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Several other nations are developing or expanding their PNT or augmentation systems. The first satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) was launched in 2013. When complete, the network will include ## satellites to enhance PNT coverage over South Asia. ## of the ## will be in heavily inclined, non-equatorial GEO, while ## will be in traditional GEO. India also has a GPS augmentation system called GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN), designed to improve air navigation in India.
Read MoreA joint initiative between the European Commission (EC) and ESA, the Galileo constellation will consist of ## operational satellites in MEO. Europe launched ## in-orbit validation (IOV) spacecraft between 2011 and 2012 for positioning tests and technology validation. In November 2013, the IOV network enabled Galileo to successfully track a test aircraft flying over the Netherlands, the first time that the European agency has been able to track a moving aircraft using only the Galileo system. Initially, Galileo’s Open Service—freely accessibly PNT signals for mass-market devices such as smartphones and automobile navigation systems—is planned to be operational in 2014, although the launch of the first ## satellites has been delayed.
Read MoreIn 2011, China became the third nation to declare a PNT system operational, with the announcement that its BeiDou system was able to provide location data and SMS messaging for users within China. In late 2012, The China Satellite Navigation Office published the complete interface control document for the system, enabling international manufacturers to build BeiDou-compatible receivers. Basic services to surrounding regions in Asia were enabled in 2012, and by mid-2013, Chinese efforts to aggressively promote BeiDou as a viable alternative to GPS and GLONASS were well underway.
Read MoreThe second global PNT system to become operational was Russia’s GLONASS constellation, which was started by the Soviet Union in 1976, and was briefly operational in 1996 after the deployment of its ## satellite. However, during the Russian financial crisis of the 1990s, program funding evaporated, and GLONASS fell into disrepair as satellites reached the end of their design life and were not replaced. In 2001, President Vladimir Putin ordered a 10-year, $## billion modernization program of GLONASS, resulting in an upgrade and replenishment of the satellite constellation, which was completed in 2011.
Read MoreTo many, all satellite-based navigation is synonymous with the term “Global Positioning System” or “GPS.” However, this acronym only refers to one specific network: the U.S. Navigation Signal Timing and Ranging Global Positioning System (NAVSTAR-GPS). Developed by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), GPS became fully operational in 1995, and remained the only fully operational global satellite-based navigation network for several years. GPS provides global coverage with ## active satellites in MEO plus a number of in-orbit backups. The USAF currently maintains ## GPS satellites, along with ## to ## decommissioned satellites that can be reactivated as needed.
Read MoreIn addition to the ISS and Chinese space station, a private U.S. company and Russia are planning on launching their own space stations. Both projects are still in the planning stages, utilizing technology and experience derived from their predecessors.
Read MoreThe first module of the ISS, the Russian Zarya module, was launched in late 1998 and the station became home to its first permanent crew in 2000. With the subsequent installation of major structural components and sections, the ISS reached its “core complete” configuration in 2011. New equipment, modules, and experimental platforms are regularly, a process expected to last until 2015.
Read MoreSeveral crewed, reusable suborbital vehicles have been under development during the past decade. These vehicles are being designed and built by commercial companies to carry paying passengers to the edge of space, enabling them to experience microgravity for minutes at a time. When operational, these vehicles will provide the most affordable access to space for passengers. Although ticket prices of $## to $## are certainly not within most people’s personal budgets, they represent a drastic discount from the $## to $## million paid by the most recent private visitors to the ISS.
Read MoreSouth Korea conducted ## successful orbital launch in 2013. After suffering two previous launch failures of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV)-1, arguments arose between the Russian manufacturers of the vehicle’s first stage and the South Korean manufacturers of the second stage over the responsibility for the vehicle’s failures.
Read MoreIndia conducted ## successful orbital launches in 2013, all using its indigenously designed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The ## flight, in February 2013, carried a French oceanography satellite along with a selection of microsatellites. The ## flight took place in July 2013, lofting an Indian navigation satellite into orbit.
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