Global navigation satellite system (GNSS)

Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is a general term describing any satellite constellation that
provides positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services on a global or regional basis.

The initial motivation for a satellite system was for military applications, but it has now progressed to
more extensive civil applications, including the following:
 Aviation
 Disaster warning and emergency response
 Land transportation
 Maritime
 Mapping and surveying
 Monitoring of the environment
 Precision agriculture
 Natural resources management
 Research, such as climate change and ionospheric studies
 Wireless networking
 Photographic geocoding
 Mobile satellite communications
 Precise time reference
 Military precision-guided munitions

While GPS is the most prevalent GNSS, other nations are fielding, or have fielded, their own systems to
provide complementary, independent PNT capability. The main ones are described below.

GNSS can also refer to augmentation systems, but there are too many international augmentations to
list here.

BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)

BeiDou, or BDS, is a regional GNSS owned and operated by the People's Republic of China. China is
currently expanding the system to provide global coverage with 35 satellites by 2020. BDS was
previously called Compass.

Galileo

Galileo is a global GNSS owned and operated by the European Union. The EU declared the start of
Galileo Initial Services in 2016 and plans to complete the system of 24+ satellites by 2020.

GLONASS

GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema, or Global Navigation Satellite System) is a

global GNSS owned and operated by the Russian Federation. The fully operational system consists of
24+ satellites.
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) / Navigation Indian Constellation (NavIC)

IRNSS is a regional GNSS owned and operated by the Government of India. IRNSS is an autonomous
system designed to cover the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. The system
consists of 7 satellites and should be declared operational in 2018. In 2016, India renamed IRNSS as the
Navigation Indian Constellation (NavIC, meaning "sailor" or "navigator").

Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS)

QZSS is a regional GNSS owned by the Government of Japan and operated by QZS System Service Inc.
(QSS). QZSS complements GPS to improve coverage in East Asia and Oceania. Japan plans to have an
operational constellation of 4 satellites by 2018 and expand it to 7 satellites for autonomous capability
by 2023.

Maritime Satellite

The global supply chain of all food/ water/ other supplies is enabled by merchant shipping on all oceans
around the world. Thousands of vessels rely on unrivalled end-to-end service availability and coverage
for operational communications, safety services provided by satellites and for crew welfare. While
maritime satellite links are in L-band, all the feeder links are in the lower C-band 3.4 - 3.6 GHz.

Communications often need to be maintained over wide areas of the globe, for example, for ships,
aircraft and people on the move. This requires global 'mobile' or 'on the halt' communications coverage
all around the world. Satellite communications are now fitted as standard to 98% of merchant vessels.

MARITIME SATELLITE COMMUNICATION

Commercial, cruise and naval vessels require broadband satellite communications solutions that deliver
24×7 ship-to-shore connectivity.

Commercial vessels, such as container ships and oil tankers, require reliable satellite communications to
stay connected to their main offices, and to support crew welfare activities. Common applications
include voice and fax services, corporate networking, Internet connectivity and real-time video.

Navies have higher bandwidth needs to support mission-critical applications such as real-time
operational Command & Control and tactical data, intelligence gathering, remote equipment monitoring
and live surveillance.

In all of these scenarios, maritime VSAT solutions must be able to ensure global coverage and maximum
system availability, even under the harshest weather and operational conditions.

Application

 Observing the changes of sea level,

  Dredging operations,

 Wrecks location,

 Laying pipe lines,

 Search and Rescue of sinking vessels,

 Dynamic positioning,

 Positioning of oil rigs and

 Fixing of satellite sea launch platforms.

How it works

Mobile satellite systems preserve the lives of seafarers, enabling ship to shore communications as
well as contributing to the safety of navigation and the vessel itself by enhancing situational
awareness. Downloading navigation chart updates over mobile broadband can be achieved via
satellite, in addition to exchanging voyage, fuel consumption, weather and other business process
data with shore. Mobile satellite communications for ships also enable proper reporting for ships
and trawlers who are required to comply with fishing quotas.

Ship tracking and security/anti-piracy capabilities are already advanced through satellite with
numerous commercial operators already playing a very active role in protecting the commercial
interests of the ship operators through optimised routing. Thanks to satellites one can obtain ship
position, receive safety advisory messages, and communicate, including emergency calls, request
support from air and receive support to anti-piracy actions.

Satellite constellation (satellite swarm)

A satellite constellation, also called a satellite swarm, is a system of satellites that work together to
achieve a single purpose. For some purposes, a single satellite is fine. However, where constant contact
with a point on the globe or instant global communication is required, a network of satellites may be
needed to avoid latency and breaks in communication. Depending upon how high above Earth the
satellite orbits, breaks can happen if a single communication point as it goes over the horizon and the
planet blocks the signal. To ensure that a satellite for a given purpose is in contact at all times requires,
more satellites must be deployed in orbit.

Most communications satellite constellations are geosynchronous, which means they are parked in an
orbit above the equator at an altitude synchronized with the rotation of the earth below. Although the
satellites appear to reside in the same location in the sky at all times, there is really a round-trip delay of
a bit more than a half-second, and this latency can cause frustration for those trying to communicate in
real time. Deploying multiple satellites to overlap coverage can prevent latency.

In December of 2016, NASA launched a constellation of micro-satellites from an airliner. The

constellation, which is called the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, measures surface winds at
the center of tropical cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons. Other uses for satellite constellations
include telecommunications, tracking and location awareness systems, government and military
monitoring and espionage. Examples include direct broadcast satellite (DBS) systems, Global Positioning
Systems (GPS'), the Russian Federation's Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) and satellite-
based Lidar.

Satellite constellations are also being used for broadband internet and satellite phone and cellular
phone networks. Although the performance doesn't yet match that of contemporary landlines, in
situations where satellite-based networking may be the only option for those without access to
terrestrial wired or wireless services, the compromises involved can be more than tolerable.

Navigation Satellites
GLONASS

GLONASS is a space-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that provides reliable positioning,
navigation, and timing services to users on a continuous worldwide basis freely available to all. GLONASS
receivers compute their position in the GLONASS Reference System using satellite technology and based
on triangulation principles. It is an alternative and complementary to other GNSS systems such as the
United States' Global Positioning System (GPS), the Chinese BeiDou navigation system or the
planned Galileo positioning system of the European Union (EU).

 How is GLONASS different from GPS?

GPS developed by USA has a network of 31 satellites covering this planet and has been widely used in
commercial devices like mobile phones, navigators etc.
GLONASS is developed by Russia originally started by Soviet Union in 1976. This has a network of 24
satellites covering the earth.

 Advantage of GLONASS over GPS (GLONASS Vs GPS)

There is no clear advantage other than accuracy over GPS. When used alone GLONASS doesn’t have that
strong coverage as GPS has, but when both used together certainly increases accuracy with coverage.
And it is more useful in northern latitudes as Russia started GLONASS originally for Russia.

The accuracy is an advantage of GLONASS with up-to 2 meter of accuracy. GPS + GLONASS allows your
device to be pin pointed by a group of 55 satellites all across the globe. So when you are in a place
where GPS signals are stuck like between huge buildings or subways, you will be tracked by GLONASS
satellites accurately.

Compass
The COMPASS system (also known as Beidou-2) is a project by China to develop an independent
satellite navigation system. The current Beidou-1 system (made up of 4 satellites) is experimental and
has limited coverage and application. However, with the COMPASS system, China plans to develop a
truly global satellite navigation system consisting of 35 satellites.

The new system will be a constellation of 35 satellites, which include 5 geostationary orbit (GEO)
satellites and 30 medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, that will offer complete coverage of the globe.
COMPASS will offer 10 services. Five free open services, and five restricted authorized services. These
services will be centered at eight (!!) different carrier frequencies.

 The free service will have a 10 meter location-tracking accuracy, will synchronize clocks with an
accuracy of 50 ns, and measure speeds within 0.2 m/s.

 The authorized (or licensed) service will be more accurate than the free service, can be used for
communication, and will supply information about the system status to the users.

Two satellites for COMPASS Beidou were launched in early 2007. In the next few years, China plans to
continue experimentation and setup system operations. Until 2010 there are 10 Long-March 3 rocket
launches planned which should put at least 10 COMPASS satellites into MEO orbit.

GAGAN
Definition: GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) is a step by the Indian Government towards
initial Satellite-based Navigation Services in India. It is a system to improve the accuracy of a global
navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver by providing reference signals.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have collaborated to
develop the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) as a regional Satellite Based Augmentation
System (SBAS). The GAGAN's goal is to provide a navigation system to assist aircraft in accurate landing
over the Indian airspace and in the adjoining area and applicable to safety-to-life civil operations.
GAGAN is inter-operable with other international SBAS systems.
Description: GAGAN Payload is now operational. The satellites GSAT-8 and GSAT-10 satellites have the
GAGAN payloads. The third payload of the system will be launched with GSAT-15 satellite which is
scheduled for launch in late of 2015.

The total approximate cost of the project is Rs 7.74 billion ($117 million) and is being created in three
phases since 2008.

GAGAN is the first Satellite-Based Augmentation System in the world which has been certified for
approach with vertical guidance operating in the equatorial ionospheric region.

GAGAN covers the area from Africa to Australia and has expansion capability for seamless navigation
services across the region. GAGAN provides accuracy, availability, and integrity essential for each phase
of flight, en route the approach for airports within the GAGAN service volume. This makes airline
operations more efficient and effective, increase air safety, and fuel efficiency. Further, with vertical
guidance at runways, a significant cost will be saved due to withdrawal of ground aids and reduced
workload of airline crew and traffic controllers.

One essential component of the GAGAN project is the study of the ionospheric behavior over the Indian
region. GAGAN ionospheric algorithm was developed by ISRO. This makes India the third country in the
world which has such precision approach capabilities.

GAGAN has been developed for aviation but it will provide benefits to other sectors as well like
transportation, railways, surveying, maritime, highways, telecom industry, and security agencies.

Application

 En-route and precision approach for aircrafts

 Navigational guidance for Marine services
 Help in Fisheries
 Mining
 Management of Fleet movement
 Town planning and road alignments
 Geographical Information Systems
 Power Grid Synchronization
 Automatic Banking
 Precise farming, dispensing of fertilizers and irrigation
 Collision avoidance for railways & real time traffic monitoring by IR
IRNSS/ NavIC

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is now called

•NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation)

NavIC consists of 7 satellites in a combination of geosynchronous and geostationary orbit, a ground

segment of 15 sites located throughout India used for tracking and communications, and a user segment
concerned with developing physical receivers and associated applications. Getting this far has been a
bumpy ride.

Of all modern space-based services, navigation satellites touch the lives of most of the people on the
planet, even if they may not be directly aware of it. Financial services, aviation, military, transport and
more are dependent on super-accurate GPS timing signals. Navigation was one of the earliest
applications ushered in by the space race. In March 1958, scientists at Johns Hopkins University listened
to the beep-beep signals from Sputnik that had been launched just a few months earlier. In their
attempts to locate its position in space they realised that if they knew the precise position of the
satellite in space, they could calculate their own location on Earth. This is perhaps not very useful in a
built-up city, but critical if you happen to be out in the open sea, a featureless desert or a remote
mountain range. The strategic value of such critical information was clear, so with the backing of the
Indian military, the proposal for an Indian satellite navigation system received all the political and
financial support it needed.

India's NavIC provides service equivalent to the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), the United
States' GPS, China's Beidou, Russia's Glonass, and Europe's Galileo. However, India's NavIC offers
regional, not global coverage. Once fully operational, NavIC is intended to provide two specific services:
unencrypted Standard Positioning Service (SPS) with an accuracy of less than 10 meters for all users, and
an encrypted Restricted Service (RS), with an undisclosed but higher accuracy for use by India's security
services.

ISRO indicates that eventually NavIC applications will support:

o Terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation

o Disaster management

o Vehicle tracking and fleet management

o Integration with mobile phones

o Precise timing

o Mapping and geodetic data capture

o Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers

o Visual and voice navigation for drivers