Dip-Ing -William Barragán Zaque

Msc. Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics

University of applied sciences Stuttgart
Department of surveying and geoinformática
wbarragan@gmail.com

Abd-el-Hamed Nabial Ibrahim

Msc. Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics
University of applied sciences Stuttgart
Department of surveying and geoinformática
Nabila_gis@yahoo.com

THE GPS MODERNIZATION PROGRAM: IMPACT IN CIVIL USERS

1. GPS Modernization
United States government wants GPS to be the best Global Navigation Satellite
System (GNSS) in the world. The system is more than 25 years old and upgrades
are needed. As old satellites are taken out of operation, there is an opportunity to
replace them with upgraded satellites.
GPS is being modernized in order to further improve positioning, navigation and
timing capabilities for both civil and military users. The modernization initiative will
result in substantial improvements in GPS positioning accuracy. Removal of
Selective Availability (SA) in May 2000 was the first step in the GPS Modernization
initiative.
This immediately increased the accuracy of stand-alone GPS receivers from 30-100
meters to about 10 meters. SA removal has also benefited fleet management –
making tracking the locations of taxis, buses, tractor trailers and boxcars more
efficient, especially in crowded parking lots and railway yards. Removal of SA has
increased the safety of GPS for non-precision runway approaches and generally
improved pilot situational awareness. Recreational benefits include the ability to more
precisely locate favorite fishing holes, boating obstacles, and game left for future
retrieval. According to the U.S. government’s 2001 Federal Radionavigation Systems
report, “SPS (now) provides a global average predictable positioning accuracy of 13
meters (95 percent) horizontally and 22 meters (95 percent) vertically.”

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 2. New Signals
In the future, when combined with the current civil
signal at 1575.42 MHz, the new signals will
significantly improve the robustness and reliability
of GPS for civil users. Estimated accuracy is one
meter or better in real-time. This new capability will
spur new applications for GPS, further expanding
the rapidly growing market for GPS equipment and
services worldwide.
GPS Signals The second civil signal (called L2C) will be located
at 1227.60 MHz along with the current military
signal, and will be available for general use in non-safety-critical applications. L2C
will include a more sophisticated code and is expected to become the most popular
GPS signal used in the future. The new signals will not reach initial operational
capability (IOC) until 18 satellites are in orbit (probably 2008).
A third civil signal will meet the needs of critical safety-of-life applications such as civil
aviation. The third civil signal will be located at 1176.45 MHz, within a portion of the
spectrum that is allocated internationally for aeronautical radio navigation services. It
will provide a higher power level than other carriers and will use a larger bandwidth,
enabling longer codes. As a result, acquiring and tracking weak signals will be much
easier. It will be implemented beginning with a satellite scheduled for launch in 2005.
IOC should occur for the new civil signal at L5 by 2012.

3. GPS Block III

GPS Block III will be a totally new system, not another variation of
GPS II. The idea is to put some of the functionality now provided
from the ground into the space segment – advantages are
enhanced security, ability to incorporate data from other
monitoring stations, and performance improvements brought
about by making the constellation self-synchronizing. The overall
goal is to provide flexibility and robustness to meet evolving
military and civil requirements for the next 30 years. GPS Block III

4. Other Improvements
Several improvements to the operational control segment will improve the capability
to monitor all signals broadcast from the constellation, make the control network
more robust, improve the positioning accuracy of both the civil and military services,
and add new functions that are necessary to control the modernized satellites.
A new military signal (M code) will be added on the L1 and L2 frequencies for the
Department of Defense (DoD). In addition, a military spot beam will be added to new
satellites. The military spot beam is intended to overcome jamming by increasing the

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power over a limited area. Satellites with all the enhancements will cost over $80
million each.
The current GPS modernization effort should carry the constellation through
approximately the year 2010. A new generation of satellites and ground control
facilities will be developed for use beyond 2010 through approximately 2030.

5. Other Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)

GLONASS is a Russian satellite navigation system which now consists of 10 healthy
satellites. Some GPS receiver manufacturers have incorporated the capability to
receive both GPS and GLONASS signals; this increases the availability of satellites
and the integrity of the combined system.
Galileo is Europe's contribution to the next generation Global Navigation Satellite
System (GNSS). Unlike GPS, which is funded by the public sector and operated by
the U.S. Air Force, Galileo will be a civil-controlled system that draws on both public
and private sectors for funding. The service will be free at the point of use, but a
range of chargeable services with additional features will also be offered. These
additional features would include improved reception, accuracy and availability.

6. The Future of GPS

Look for autonomous GPS accuracy at the

centimeter level within 10 years. GPS equipment
capabilities are continually improving, and GPS
receivers are being integrated into many other kinds
of equipment (ex: cell phones, PDAs)
Receiver sizes and prices continue to decrease
Budget problems seem to be an ever-present reality.
For now, the U.S. and other countries are
cooperating on development and operation of global The Future of GPS
navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) this
cooperation has many benefits for users, including increased accuracy when using
receivers that can process signals from more than one system.

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