Australia Enters A Satellite Hotspot

The world will soon have three times as many navigation satellites in orbit than it does today and that, says the UNSW School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems (SSIS), will put Australia in prime position to reap the benefits.

"More countries are launching satellites for navigation over the next decade and Australia will be one of the most visible," Professor Chris Rizos, head of the UNSW School, said. "We need to make sure we take advantage of the opportunities it creates as early as possible."

Till now the world's reliance on a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for positioning, navigation and timing services has been dominated by the U.S. Their Global Positioning System, or GPS as it's more popularly known, uses 30 orbiting satellites that have been operational since 1995.

Russia's Glonass system of 24 satellites has also been around for some time, but has not really challenged GPS so far-a situation that's expected to change either this year or next when the network finally becomes fully operational.

But the skies are about to become a much more crowded place.

The Multi-GNSS Era

Soon there will there be two new global networks in play when Europe's Galileo comes on line by the end of 2015 and China'sCompass is deployed over the coming decade. Other countries like India and Japan are also finalising plans for either Regional Systems that operate on their own, or Space-Based Augmentation Systems that operate as extra satellites for the other GNSS's.

In fact Japan's first satellite transmitting both Galileo and GPS lookalike signals-known as the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System or QZSS-is scheduled for launch mid year, followed by two more once the Japanese space agency, JAXA, decides QZSS is both technologically and commercially viable.

The major boost in navigation satellites circling the globe-expected to go from about 50 today to over 150 by 2015-2020-will create more signals for measurement and positioning services and that means a lot more accuracy, availability, reliability and integrity.

Just how this ‘Multi-GNSS' will work in practice is still being debated, but it's already clear there will be huge commercial, technological and research opportunities. Some of the practical benefits will be improved use of GNSS guided machines in sectors like farming, mining and construction, but there will also be direct public outcomes in consumer electronics, personal positioning and emergency services.

Australia In The Hotspot

It also looks like being very good news for Australia. Given that the Asia-Oceania region will see the earliest and highest level of coverage from the new satellites-some estimates suggest this could be as high as 60 satellites visible at the same time-Australia is right in the middle of what experts are calling a ‘visibility hotspot'.

Japan's QZSS alone will push Australia to take a more proactive space role as the satellite's 'figure 8' groundtrack will cover much of South East Asia and cross directly over the Australian mainland.

Their satellites need control stations to perform properly and while there's already one in operation in Canberra run by GeoScience Australia, the number is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade. To obtain high positioning accuracy there will also need to be many ground stations to track all the satellites and provide correction data to users-a framework now being called the National Positioning Infrastructure.

According to Professor Chris Rizos, who is actively involved in international efforts to nudge the Multi-GNSS into reality, this will give Australia a unique opportunity.

"Today no-one can imagine living without GPS technology in their phones or cars, but just imagine what far more accurate satellite information and technology will mean to how we live and work," Professor Rizos said.

"But all these new satellites and signals is the start of a whole new GNSS era, and that's exciting news for Australia's universities, companies and governments to make a an early and major contribution to the final outcomes."

Demonstrating The Benefits

Moves to make sure that happens are already under way through what is being called a ‘Multi-GNSS Demonstration Campaign'.

An organisation called Multi-GNSS Asia, or MGA, was established last year by JAXA and is co-chaired by both Professor Rizos and Akio Yasuda, Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology.

Interest in the Campaign is high and a recent MGA Conference in Bangkok attracted about 200 participants, including 11 from Australian academic, government and private sectors. While details on particular projects are still sparse it's expected that MGA will spur improved collaboration and research across the region.

"Obvious collaborative areas could include work on infrastructure issues like the proposed regional network of QZSS tracking receivers and control stations," Professor Rizos said

"There's also a real need to develop user applications so that we achieve practical benefits from the vastly improved signals from QZSS, Galileo, Compass and the Indian systems as they come online in the coming decade."

Satellite Hotspot