How many Iridium satellites carry your system?

Mike O’Connor

Iridium has 66 active satellites. There are also several spares on orbit. The satellites were all launched between 2016 and 2018, so they are all relatively new. They cover the entire globe, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so they have universal coverage.

How will your constellation grow?

Today, our Satellite Time and Location (STL) service is offered only over the Iridium satellites. There’s nothing else that we’re discussing publicly. It could expand over time to other satellites. The signal and the capability are flexible. In terms of how Iridium could change, that’s more for Iridium to discuss than us.

Who makes chipsets that can use your system? And how does that work?

We work with partners. For example, with Adtran (through their Oscilloquartz product line), Jackson Labs (now VIAVI Solutions), Orolia (now Safran Trusted 4D). Companies like that provide the solutions that are favored by critical infrastructure providers today. We provide them either reference designs or effectively referenced designs. They ultimately integrate our STL capability into their solutions. We help them to do that. They can use our reference designs or create their own custom designs based on our reference designs. So, that’s the model that we use.

Is the STL receiver on top of a traditional GNSS receiver and passing certain data to it?

STL is used in two ways. In some cases, users are trying to do positioning or timing in an environment where GNSS signals will not reach, such as indoors, or are otherwise unavailable. In those cases, it wouldn’t be overlaid with GNSS, it would just be a standalone solution.

In many other cases, the goal is having a solution that is resilient to an outage, interference, jamming, spoofing, those sorts of things. In that case, the receiver card that might be provided by one of our partner companies would have both GNSS and STL capabilities and would take the best of both worlds. If GPS is jammed or there’s interference, then the STL signal alone would be sufficient to do PNT. However, whenever both signals are available and can be authenticated, then it would use both and leverage the benefits of having two systems.

Does the location calculation take place in a GNSS chip or separately in the STL?

The chain to take measurements of the STL satellite signals is different. It’s not a single chip that’s measuring both satellites, it’s ultimately two chips that are making those measurements. Then how the position calculation and the integration of those signals is done is left to our partners. In some cases, it is proprietary to the partners that are doing that integration work. It can be integrated loosely or tightly.

When it’s just the STL chip, is that usually for timing purposes, or both timing and location?

Generally, an STL-only solution is best suited for timing. It’ll do timing at about 100 ns, depending on what kind of oscillator is being used and the exact configuration of the product.

What positional accuracies can you achieve?

Generally, in the 10 m to 20 m range, depending on the product configuration.

Most of the correction services refer to variables that are not relevant to your system.

That’s right. There are other techniques, such as integrating with other sensors, that can improve the accuracy. The primary uses for STL today are in delivering timing in environments where GNSS is not able to do so today, such as for national critical infrastructure. That’s been our commercial focus as a company.

Who currently uses the STL receivers? Which markets are you targeting first?

Most of our users are in the data center space. Stock exchanges around the world are also using our service as a source of resiliency, and now wireless infrastructure. So, think 5G infrastructure. As 5G networks are rolling out, they need about five to ten times more nodes to cover a geographic area than 4G networks. GNSS has been used for years to time 4G networks, but most 5G network sites — such as femtocells and picocells — are indoors or in places where GNSS is challenged. We deliver that timing service indoors, outdoors, everywhere. So, those are the three commercial markets where we have the highest adoption rates.

You still have plenty of room for expansion in that market before you must start thinking about expanding into other areas.

Yes, there’s plenty of room for expansion into those markets, so I wouldn’t say that they’re fully saturated. We are also looking into other opportunities. We’ve seen interest in the energy area. I think the industry is a little bit slower moving, but the need is ubiquitous, right? We all recognize that a black swan event in our society would really represent a bad day and we want to avoid that.

There are several companies across the industry that are trying to solve that important problem. Everyone involved in critical infrastructure that requires a timing reference — which is anything that is associated with a network activity — should have an alternative or augmentation to GNSS as a timing source. It’s great that we’re seeing tailwinds from the U.S. Government, from the European Union, and from others to try to encourage that adoption. However, there’s still a long way to go before we really feel that that’s been sufficiently covered.

What, if any, have been the major developments in the past year or so?

One of the most interesting things that has happened over the last year and a half has to do with our capability regarding STL. We’ve been demonstrating more publicly, and with more independent authorities, the capabilities, resiliency, and operational characteristics of our service.

For example, the JRC study.

It started with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) a couple years ago, but there’s also been some work done by the Department of Homeland Security and with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). We’ve been working directly with NIST to do some validations, as well as with UK and European organizations. They have subjected STL to rigorous third-party, hands-off technology evaluations. They confirmed the timing accuracy specifications to UTC and validated the operational characteristics of STL, such as the resilience in the absence of GNSS, the ability to receive the signal indoors, and having global availability.

We’re delighted to see the third-party operational evaluation of things that we’ve known all along but are now being evaluated and confirmed by these government sources. Beyond that, of course, there are always going to be technology advancements, both with our company and with other companies.

The real focus of industry right now is on adoption. All the providers of these capabilities ultimately need adoption in industry to remain active and viable. These are good people trying to do the right thing to protect our society. There are many great technology solutions out there to do it. Hopefully, many of these solutions are adopted in the near term. That’s what our focus has been. Our focus has not been on squeezing an extra five nanoseconds out of performance, although, of course, we’re always doing that. I think the important focus of industry should be driving adoption. There are solutions available today, including ours, that are ready to go and are being proven operationally in use.

Can you say more about the study by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC)?

If you look at the summary, all these technologies that were demonstrated worked. Both the DOT report and the JRC report effectively summarize that there are multiple technologies out there today that are ready to go.

<p>The post PNT by Other Means: Satelles first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: Safran Federal Systems

Due to the limited space available in print, I was able to use only used a small portion of the interviews I conducted for our July cover story. For full transcripts of them (totaling more than 12,000 words) see below:

• Safran Federal Systems (formerly Orolia Defense & Security) makes the VersaPNT, which fuses every available PNT source — including GNSS, inertial, and vision-based sensors and odometry. I spoke with spoke with Garrett Payne, Navigation Engineer.
• Xona Space Systems is developing a PNT constellation consisting of 300 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. It expects its service, called PULSAR, to provide all the services that legacy GNSS provide and more. I spoke with Jaime Jaramillo, Director of Commercial Services.
• Spirent Federal Systems and Spirent Communications are helping Xona develop its system by providing simulation and testing. I spoke with Paul Crampton, Senior Solutions Architect, Spirent Federal Systems as well as Jan Ackermann, Director, Product Line Management and Adam Price, Vice President – PNT Simulation at Spirent Communications.
• Oxford Technical Solutions develops navigation using inertial systems. I spoke with Paris Austin, Head of Product – New Technology.
• Satelles has developed Satellite Time and Location (STL), a PNT system that piggybacks on the Iridium low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. It can be used as a standalone solution where GNSS signals will not reach, such as indoors, or are otherwise unavailable. I spoke with Dr. Michael O’Connor, CEO.
• Locata has developed an alternative PNT (A-PNT) system that is completely independent from GNSS and is based on a network of local ground‐based transmitters called LocataLites. I spoke with Nunzio Gambale, founder, chairman, and CEO.

<p>The post Online Exclusive: PNT by Other Means first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: Safran Navigation & Timing

The Safran Navigation & Timing critical infrastructure solution, White Rabbit, has received high praise in a report published by the European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) that evaluates the effectiveness of alternative positioning, navigation and timing (APNT) platforms.

For more than eight months, the commission studied a variety of available solutions to assess the performance of APNT demonstration platforms in a variety of situations where there is signal loss, and a backup system is necessary. The selected solutions were evaluated for precise and robust timing and positioning services in challenging indoor and outdoor environments.

Safran’s White Rabbit is a high-accuracy time and frequency distribution protocol, which combines precise time protocol (PTP) packets with the frequency base of Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) to provide sub-nanosecond time transfer accuracy over an optical fiber. While the results of the test campaign showed that all APNT platforms under evaluation demonstrated performances in compliance with the requirements set, White Rabbit excelled in its performance.

Safran demonstrated White Rabbit’s ultra-accurate time transfer over fiber optics, its high-performance time generation, resiliency (based on failover and holdover), interoperability, and user-friendly monitoring capabilities.

As stated in the report, Safran demonstrated, “the ability to handle multiple master clock inputs with voting and seamless switchovers. Interconnecting as many NMIs as possible, with possible local atomic clock backups, would result in a very robust and resilient time architecture, independent from GNSS across Europe. The ability to provide resilient and accurate time through the EU communication infrastructure, ideally on the nanosecond level, would also enable robust positioning, using a combination of signals.”

A copy of the full report can be downloaded here.

To learn more about Safran’s White Rabbit technology, click here.

<p>The post Safran’s White Rabbit outperforms APNT industry requirements in EU Commission Joint Research Center Test first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Safran Landing Systems was selected to design, develop, qualify and produce the work package and to supply the braking control module that will be developed by Safran Electronics and Defense, the company’s partner on this program.

The contract comprises 60 shipsets.

Safran Electronics and Defense has also claimed a contract from Leonardo to develop and supply the high-performance Euroflir 610 electro-optical (optronic) system for the program.

Production of the first prototype will begin in 2024 with a first delivery planned by the end of the decade.

<p>The post Safran joins Eurodrone program first appeared on GPS World.</p>

NAVKITE on board a vessel. (Image: Safran Electronics and Defense)

Safran Electronics and Defense and Fuscolab, the innovation lab for the French Marine Corps, released a resilient position, navigation, and timing (PNT) system, NAVKITE. It provides navigation integrity and performance over long periods of time and under demanding circumstances on land and at sea.

NAVKITE meets operational requirements for the French Navy Commandos and will be integrated in Embarcation Commando a Usage Multiple Embarquable (ECUME) — a transportable, multirole, semi-rigid boat purpose-designed for commandos and other special forces.

NAVKITE’s capabilities depend on the coupling of Safran’s Geonyx M inertial navigation system with the VersaSync time/frequency server. Together, they handle the transmission of PNT data to ensure mission continuity.

The first sea trials of the system, conducted by Fuscolab and the Ponchardier commando unit, demonstrated NAVKITE’s performance under operational conditions. It was then successfully deployed in February in the joint services exercise Hemex, during phase two of Orion, a large-scale operation for resilient, innovative and interoperable armed forces focused on high-intensity conflicts.

<p>The post Safran Electronics and Defense releases defense PNT system first appeared on GPS World.</p>

An example of a MEMS. (Photo: Safran Colibrys)

Safran Electronics & Defense is taking a major step forward in its inertial navigation strategy by grouping two subsidiaries, Safran Colibrys (Switzerland) and the recently acquired Sensonor (Norway,) under a single banner, Safran Sensing Technologies.

The similarities in expertise, market position, customers and technologies result in clear synergy between these two companies, which produce accelerometers, gyrometers and inertial measurement units (IMUs). The creation of Safran Sensing Technologies shows Safran’s commitment to developing its micro-sensor business through these two companies.

The STIM380H inertial measurement unit. (Photo: Sensonor)

The goal is to jointly offer a wider and comprehensive range of inertial technologies including vibrating sensors, optics and micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) for applications in aeronautics, defense, space and other industries.

The two subsidiaries have already delivered more than 20 million MEMS sensors to the aeronautics, defense, space, transport, mobility and industry sectors. For example, MEMS are used in the control accelerometers of automobile airbags, in high temperature accelerometers for guiding drill heads, and in seismic sensors measuring the structural health of buildings or civil engineering works. They are also used in IMUs for civil, military and space vehicles.

This change is part of a broader Safran Electronics & Defense strategy designed to strengthen the company’s position in the positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) market.

The two entities have been renamed Safran Sensing Technologies Norway AS and Safran Sensing Technologies Switzerland SA, respectively.

<p>The post Safran develops inertial micro-sensor strategy first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Safran has entered into exclusive discussions to acquire Orolia from Eurazeo alongside the founders and management. Orolia is a world leader in resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) solutions that improve the reliability, performance and safety of critical civilian, military and space operations, including in harsh or altered GNSS environments.

Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aviation (propulsion, equipment and interiors), defense and space markets. Headquartered in Paris, France, Safran has a global presence, with 76,000 employees and sales of 16.5 billion euros in 2020.

Orolia has a broad portfolio of technologies across the resilient PNT value-chain with full system capabilities, and is a provider of PNT equipment, simulation and test solutions. Orolia is also providing emergency locator beacons for commercial aviation and military applications.

The acquisition “represents a unique opportunity for Safran and Orolia to extend their resilient PNT solutions, through their remarkable complementarities,” Safran stated in a press release. “With this addition, Safran will be able to build a world-leading position in all aspects of PNT, inertial navigation, time and GNSS receivers and simulators, covering aerospace, governmental and high integrity applications.”

Safran intends to accelerate the development of Orolia under the leadership of CEO Jean-Yves Courtois, and in full collaboration with its teams. “The combination of Orolia and Safran will create a PNT world leader with capabilities that will be unsurpassed in depth and breadth,” Courtois said. “Our perfect complementarity in terms of technology expertise, market presence and geographic footprint will allow us to push further resilient PNT to the next level and to offer our government, aerospace and commercial customers the most advanced solutions they need for their critical operations. Orolia will contribute especially through its world-leading positions in timing, GNSS simulation and emergency location technologies, and through its strong presence in the U.S. market. We are looking forward to working with our new Safran colleagues to advance our common vision.”

Orolia is expected to generate revenues of more than EUR 100 million in 2021 and has approximately 435 employees with facilities in France, the United States, Switzerland, Spain and Canada.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to the usual regulatory approvals. Orolia will be consolidated within Safran’s Equipment & Defense division upon closing, expected around mid-2022.

<p>The post Safran to acquire resilient PNT company Orolia first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Safran and Orolia are partnering to offer the latest resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) solutions for military forces, especially in GNSS-denied environments.

This partnership will provide mission-critical equipment for air, land, sea and space programs in environments where GNSS signals are not available or degraded. Whether the outage is unintentional or intentional (jamming, meaconing or spoofing), the Safran-Orolia partnership will provide an alternative to GNSS-dependent military systems.

The Safran-Orolia team will offer military forces an unparalleled convergence of PNT capabilities, including Orolia’s portfolio of precise timing references and PNT sensor-fusion technology, as well as Safran’s proven defense inertial navigation solutions. Initial program priorities include navigation warfare (NAVWAR), along with mobile and fixed PNT solutions.

“Today’s military operations are increasingly mobile and global, with mission priorities that often bring them into territories where GNSS jamming and spoofing are becoming common threats,” said Orolia CEO Jean-Yves Courtois. “We’re proud to introduce this unique resilient PNT military partnership to better protect and enable mobile operations for NATO and allied countries worldwide.”

“In a world full of uncertainty, our partnership will provide autonomous and sovereign PNT solutions to Armed Forces facing harsh GNSS denied environments,” said Safran Electronics & Defense Chief Executive Officer Martin Sion.

Orolia’s PNT solutions improve the reliability, performance and safety of critical, remote or high-risk operations. With locations in more than 100 countries, Orolia provides virtually failsafe GNSS and PNT solutions to support military and commercial applications worldwide.

Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aircraft propulsion and equipment, space and defense markets. Safran has a global presence, with more than 92,000 employees and sales of 21 billion euros in 2018.

<p>The post Safran and Orolia launch global resilient PNT partnership first appeared on GPS World.</p>