Satellite Status / Space Weather Update 23 July 2010, GPS Week 1593

30 healthy GPS Satellites: (GPS/UTC offset is 15 seconds)

(NANU) 2010068 SVN49 (PRN01) Will BE UNDER TEST FOR THE NEXT 6 MONTHS AND WILL REMAIN UNHEALTHY
(NANU) 2010098 SVN62 (PRN25) WAS LAUNCHED JDAY 148(28MAY)-NOT YET SET HEALTHY

Mission planning is strongly encouraged for your GPS operations as even with 30 satellites there remain some periods of high DOP and reduced availability in some regions when using an elevation mask of 10 degrees or higher. You can have high DOP even with 6 satellites if the geometry is poor.
I have attached the latest max World DOP plot for today 23rd July, with PRN 25 removed! This with 5deg elevation mask.


ftp://ftp.trimble.com/pub/eph/almanac.alm (Latest combined GPS/GLONASS Almanac)
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/gps/almanacs.htm(YUMA GPS only Almanac from USCG NAVCEN)
http://www.trimble.com/planningsoftware_ts.asp (Free Trimble GPS/GLONASS planning software) 

Note: Always download and use the latest almanac for mission planning. Otherwise you must explicitly set satellites unhealthy/healthy as necessary to evaluate your specific constellation scenario. Always verify age of downloaded Almanac to be sure it is current.

GPS Launch Update:
GPS Block IIR-20 (SVN49) PRN01 was launched 24 March 2009. It is not yet set healthy.

GPS IIF-1 (SVN62) PRN 25 was launched on 28th may 2010. It is scheduled to be set healthy approximately 90-120 days after launch.

GPS IIF-2 (SVN63) is due for launch on 17th November 2010.

GPS Update:
The US Government Accountability Office has issued a report highlighting concerns in maintaining the current GPS service without interruption.

GPS Interference Testing: (9 July 2010)
DOD GPS interference testing is ongoing at/near the following locations:

St Charles, MO; White Sands Missile Range, NM; Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, CA; FT. Polk, LA; El Segundo, CA; Pax River, MD; Rancho Bernado, CA

Specific times/dates are listed at: http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/GPS_Interference.pdf

CONUS WAAS GEO Satellite Status: (22 April 2010)
WAAS PRN's 135 and 138 are currently operational.
WASS PRN 135 was expected to become unusable by Mid May 2010 due to loss of control of the satellite. There have been no recent updates by the FAA.

For further information see the following links:
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/techops/navservices/gnss/waas/news/

and updated on 2 June:

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_uni ts/techops/navservices/gnss/waas/news/media/WAAS-GEO-Outage-04-21-2010-Web-Version.ppt

WAAS PRN 133 testing will be conducted from March to December 2010.

GLONASS Status: (23 July 2010)

21 (of 23) Satellites healthy
GLONASS 726: slot/RF-chnl 22/ Spare
GLONASS 714: slot/RF-chnl 23/ Spare

Note: GLONASS 722: slot/RF-chnl 9/-2 operates on L1 only.

GLONASS Launch Update:
The next three satellite launch expectedin August 2010 (three GLONASS M), has been delayd until 2nd Septemer 2010. A further launch is due 10th November 2010 (two GLONASS M & one GLONASS K).

EGNOS/Galileo Update:
Brussels, 7 January 2010

Commission awards major contracts to make Galileo operational early 2014
The European Commission announced today the award of three of the six contracts for the procurement of Galileo’s initial operational capability. The contract for the system support services is awarded to ThalesAleniaSpace of Italy , that for a first order of 14 satellites to OHB System AG of Germany and that for the launch services to Arianespace of France. This will allow the initial deployment and service provision of Europe’s satellite navigation system as of early 2014.
Antonio Tajani, European Commission Vice-President in charge of Transport, said: “With this and the upcoming awards for the remaining procurement packages, we are concluding a critical phase of the Galileo programme. We can now focus on the actual roll-out and demonstrate to European citizens that Europe’s own satellite navigation system is firmly underway”.

3-Day Report of Solar & Geophysical Activity:(Updated 22 July 2010 2236UTC)
Solar Activity Forecast:
Solar activity is expected to be very low to low for the next three days (23-25 July).

Geophysical Activity Forecast:
The geomagnetic field is expected to be unsettled for the next two days (23-24 July). The increase is expected due to a favorably positioned coronal hole. Quiet to unsettled levels are expected for 25 July.

Current Space weather Conditions:

Kp index: Maximum value of previous four, 3-hourly planetary index measurements of geomagnetic activity
Ap Index: A measure of the general level of geomagnetic activity over the globe for a given (UT) day.
IMF: Interplanetary Magnetic Field: When the interplanetary magnetic field turns south compared to the Earth's magnetic field, geomagnetic activity will increase. As the Bz (Southward pointed) value becomes more negative, the associated geomagnetic activity increases.

Solar Cycle Update:
The Solar Cycle 24 Prediction Panel has agreed that the solar minimum occurred in December 2008.
The predicted solar maximum (Cycle 24) is now expected to occur in May 2013.
Plots at the following link were updated 6th July 2010.

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SolarCycle/