Sat-nav devices face big errors as solar activity rises

The BBC has an interesting post on the potential disruption to satallite navigation due to increases in solar activity (sun flares). Now that we live in a global infrastructure that is vulnerable to communication 'impacts', such issues are worth considering:

The Sun's irregular activity can wreak havoc with the weak sat-nav signals we use.

The last time the Sun reached a peak in activity, satellite navigation was barely a consumer product. But the Sun is on its way to another solar maximum, which could generate large and unpredictable sat-nav errors.It is not just car sat-nav devices that make use of the satellite signals; accurate and dependable sat-nav signals have, since the last solar maximum, quietly become a necessity for modern infrastructure...

...So as the Sun builds up to its peak in a few years' time, be aware that your sat-nav may for a time give some strange results - or for a short while none at all.

Read more at - 'Sat-nav devices face big errors as solar activity rises'

-

Colloquium on scientific applications of Galileo

The first international colloquium on the fundamental aspects and scientific applications of Galileo and global navigation satellite systems will be held at the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse from 1 to 4 October 2007:

The colloquium will address three major issues:

* the fundamental aspects of navigation by satellites and Galileo – geodetic and temporal reference frames, relativistic frame, on board and ground clocks, orbits, radiation environment in orbit, inter-satellite links, fundamental aspects of propagation, tropospheric and ionospheric corrections, calibration and validation, relations with international organisations
* scientific applications in meteorology, geodesy, geophysics, space physics, oceanography, land surface and ecosystem studies – using either direct or reflected signals; differential measurements, phase measurements, occultation measurements – using receivers placed on the ground, in airplanes or in scientific satellites
* scientific developments in physics and dealing with future systems, particularly in testing fundamental laws, in astronomy, in quantum communication, and in developing clocks or experiments based on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)

For more details read here