Russian rocket launch rescheduled

A postponed Russian rocket launch has been rescheduled for Jan. 15, the Russian Space Forces said. The rocket launch was originally Dec. 8, but was postponed to fix malfunctions in the Briz-KM booster, RIA Novosti reported."A state commission resolved at a session on Friday that the launch of the light-class Rokot rocket will be held on Jan. 15," Russian Space Forces spokesman Col. Alexei Zolotukhin said Saturday.

The rocket is a modified version of the Russian RS-18 ballistic missile and uses two original lower stages of the missile along with a Breeze-KM upper-stage for commercial payloads.

Russia has launched 16 Rokots since May 16, 2000. Rokot launches were suspended for about 18 months when a rocket failed to put the Geo-IK-2 military satellite into the designated orbit on Feb. 1, 2011.

For further information visit: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Russian_rocket_launch_rescheduled_999.html

New LandSat Satellite Scheduled for Launch

Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), or LandSat 8, during Observatory Electromagnetic Interference/Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMI/EMC) testing at Orbital Science Corporation's Gilbert, Ariz., location. August, 2012.

The newest LandSat satellite, LandSat 8, has been scheduled for a February 2013 launch. The spacecraft designed, built and tested by Orbital Sciences Corporation will continue the work of NASA and USGS Earth observation programs, extending a 40-year-old legacy in the country.

The satellite weights slightly more than 6,600 pounds and is approximately 20 feet tall with a 9-foot diameter at its widest point. It has four solar panels that will stretch out 32 feet from the satellite.

Once LandSat 8 is operational in its final orbit, Landsat 5, a 28-year-old spacecraft will be decommissioned and taken out of orbit. Its creators expect LandSat 8 to last between five and 10 years, serving different industries such as emergency response and disaster relief, regional planning, education, agriculture, mapping, geology and forestry.

LandSat 8 will more than double the amount of images produced by its predecessor LandSat 7, and feature two new spectral bands that will allow it to detect clouds on coastal zones

For further information visit: http://www.satellitetoday.com/curatedcontent/40264.html?hq_e=el&hq_m=2583683&hq_l=34&hq_v=19744a885d

Expected Sun Storm Threats Satellite Communications

The new generation of satellites will face a hot test next year. Intense solar storms are expected, which means that the number of sunspots will increase massively, causing changes in our planet’s ionosphere – the shell of plasma at the top of our atmosphere.

During these solar events, the star’s irradiance output increases by approximately 0.1 percent. Thus, more heat will be expelled from the sun, which causes the ionosphere to become thicker during the day and cooler during the night. This could in itself cause turbulence that affect radio systems.

This would be the first “solar maximum” for current-generation satellite navigation technology. Scientists are considering the possibility that the changes in the ionosphere could cause problems such as signal delay with GPS and other communication from space.

The European Space Agency is installing monitoring stations all over the globe to keep track of the solar maximum’s effects and consequences for satellite navigation and communications. They will measure variations in GPS signals with more accuracy than existing systems.

For further information visit: http://www.satellitetoday.com/curatedcontent/40253.html?hq_e=el&hq_m=2583683&hq_l=38&hq_v=19744a885d

Expected Sun Storm Threats Satellite Communications

The new generation of satellites will face a hot test next year. Intense solar storms are expected, which means that the number of sunspots will increase massively, causing changes in our planet’s ionosphere – the shell of plasma at the top of our atmosphere.

During these solar events, the star’s irradiance output increases by approximately 0.1 percent. Thus, more heat will be expelled from the sun, which causes the ionosphere to become thicker during the day and cooler during the night. This could in itself cause turbulence that affect radio systems.

This would be the first “solar maximum” for current-generation satellite navigation technology. Scientists are considering the possibility that the changes in the ionosphere could cause problems such as signal delay with GPS and other communication from space.

The European Space Agency is installing monitoring stations all over the globe to keep track of the solar maximum’s effects and consequences for satellite navigation and communications. They will measure variations in GPS signals with more accuracy than existing systems.

For further information visit: http://www.satellitetoday.com/curatedcontent/40253.html?hq_e=el&hq_m=2583683&hq_l=38&hq_v=19744a885d

China eyes greater market share for its GPS rival

China has invested billions of yuan into the development of the BDS and provisions for its services in the Asia-Pacific region. 

China's domestically-produced navigation system aims to take 70 to 80 percent of the now GPS-dominated domestic market by 2020, a spokesman for the system said Thursday. We hope industries based on the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) will hold 15 to 20 percent of the market share by 2015, BDS spokesman Ran Chengqi, also director of the China Satellite Navigation Office, said at a press conference on the official launch of the system.

Ran announced that the BDS began providing positioning, navigation, timing and short message services to civilian users in China and surrounding areas in the Asia-Pacific region on Thursday. Ran said the general functionality and performance of the BDS is "comparable" to the GPS system, but cheaper.He further explained that the BDS open service is currently available and features positioning accuracy of 10 meters, velocity accuracy of 0.2 meters per second and one-way timing accuracy of 50 nanoseconds. The BDS offers more conveniences for navigation system users with equipment that is compatible with multiple navigation systems, as they will no longer have to rely on a single service, said Ran.

A 2011 report said 95 percent of satellite navigation equipment in China relied on GPS services, while industrial statistics show that the total output of China's navigation service sector will top 120 billion yuan (19.2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2012.China has invested billions of yuan into the development of the BDS and provisions for its services in the Asia-Pacific region. This investment is lower than that of the system's counterparts, Ran said. With an eye on the global market in the next ten years, China plans to allocate more than 40 billion yuan for the development of the BDS, a total higher than previous investment, Ran added.

Also on Thursday, the China Satellite Navigation Office issued an Interface Control Document (ICD) for Open Service Signal B1I in both Chinese and English. The beta version of the document was released last year, prior to the system's completion, showing the Chinese government's open attitude toward the worldwide application of the BDS, Ran said.

The beta version also attracted enterprises and experts from both home and abroad to develop the system's core techniques and modules, Ran added."No satellite will be launched in 2013, but starting from 2014, a batch of satellites will be in space," Ran said, adding that around 40 other satellites are expected to be launched when the global system is established in ten years.

BeiDou is the Chinese name for the seven-star cluster known in English as the Big Dipper. China launched the first satellite for the BDS in 2000, and a preliminary version of the system has been used in traffic control, weather forecasting and disaster relief work on a trial basis since 2003.

For further information visit: http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/China_eyes_greater_market_share_for_its_GPS_rival_999.html

Researchers told to ward off navigation system interference

In 1994, the BDS project was approved as one of the country's strategic targets, and a timetable composed of three stages for the development of the BDS took shape. 

A high-ranking military official on Friday urged researchers to properly maintain China's home-grown navigation system so it can provide steady and reliable services for the country's economic development and military combat preparations.

Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, required researchers to beef up the security measures of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) and increase its capacity to ward off interference. The BDS began providing services to civilian users in China and surrounding areas in the Asia-Pacific region on Thursday. The general functionality and performance of the BDS is "comparable" to the GPS system, but cheaper, a spokesman for the system said at a press conference on Thursday. Fan said the system has broken China's reliance on foreign navigation systems and carries great significance in safeguarding national security and promoting economic development.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission on Friday jointly issued a letter congratulating relevant parties on the launch of the BDS.The letter hailed the system's launch as a "milestone" in the cause of the informationization of the country and its military. The success also marks China's great progress in building its own independent navigation system, it said. In the letter, authorities paid respect and extended greetings to the scientists, army officers and staff members involved in the research, production, management and maintenance of the system.

The success of the BDS was gained through the country's efforts in independent innovation, cooperation among different units and the spirit to conquer difficulties and pursue excellence, the letter said. China started its initial research on the system in 1985, and the project is named after the seven-star cluster known in English as the Big Dipper.

It initially encountered some skepticism, as people doubted its necessity, thinking it would be difficult to rival the U.S.-based GPS system. In 1994, the BDS project was approved as one of the country's strategic targets, and a timetable composed of three stages for the development of the BDS took shape. China launched the first satellite for the BDS in 2000, and a preliminary version of the system has been used in traffic control, weather forecasting and disaster relief work on a trial basis since 2003.

At present, the system has over 130,000 military and civilian users, including those in the financial, power, fishery and fire-fighting sectors, and it served as an important means of communication during the relief work following the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake in May 2008 in Sichuan's Wenchuan County. Ran Chengqi, a spokesman for the system, on Thursday said the system aims to take 70 to 80 percent of the now GPS-dominated domestic market by 2020.

For further information visit: http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/Researchers_told_to_ward_off_navigation_system_interference_999.html

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Researchers Use Data from Traffic App to Identify Safety Issues and High Frequency Accident Locations

-- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers reveal that data culled from geosocial networks like the GPS traffic app Waze can help prevent traffic incidents with better deployment of police resources at the most accident prone areas. 

“Only now are we beginning to discover the potential in the huge amount of data collected daily,” explains BGU researcher and Ph.D. student Michael Fire. “Studies of this kind, which monitor events such as traffic accidents over time, can help the police identify dangerous sections of roads in real time, or alternatively, locations where few police are needed.” 

The paper, “Data Mining Opportunities in Geosocial Networks for Improving Road Safety,” was presented at the IEEE 27th Convention of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in Israel. Waze records location data and enables users to upload and share comments on any detail, including traffic alerts, accidents or police presence. According to its Web site, Waze has 30 million worldwide users and describes itself as “a community-based traffic and navigation app whose users share real-time traffic and road info, saving time and gas money.”

Using Waze data and Google Earth, the BGU researchers determined that three-quarters (75 percent) of the locations in Israel with the highest number of accidents were intersections.  They then analyzed references to a police presence to determine if the police were present at the spots that had the worst traffic accidents.

“There were numerous instances where the police were manning quieter intersections, while busier intersections went unmonitored,” Fire explains.  “According to the data, police response time varied from 20 minutes to 40 minutes in some situations.”  

Using Waze, data from May and June 2012 was collected and analyzed on accident reports, police presence, traffic jams, and speed traps.  BGU researchers identified 579 different locations in Israel that had at least five reoccurring accidents during this time where 5,156 reported accidents occurred.  Police were reported at least 15 times at more than 3,500 locations. 

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion's vision, creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University's expertise locally and around the globe. With some 20,000 students on campuses in Beer-Sheva, Sede Boqer and Eilat in Israel’s southern desert, BGU is a university with a conscience, where the highest academic standards are integrated with community involvement, committed to sustainable development of the Negev.  AABGU is headquartered in Manhattan and has nine regional offices throughout the U.S. For more information, please visit www.aabgu.org.

For further information visit: http://www10.giscafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=CorpNews&articleid=1149480&printerfriendly=1