Really Rocket Science - Navigation/GPS

GPS Beats Speeding Ticket

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:54:00 -0700

Rocky Mountain Tracking's device is accurate. So good, in fact, it beat a police radar in court:

Eighteen-year-old Shaun Malone has a few people to thank for being able to plead "Not Guilty" to a speeding offence - his parents, who installed a GPS device in his car, and Rocky Mountain Tracking, the service provider of that device.

"Because of our GPS tracking data, Malone and his parents can protest the imposition of an unfair speeding ticket," says Brad Borst, Founder and President of Rocky Mountain Tracking, and who is also a former Police Officer.
A police radar had found Malone driving at 62 mph in a 45-mph zone. However, Malone's parents, who had installed the Rocky Mountain Tracking GPS device in his car to monitor his driving, found that the device tracked him driving at, and not above, the speed limit.
The most telling testament to the accuracy of the Rocky Mountain Tracking Rover GPS tracking device came, ironically, from a GPS expert who originally helped find Malone guilty in a trial-by-affidavit. Dr. Stephen Heppe, the expert, had written a report affirming that, going by the GPS data, Malone had to have been traveling faster than 45 mph.

Read their blog for more detail. And Hot Hardware gets more from the expert:

While the police clocked him going 62-mph, the GPS's data in fact showed him driving at the 45-mph speed limit. In an initial trial-by-affidavit, Malone was found guilty of speeding. GPS expert, Dr. Stephen Heppe wrote a report that essentially said that the GPS data was not accurate enough to contest the accuracy of the radar gun. Malone appealed the decision and had his day in court. At trial, things played out differently:
"However, when he took the stand to begin his testimony, Dr. Heppe corrected that written report, saying that the Rocky Mountain Tracking device was "very" accurate, to within a couple of meters on location and to within 1 mph on speed. Dr. Heppe also pointed out that the GPS device released instantaneous data, and not data averaged over a distance."
Needless to say, with Dr. Heppe's revised testimony, Malone was found innocent of speeding.

Teenagers. Some learn about the danger of speeding the hard way, some know better before they start driving. Check out this kid in Kentucky:

Landon Wilburn, 11, grew tired of speeders zipping through his subdivision, so after growing hoarse shouting at them, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
The youngster, who used to shout at speeders to slow down as they drove through the Stone Lakes subdivision in Louisville, now has taken matters into his own hands.
Dressed in a reflective vest, wearing a bicycle helmet and armed with an orange Hot Wheels brand radar gun, he points and records the actual speed of passing traffic.
Landon also carries a flashlight with a built-in siren.
"When I saw it happening, I got the biggest kick out of it," said resident George Ayers, 61. "People were locking up their brakes when they saw him."

You can hack these toy radar guns, or you could really have some fun as-is.

Pool Hopping

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:57:06 -0700

It's officially summer, and I'm feeling a bit nostaligic.

Like many kids who grew up in the suburbs, my memories are filled with ice-cream trucks, slip-and-slides, and…oh yeah…petty crime. Before images of vandalism start running through your mind, let me explain. My misdemeanors were of a more innocuous variety, namely pool-hopping:

pool hopping
Hoping from pool to pool; usually done at night, or during the day when people (pool owners) are working. It is the act of running to one neighbours pool jumping in, then running to another pool to jump in,, and continue the cycle.This is all done without getting caught(hopefully).

We all knew which houses in the neighborhood had the best pools, and, after some fence-scaling and other secret-agent-worthy tactics, we'd be cannon-balling into the deep end.

But these days the childhood pasttime is going high-tech. Groups of kids are using Google Earth to find pools and organizing their outings on Facebook.

Call me old-fashioned, but I agree with this guy. Between creating facebook groups and dodging motion detectors, all the technology has taken the fun out of it.

Technorati Tags: Google+Earth Pool+Hopping

Atlas Launches ICO G1 Satellite

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:59:37 -0700

Yesterday at 4:12 pm at Cape Canaveral, an Atlas 5 rocket successfully lifted ICO Global Communications' ICO G1 North American geosynchronous satellite, "a mobile communications satellite to assist and entertain Americans on the go."

The launch marked the first commercial flight in two years of an Atlast 5, and the carrying of its heaviest payload ever:

Weighing 14,625 pounds, the ICO G1 spacecraft was the heftiest payload ever launched by an Atlas rocket. Built by Space Systems/Loral, the craft stands over 27 feet tall, features a 39-foot-diameter mesh reflector antenna that will be unfurled in space and a pair of power-generating solar wings to span over 100 feet tip-to-tip once extended in orbit.

It's a pretty bird, the G1:

The ICO G 1 satellite belongs to the 2-GHz mobile systems, which are driving a growing segment of today's satellite manufacturing industry.
ICO's G 1 satellite is based on SS/L's space-proven LS-1300 platform, which has an excellent record of reliable operation. Its high efficiency solar arrays and lightweight batteries are designed to provide uninterrupted electrical power. In all, SS/L satellites have amassed almost 1,200 years of reliable on-orbit service.

ICO G1 is a next-generation satellite designed to deliver a wide variety of interactive services to mobile and portable devices using ICO's Mobile Interactive Media (ICO mim™).

The launch marks the first deployment of DVB-SH service in North America. DVB-SH is short for Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite services to Handhelds; it's "a physical layer standard for delivering IP based media content and data to handheld terminals such as mobile phones or PDAs, based on a hybrid satellite/terrestrial downlink."

ICO mim addresses a wide variety of consumers' entertainment, information and two-way communication needs, including live and stored mobile TV in vehicles, interactive navigation, and roadside assistance, all with nationwide coverage.

ICO mim will also initially provide 10-15 channels of premium television content to portable, larger-screen (4.5- to 10-inch) user devices. Initial partners for the trial phase of ICO mim include Alcatel-Lucent.

For a demo video of ICO mim click here. To see the current state of DVB-H reployments, click here.

Here's the launch video...

Technorati Tags: mccaw dvb-h dvb-sh space rockets cape+canaveral NASA satcom ICO broadcasting PDAs gadgets atlas

Host My Payload

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:24:05 -0800

Very interesting news from California this morning about Space Systems/Loral and Northrop Grumman's Space Technology division getting together to go after U.S. government business. Building spacecraft for fully-funded government projects can be more profitable than going after commercial projects. Sounds like a simple agreement:

"The agreement with Northrop Grumman will allow SS/L to cost-effectively add capacity to address increased near-term commercial satellite opportunities," said Pat DeWitt, chief executive officer, Space Systems/Loral. "The agreement will also streamline the process for our companies to collaborate on providing the world's best satellites for both civil and defense applications."
"The resulting strategic agreement will be important to increasing our competitiveness. These initiatives will present win-win opportunities for both companies and our U.S. government customers," said Alexis Livanos, corporate vice president and president of the company's Space Technology sector. "For some of our mission areas, we believe that assured access to SS/L's 1300 bus and bus subsystems would improve our cost and delivery schedule competitiveness. In addition, hosted payloads hold the promise of providing us greater ability and flexibility to rapidly respond to our government customers' evolving needs."

Some of these new opportunities included "hosted payloads" where specialized instruments or entire subsystems can be added on to a satellite bus whose primary mission is paying most of the build cost. Given the importance of the role space plays in today's C4ISR systems (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), and the expected ends-of-life of the spacecraft currently in orbit, we'll need a bunch of new launches in the short term. Factor in programs being behind schedule -- with some going way over budget -- and you might conclude we have a problem, Houston. Intelsat General is going after this market, too.

Northrop Grumman is involved in a new moon mission for NASA, the LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite):

Technorati Tags: space+systems/loral ames nasa loral intelsat hosted+payload northrop+grumman grumman northrop ss/l lcross c4isr

DIY Friday: GPS Tracking

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:04:34 -0800

GPS systems appear to be the newest must-have gadget. They were flying off the shelves in December:

Personal navigation devices are a hot gift to give this holiday season. Unit sales of GPS systems rose 488% over last year, according to the latest point-of-sale information from market research firm NPD Group.

And GPS providers are not planning to sit on this past year's successes. Forbes.com list GPS chipsets as one of five "emerging technologies" of 2008:

GPS chipset provider, SiRF Technology Holdings is the company to beat in the personal navigation device space, with over 50% market share. The company is one of several gearing to battle it out for a piece of the next-generation cellular handset market.

Mobile phones are only starting to emerge as a high-growth market for GPS chipsets, which include the basic radio-frequency (RF) and GPS base-band chips. True, most handsets already incorporate the technology, but it goes largely unused because most network operators have been slow to roll out location-based services with broad consumer appeal.

The other reason GPS chipset suppliers have ignored the current generation of mobile handsets is Qualcomm, which has been packaging GPS capability into its mobile phone chips for the last seven years. The industry, however, is shifting from today's global system for mobile communications and CDMA network standards toward 3G, or W-CDMA standards, and next generation-compatible handsets are forecast to see a compound annual growth rate of 22% over the next five years.

But you don't need to wait for the market to marry GPS and cell-phone handsets. Turn your cell-phone into a GPS tracking device:

DIY GPS tracking with "disposable" phones - Mod a GPS enabled Nextel and fauxjack yourself...or your car, or your kid, or a big dog, or an elephant. We really, really want to track an elephant. Mologogo is a free service that will track a "friends" GPS enabled cell phone from another phone(gps not required) or on the web. It currently works on pretty much any Nextel phone with Java and GPS - even a $60 no-contract Boost Mobile phone.

Using any GPS-enabled phone with java and a supported provider (Nextel, Sprint, or Boost), you can install a free service called Mologogo and turn your phone into a tracking device.

What can Mologogo do?

From your phone or the web, Mologogo shows you where you and your friends are at any moment. If you are on the go, Mologogo can alert you when friends are close, search around for points of interest, and keep you updated with local traffic and weather. Mologogo even supports mobile chat, so you can reach out to your nearby friends instantly. If you are on your PC, you can see all of your friends - locations, sign up new friends, bookmark locations, and show your Mologogo location on your own web page or blog.

You control who can see your location – anything from the entire Mologogo community to a few select friends. The applications for this are endless: track your kid; use an old phone and a prepaid data plan to track your car or a package; see where friends are in a city; or track mobile employees. (I'm smelling a good marketing opportunity for a quick-delivery pizza chain.)

If you don't have a Mologogo-capable phone, you can buy one for $80 bucks, maybe less. And, unlike some stand-alone commercial tracking solutions, the service is free (as long as your cell-phone has a data plan).

And the locator works very, very fast, as one MAKE commenter explains:

As for the phones: The reason you get GPS lock so quickly (which might make you think it's fake) is that the tower gives the phone a breath-of-life packet, containing the current satellite almanac and possibly even the position of the PRN sequences, so the GPS chip can achieve lock almost instantly.

You can test this by taking the phone to an area with no Nextel towers (Montana and Mississippi work well) and telling it to acquire a GPS fix. It'll take much longer (30-50 seconds typically), just like your Garmin, because it's not getting help from a tower. But even in the complete absence of towers and service, the phone's GPS chip does work just fine, and will happily feed NMEA 0183 data over the serial cable for your laptop's mapping software.

Technorati Tags: Mologogo GPS tracking Google Maps

Big GPS Gift

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 08:49:09 -0800

Gorgeous day at the Cape last week, punctuated by a spectacular Delta launch for the USAF by the United Launch Alliance:

United Launch Alliance successfully launched a Delta II expendable launch vehicle today from Space Launch Complex 17-A at 3:04 p.m., EST carrying the Air Force’s GPS IIR-18(M) satellite. This launch marks the fifth mission for the Air Force this year and the 13th and final mission for ULA in 2007.
Following a nominal 1 hour and 8 minute flight, the rocket deployed the GPS IIR-18(M) spacecraft, the fifth modernized NAVSTAR Global Positioning System Block II R-M military navigation satellite. GPS is a space-based radio-positioning system nominally consisting of a minimum of 24-satellite constellation that provides navigation and timing information to military and civilian users worldwide.
"With the launch of GPS IIR-18(M), ULA completes a tremendously successful first year of operation and demonstrates its commitment to 100 percent mission success," said Mark Wilkins, vice president of Delta Programs. "As we continue to provide safe, cost-effective, reliable access to space, we are privileged to serve an important role in critical missions, such as GPS, which are force multipliers for our men and women in uniform serving our country throughout the world."
Designed to operate for 10 years, GPS satellites orbit the Earth every 12 hours, emitting continuous navigation signals. With the proper equipment, users can receive these signals to calculate time, location and velocity. In addition to its military use, GPS satellites provide directional assistance to civilian users around the world.
The ULA Delta II 7925-9.5 configuration vehicle featured an ULA first stage booster powered by a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and nine Alliant Techsystems (ATK) strap-on solid rocket motors. An Aerojet AJ10-118K engine powered the second stage. A spin-stabilized Star-48B solid-rocket motor built by ATK boosted the third stage. The payload was encased by a 9.5-foot-diameter metallic payload fairing.
ULA began processing the Delta II launch vehicle in Decatur, Ala., nearly two years ago. In August 2007, the first stage arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station from Decatur, followed by the second stage Sept. 19. The vehicle was erected on the stand at Pad 17-A, Nov. 5, with solid rocket motor installation completed by mid-November. Hundreds of ULA technicians, engineers and management worked to prepare the vehicle for the GPS IIR-18(M) mission.

Here's the video:

Technorati Tags: ula united+launch+alliance boeing lockheed-martin gps usaf cape+canaveral delta delta+rocket

Where the heck am I?

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:16:43 -0800

Wow, now I know. Thanks to a new "killer app" from Google called My Location. The folks at AppleInsider see it:

New Google Maps feature could simulate GPS on iPhones
By Slash Lane
A new version of Google Maps introduced this week includes a beta feature dubbed My Location that was designed to simulate the GPS experience on mobile phones and handheld devices that do not include GPS hardware, like Apple's iPhone.
Essentially, the My Location feature takes information broadcast from mobile towers near non-GPS equipped mobile phones to approximate the device's current location on the map down to about 10 city blocks.
"It's not GPS, but it comes pretty close (approximately 1000m close, on average)," the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant explained on its website. "We're still in beta, but we're excited to launch this feature and are constantly working to improve our coverage and accuracy."
The My Location feature is currently available for most web-enabled mobile phones, including Java, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Nokia/Symbian devices. However, it is not yet compatible with Apple's iPhone.
Still, Apple has promised to continuously update and improve upon the feature set of its inaugural mobile handset, making it more than likely that the feature will turn up once it emerges from the beta stage.
For a more detailed explanation of My Location and a visual demonstration, please see the video below.

Just downloaded it on a BlackBerry and it works. Amazing.

Technorati Tags: google+maps my+location mylocation iphone+gps gps free+gps

"Breakthrough" Map of Antarctica

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:11:34 -0800

When we blogged about the Vanco Arctic Survey—a detailed survey about the health of the North Pole cap in a climate of rapid melting—we had no idea that we're in the middle of the International Polar Year. In that spirit, let's head south and check-in on Antarctica:

The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA) brings "the coldest continent on Earth alive in greater detail than ever before through [a] virtually cloudless, seamless, and high resolution satellite view of Antarctica." According to NASA, by piecing together more than a thousand images from three years of Landsat satellite observations, the new map provides a realistic look at the continent in 10 times greater detail than ever before and offers the most geographically accurate, true-color, and high-resolution views of the continent possible." NASA is so excited that they argue the map will "revolutionize research of the continent's frozen landscape."

These four frames show the evolution from the old imagery (MODIS) to the new (LIMA):

You can view the interactive image here.

Pan to view the continent and zoom in to see the stunning detail of this Natural-Color, Pan-Sharpened LIMA (bands 3, 2, 1). LIMA covers the entire continent except from the South Pole at 90 degrees south to 82.5 degrees south latitude, where Landsat has no coverage because of its near-polar orbit. To provide a continental view, the image above has LIMA 3, 2, 1 overlaying the MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA).

The opening view includes McMurdo Station, the largest research base in Antarctica. Located at the tip of Hut Point Peninsula on Ross Island, McMurdo has been continually operated by the United States of America since 1956. Ross Island is roughly 45 miles across. The flat, white areas are the Ross Ice Shelf and other sea ice off the coast of Antarctica. Also visible are the Erebus Glacier Tongue, Koettlitz and Ferrar Glaciers, and the Royal Society Range.

If your browser is giving you troubles, download the poster to view an overview map and detailed, up-close panels. Or, better yet, watch the pretty amazing HD fly-over videos that are available here.

Technorati Tags: international+polar+year Arctic Antarctica MODIS LIMA Landsat NASA Satellite+image

Qualcomm Wins U.S. Contract to Track Mexican Trucks

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:24:02 -0800

"Qualcomm has won a federal contract to provide a satellite-based tracking system for U.S. and Mexican trucks participating in a contentious experiment that opens the border to long-haul commercial traffic," SignOn San Diego reports:

Federal officials said yesterday that the San Diego-based company's OmniTRACS system will allow the U.S. government to closely monitor trucks from both countries, including compliance with regulations that prohibit truckers from driving more than 11 hours per day.
Although Qualcomm is best-known for its prominent role as a chip-maker in the wireless industry, the company also is a major designer of satellite tracking systems for vehicles.
Qualcomm will provide tracking technology for 100 trucks at a cost of $367,000, officials said.
U.S. transportation officials hope the tracking system will soften congressional opposition to the two-month-old pilot project. Five carriers from Mexico and three from the United States are participating in the program, which is limited to a maximum of 100 carriers from each country.

OmniTRACS uses geosynchronous satellites and "helps fleets improve productivity, reduce operating costs, enhance customer service, and increase security." Features include:

    * Automatic satellite vehicle positioning
    * Two-way text and data communications
    * Highly reliable message delivery
    * Customizable reports
    * AS/400, Windows®, or web-hosted operation
    * Panic Buttons (available option)

We're not sure what the Panic Button achieves, but we assume it won't be ignored like the car alarms that bleet plaintively in our local mall parking lot.

Qualcomm has a nice flash demo of OmniTracks here. The system predates commercial use of GPS, and its next iteration -- OmniVision -- will provide real-time directions and maps using Maptuit’s NaviGo to truckers on the move:

Maptuit NaviGo is a real-time, hybrid in-cab navigation service that provides professional truck drivers and trucking companies with interactive maps for increased routing efficiency and improved driver satisfaction. QUALCOMM plans to offer NaviGo on the OmniVision platform later this year....

The OmniVision mobile computing platform is an integrated system consisting of hardware, software and network infrastructure, enabling delivery of two-way data communications and value-added services to enterprises in a mobile environment.

Technorati Tags: shipping borders trucking NAFTA mexico freight satellites GPS satcom Qualcomm

Good Morning, Delta!

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:33:59 -0700

I love the smell of hydrochloric acid in the morning! That's what you get when you mix rocket fuel burn-off with the air around the launch pad.

A Delta II rocket will be the sight to see Wednesday morning at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (webcast). The details, courtesy of United Launch Alliance:

Rocket/Payload: Delta II launching the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) IIR-17M satellite.
Date/Launch Time/Site: Oct. 17, with a launch window of 8:23 - 8:38 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-17A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. If the launch slips, the next launch attempt is set for Oct. 18, 8:19 – 8:34 a.m. EDT.
Description: GPS IIR-17 (M) will be the fourth modernized NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) military navigation satellite to launch. GPS is a space-based radio-positioning system consisting of a minimum of 24-satellite constellation that provides navigation and timing information to military and civilian users worldwide.
Launch Updates: To keep up to speed with updates to the launch countdown, dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321.
Satellite Feeds:
Test Signal Start Date/Time: 10/17/2007 07:45:00 EASTERN
Program Start Date/Time 10/17/2007 8:00:00 EASTERN
End Date/Time: 10/17/2007 10:00:00 EASTERN
Downlink: Galaxy 26
Transponder - G26C-09
ORBITAL POSITION: 93 DEGREES (W)
BAND-C ANALOG
BANDWIDTH 36 MHz
DOWNLINK FREQ 3880 MHz (V)

All launches from the Cape are supported by the 45th Space Wing, Patrick Air Force Base -- and people like Chris Bruce, who was featured in nice piece by Patrick Peterson in Florida Today:

When Chris Bruce isn't keeping his 19-year-old daughter's car running, he's using his considerable mechanical ability to lead the team of technicians preparing the third stage of Delta 2 rockets for launch.
The GPS IIR-17 launch from Complex 17A on Wednesday morning will be the latest of nearly 50 rockets on which the 45-year-old Mims resident has worked.
Weighing 4,540 pounds, the satellite will be the fourth to feature newer GPS technology. It will be able to provide more accurate navigation data for pilots, drivers, boaters, hikers and the military.
Working conditions are tough. The good-natured
ribbing between his colleagues at United Launch Alliance, who also are his golfing buddies, often rises to a level of nastiness that only the thick-skinned and steel-nerved can bear.
There is one consolation.
"What goes around comes around," he said, showing a good-natured grin. "What you've dished out the day before, you're receiving the next day."
The constant needling and trading of verbal jabs keeps the crew on their toes, he added. Oddly, it also makes for a good work environment.
"We're like a second family," he said. "It's like hanging out with your brothers."
Long hours at work are required during crunch times, and Bruce's boss depends on him to make sure people and parts are where they should be.
"He leads with his experience," said Robin Smith, an assembly and test manager with 37 years of aerospace experience. "And I do count on him and rely on him a lot."
Bruce's easygoing personality makes him a good co-worker.
"He's very good natured," Smith said.
Bruce is among about 4,000 United Launch Alliance employees who launch government satellites for the company formed by a merger of the rocket divisions of Lockheed Martin Corp. and The Boeing Co. in May 2005.
His crew assembles the launcher's third stage, which is about six feet tall and will push the GPS satellite to its final orbit about 11,000 miles above Earth. The spacecraft will become one of 30 GPS satellites in orbit.
"We've been really good about putting them right where they need to be," Bruce said.
Bruce came to Brevard County 22 years ago, after completing a two-year associate's degree in electronics at DeVry University in Atlanta.
"I had an uncle who worked for McDonnell Douglas. He got me an interview, and the rest is history," he said.
After several job changes, including working as a roofer for a year during a slowdown, Bruce started working on the Delta program in 1996.
If successful, this GPS launch would be the 77th Delta launch since the last failure in 1997. Consistency has been a hallmark of the program.
"There have been very few changes since I've been in this group," Bruce said. "It's basic, but it's efficient."
Bruce said the experienced crew is comfortable processing the rocket's third stage because they have done the job many times before.
"It's just like clockwork," he said. "Everything gets bolted and torqued. We've done it so much, we just know."
Bruce said attention to detail and the determination to do a good job are the personality traits that make his group successful.
"It was the way I was brought up," he said. "My dad always had the philosophy, 'If you're going to do it, do it right the first time. Put forth your best effort.' "
"It's the whole group. It has to be right," he said. "There's no room for error."
During Wednesday's launch, Bruce will follow the countdown even though he doesn't work with the launch crew.
"I really don't worry," he said. "I know the system is reliable and it always has been."

Technorati Tags: rocket+launch gps united+launch+alliance delta delta+ii cape+canaveral

Using Satellites to Study Whales

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:13:05 -0700

For decades, Japan's scientific whaling program has killed thousands of whales as part of what it calls necessary research.

Needless to say, Japan's whaling program has been a point of contention with the environmental group Greenpeace for just as long.

Now, however, Greenpeace is leading the fight against whaling a different way -- by example:

Greenpeace announced a satellite-based tracking system to monitor endangered South Pacific humpback whales, saying it is not necessary to kill the animals as Japan does to study them...
Humpback whales from Rarotonga and New Caledonia have been satellite tagged and are "now being tracked in order to produce vital data on their movements, habitat use and population structure," said Greenpeace New Zealand's oceans campaigner, Mike Hagler.
"The tagging program is producing real scientific results" on whale migrations from breeding grounds in the South Pacific to feeding grounds of the Southern Ocean "without firing a single harpoon," he said.

Tracking whale migration is critical to developing plans and policies to preserve the species; satellite tracking is a natural solution to the problem of tracking big mammals in an even bigger ocean. Whalenet has a good description of how satellite tracking works for whales:

WhaleNet uses satellite transmitters that send signals to satellites maintained by the ARGOS System in Largo, Maryland and Talouse, France. A number of the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) weather satellites, circling the earth, have ARGOS instruments attached. These instruments collect, process and disseminate environmental data relayed from fixed and mobile transmitters worldwide. What makes ARGOS's system unique is the ability to geographically locate the source of the data anywhere on the Earth.

Data is collected by the tag while the marine animal is underwater and then transmitted when the animal surfaces. The tag has an antennae which is used to send a signal each time the animal surfaces. Information relayed includes time, date, latitude, longitude, dive depths, dive durations, amount of time at the surface in the last six hours and quality of the transmission. The ARGOS instruments detect the tag's signal when the satellite passes overhead.

The location fix of the animal in relationship to the track of the satellites, with ARGOS instruments, affects how many satellites passes are made over the animal's tag in a 24 hour period. Each pass may last between 2 and 12 minutes, depending on the location of the satellite in relation to the animal. The animal must be at the surface at the time of the pass for a successful transmission to take place. Therefore, each day there are a limited number of short opportunities, or maybe no opportunities, for a signal to be transmitted from an animal's tag to a satellite.

How are they attached?

With whales the tag is attached by partially implanting a barb into the blubber layer at a slight angle, to a depth of approximately 10 cm. Ideally it is placed high on the back of the whale, directly behind the blow hole. These tags are deployed using a compound crossbow. A study by the Minerals Management Society determined that this does not cause serious stress or pose a health risk to the whale. The tagging team goes out in a 4 meter rigid-hull inflatable equipped with an outboard motor in order to get close enough to the whale to implant the tag.

There's no relation, we hear, between the satellite tracking of whales and the chip implants for your pet.

Technorati Tags: greenpeace whaling japan ocean marine+biology GPS satellites whales environment

Taxi!

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 10:08:38 -0700

We've written before about plans to use satellite tracking technology to follow the progress of New York City Transit buses.

No one seemed to complain about that idea, since being able to see exactly where the bus you're waiting for is on its route is of undeniable benefit to the riders, and at worst makes no difference to a bus driver.

But a plan to put GPS in New York City taxis has cabbies screaming and honking like -- well, like New York City cabbies:

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance -- which accounts for more than 8,000 city drivers -- is threatening to curb their cabs on Sept. 5 if the Taxi and Limousine Commission does not get rid of their GPS system, which the union says invades a driver's privacy....
The issue over a driver's privacy is the driving issue in the debate, with a driver's location being tracked no matter where he or she goes.

"The Taxi & Limousine Commission wants to spy on drivers and they want drivers to pay for it," argues Desai.

Both sides agree the TLC uses satellite GPS technology to track everywhere a taxi cab goes and keeps a log of that information. The dispute is over how that information will be used and just who will have access to it.

Mateo says it's understandable that the taxis are fitted with the technology and adds it's even advantageous to each driver. "It indicates where you're located, you can see where you're going," he says.

But Desai says there is a different motive for the TLC to install the satellite. "They will use this information to decide on drivers' incomes," she says.

Sources within the TLC and individual taxi drivers tell CBS 2 that the GPS fears have nothing to do with privacy and everything to do with money. Many drivers fear the IRS will use the data to audit drivers and alert the INS about illegal immigrants driving cabs.

Could this be the first strike ever started by GPS?

Technorati Tags: technology GPS cabs taxis strikes public+transport NYC+transit new+york+city labor+disputes

Ukraine Announces New Space Program

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:56:47 -0700

Politically, Ukraine is somewhat at a cross-roads, being pulled in one direction by its Russian-Soviet past and in the other direction by its Western EU-NATO neighbors. The 2004 "Orange revolution," which discarded the Kremlin’s favoured candidate, may have been the turning point.

Ukraine's space program reflects Russia's declining influence. First it was Ukraine's agreement to participate in EU's Galileo System (a system similar to GPS), not joining Russia's developing Glonass system.

Now, Ukraine has announced an ambitious new 4-year independent space program. An English translation of a Ukranian news report explains:

The Cabinet of Ministers today at the session has affirmed the national target scientific and technical space program of Ukraine for 2008-2012. General Director of National space agency Yuriy Alekseev told journalists.

According to him, financing of the State program amounts UAH 1,5 milliard.

According to the program, in particular, Ukraine should launch two satellites of remote sensing of the Earth, to create a satellite of connection and to participate in tenders of satellites creation for the other countries.

“The satellite has been already made for Egypt, and in autumn it can be given to the customer,” Alekseev noted.

Also, according to Alekseev, the program foresees the training of Ukrainian specialists at the European space enterprises, “UNIAN” reports.

Russia's WPS news agency (subscription only) has more on the satellites:

Two of the satellites are intended for remote Earth probing and the third is a communication satellite. General Director of the National Space Agency, Yury Alexeev, announced this after approval of the draft space program of the country for the next five years at a meeting of the government. The document makes provisions for active international cooperation including cooperation with Russia, European Union and the US. The costs of the program exceed $400 million and state financing will account for about $300 million of this amount.

Technorati Tags: Glonass Galileo Ukraine+Satellite Ukraine+space Alekseev UNIAN

Rubidium Clock Marks Year In Orbit

Tue, 22 May 2007 09:59:45 -0700

Physorg reports on the rubidium clocks being tested for ESA's Galileo satellite system, which, when fully deployed in the early years of the next decade, will be the first civilian positioning system to offer global coverage:

GIOVE-A, the first Galileo in-orbit validation element, was launched on 28 December 2005. One of its two rubidium clocks was switched on for the first time on 10 January 2006 and Galileo signals were transmitted two days later.

The timekeeping of the clocks on the Galileo spacecraft will play an important role in determining the overall accuracy of the system, so evaluation of their performance is a crucial part of the Galileo in-orbit verification process.

The orbit of GIOVE-A is precisely measured by a network of 10 ground-based laser ranging stations, to provide orbital data independent of the navigation data. The navigation signals broadcast from GIOVE-A, and from the GPS spacecraft constellation, are received by the world-wide network of 13 Galileo experimental sensor stations belonging to the GIOVE Mission Segment.

The technique used to characterise clock performance is known as Orbit Determination and Time Synchronisation (ODTS). ODTS is a statistical method which takes the Galileo and GPS data, together with the laser ranging data, and calculates spacecraft orbits, clock times, the effects of the Earth’s atmosphere on the radio signals and the delays in the receiving systems. The precision of the calculations is so great that even the tiny orbit disturbances caused by the pressure of sunlight shining on the satellites is taken into account....
The measured performance of the clocks meets the specification over short and medium timescales. A few ‘jumps’ in clock frequency have been observed, which impact the long term accuracy. Such frequency changes are a well known phenomenon in rubidium clock technology but their cause is not yet well understood. Their effect on GPS performance has already been analysed and corrective measures proposed. The Galileo team are ground testing a number of improvements to the clock design which are intended to minimise both the occurrence and size of the jumps.

(It ain't pretty, but it's accurate!)

The ESA website offers further explanation about the accuracy of the rubidium clock:

The Galileo satellites will carry two types of clocks: Rubidium atomic clocks and Hydrogen atomic clocks. The stability of the Rubidium clock is so good that it would lose only 3 seconds in 1 million years, while the Hydrogen maser is even more stable and it would lose only 1 second in 3 million years. However this kind of stability is really needed since an error of only a few nanoseconds (billionths of a second) on the Galileo measurements would produce a positioning error of meters which would not be acceptable.

For those who really want to get into the complexities of such atomic clocks, check out this page from Harvard's Department of Physics. In addition to details about the frequencies used by atomic masers (hey, no one said this wasn't rocket science!) the page features a downloadable poster illustrating N-resonances and atomic clocks.

Technorati Tags: ESA GPS atomic+clocks physics technology science space satellites clocks time

The Great Turtle Race!

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 08:39:54 -0700

Here's a great story about how the combination of satellite tracking technology and the Internet can be used to raise awareness about conservation efforts around the world.

The Leatherback Sea Turtle is the biggest of all living turtles and the world's fourth-largest reptile, reaching more than 6 feet in length and weighing up to 2000 lbs. It is also listed as endangered worldwide by the U.S. government, with the global population of female leatherbacks plunging from an estimated 115,000 in 1980 to fewer than 43,000 today.

Ranging throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, leatherbacks worldwide are threatened not only by coastal development and loss of habitat, but by ocean pollution and "floating plastic bags or sheets which they mistake for jellyfish — a staple of their diet." 90 percent of the leatherbacks have vanished and the species may disappear within 10 years due to illegal poaching of their eggs, according to conservationists.

To draw attention to the plight of the leatherbacks, conservationists yesterday launched the Great Turtle Race.

The AP reports:

Biologists will switch on satellite trackers strapped to the backs of 11 female leatherback turtles on Monday, starting what conservationists have dubbed the "Great Turtle Race" to raise awareness of a species threatened with extinction.
Sponsored by U.S. and Costa Rican environmental groups and businesses, the race will track the turtles on their annual 1,200 mile journey from Costa Rica's Pacific coast to the Galapagos Islands....
Most of the competing turtles are expected to be in the water by Monday after laying their eggs on the beach at Playa Grande in Costa Rica.
The Web site features virtual trading cards with caricatures of the turtles with names like Freedom, Windy and Stephanie Colburtle after U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central fame. It also has stats on their egg-laying history...
Ten race sponsors — including Yahoo Inc., Plantronics Inc., Philadelphia's Drexel University and Dreyer's Ice Cream — donated $25,000 each to purchase the tracking equipment and protect nesting areas from development.

Leatherbacks aren't the only sea creatures that are getting tagged with satellite trackers to raise awareness and scientific knowledge about the world's oceans. The Census of Marine Life has a great site, Tagging of Pacific Pelagics, where users can track tracking projects of a variety of species and view real time data of the movement of sharks and other animals in the Pacific. And NASA is tracking sea lions to gain a better understanding of the world's oceans.

For ease of use and entertaining presentation -- especially for a younger audience -- it's hard to beat the Great Turtle Race website. Check it out, because those turtles are, um, making some quick tracks.

Technorati Tags: biology oceanography oceans environment conservation costa+rica leatherback+turtles science satellites GPS habitat