Why is GeoTagging Illegal in China? Read the rest of this entry →

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News-PPI Adds New Topcon Precision Mobile 3D Mapping and Survey System.

Here’s some recent news about one company, the PPI Group, that is using cutting edge surveying and mapping solutions for infrastructure and mapping projects. To do this they are using Topcon’s vehicle-mounted, mobile 3D precision mobile mapping and survey system, the Topcon IP-S2.

Since 1927, the PPI Group has served the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and GIS industries of the Pacific Northwest. They offer complete field to finish solutions, technology leadership to solve business challenges, and more than 80 years of hands-on experience. The PPI Group is one of the largest survey and construction supply companies on the West Coast and an authorized dealer of Topcon equipment and Autodesk software solutions.

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A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket lifts off with the NASA/NOAA GOES-P from Space Launch Complex-37 at 6:57 p.m. EST. High resolution (Credit: The Boeing Company)

Here’s a news article from earlier this month that I missed, but thought was interesting. Besides, the picture of the rocket taking off is pretty cool, too!

Newest NOAA Geostationary Satellite Reaches Orbit

GOES-P has improved severe weather, solar storm detection capabilities

March 4, 2010

NOAA and NASA officials announced a new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), launched tonight, successfully reached its initial orbit, joining four other GOES spacecraft that help NOAA forecasters track life-threatening weather and solar activity.

The new satellite, GOES-P, lifted off at 6:57 pm EST from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and separated from the launch vehicle at11:18 pm EST. The first signal from the satellite was captured at the same time.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

MAPPS Seeks Legislation in Congress to Authorize “Imagery for the Nation” “Making America Prosperous (MAP) Act” Would Create National Geospatial Image Maps

A bill to authorize the program known within the geospatial community as “Imagery for the Nation” is being presented for introduction in Congress, MAPPS announced today.

“‘Map it once, use it many times’ is not only a mantra in the geospatial community, but it is technologically feasible through the use of satellite and aerial imagery and geographic information systems. To save tax dollars, create private sector jobs, and provide baseline geographic data for economic development and a variety of other applications beneficial to government programs and private business and investment, MAPPS is urging Congress to authorize and fund a program of geospatial image maps of the United States through a bill known as the Making America Prosperous Act, or MAP Act,” said Jeff Lovin, PS,CP, (Woolpert, Inc, Dayton, OH) MAPPS President.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Yesterday, January 18, 2009, Reuters India reported from Beijing, China that over the past weekend China launched the third BeiDou (Big Dipper) or Compass satellite in an effort to build its own global satellite positioning (GPS) system. This latest satellite is part of  a proposed constellation of 35 Chinese GPS satellites to be in orbit by the year 2020.

China is competing in space with the United States and Russia, and in addition to these BeiDou or COMPASS satellites also has plans to land on the Moon in 2012. While this instills a great deal of national pride within China, and is increasing the prominence of China in the space arena, this initiative and the overall China space program has alarmed some western counterparts. Within the region, rival India, in response to China’s space ambitions, is now working to increase India’s space program.

As reported, the China BeiDou or COMPASS GPS network will provide the following services:

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Brussels, 7 January 2010

Commission awards major contracts to make Galileo operational early 2014

The European Commission announced today the award of three of the six contracts for the procurement of Galileo’s initial operational capability. The contract for the system support services is awarded to ThalesAleniaSpace of Italy , that for a first order of 14 satellites to OHB System AG of Germany and that for the launch services to Arianespace of France. This will allow the initial deployment and service provision of Europe’s satellite navigation system as of early 2014.

Antonio Tajani, European Commission Vice-President in charge of Transport, said: “With this and the upcoming awards for the remaining procurement packages, we are concluding a critical phase of the Galileo programme. We can now focus on the actual roll-out and demonstrate to European citizens that Europe’s own satellite navigation system is firmly underway”.

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