High Integrity GPS/ iGPS: Boeing’s Iridium Ace Card

GPS IIF satellite(click to view full) In July 2008, the Pentagon announced that Boeing’s Huntington Beach, CA facility would work on a “High Integrity GPS (Global Positioning System) Technology Concept demonstration,” under a $150+ million contract that runs until January 2011. The European Space Agency has a similar program called EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service), which is the ESA’s interim step until its competing Galileo GPS constellation can be built and deployed. EGNOS uses 3 satellites in geostationary orbit, correlating their information with GPS to improve civilian positioning accuracy from 15 meters to 2 meters. In contrast, the USA’s Office of Naval Research contract aims to leverage an existing commercial constellation: the low-bandwidth Iridium constellation of satellites. If their R&D project succeeds, it will create a GPS service that provides quicker positioning fixes, offers improved accuracy for military M-code users, and is more resistant to jamming and other forms of damage. What is Iridium? Why is this such an important contract? How does a global satellite phone service end up improving the Global Positioning System? Could this program have important commercial spin-offs? DID offers answers, below… * The Rise and Folly of Iridium * HI-GPS: A Starring Role in […]