Infrastructure
2018 – Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS)
Japan’s Cabinet Office continues to operate all four satellites of QZSS (also known as Michibiki), the country’s PNT constellation. QZSS is a regional PNT system solely catering to Japan’s population.…
2018 – Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC)
India launched one Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) satellite to complete its Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) in 2018. This new satellite brings the number of operational IRNSS satellites…
2018 – Global Positioning System (GPS)
The U.S. maintained 31 operational GPS satellites during 2018, the same number operational during 2017. While that number of operational satellites is seven more than the minimum number of GPS…
2018 – Global Navigation Satellites System (GLONASS)
For 2018, Russia maintained its 2017 number of operational GLONASS PNT satellites, 24; these satellites are also known as Uragan. However, because China and the EU/ESA increased their overall numbers…
2018 – Galileo
In contrast to the PNT systems operated by other nations (except Japan), two European civil government organizations (the EU) and the ESA) share acquisition, management and operation of the Galileo…
2018 – BeiDou/CentiSpace
Of all the nations deploying and operating PNT satellites in 2018, China was the busiest. At the beginning of 2018, the nation’s PNT system, known as BeiDou (Compass), consisted of…
2018 – PNT Satellites – Breakdown by Country
Of the 146 PNT satellites in Earth orbit during 2018, 101 were operational, up 11% from 2017’s total of 91 operational PNT satellites. The U.S. maintained the highest share of…
2018 – PNT Satellites – Breakdown by Mission Segment
Like PNT deployments in previous years, the majority of the 27 PNT satellites deployed in 2018, 81% (21) were for military missions. Four satellites (15% of the total) were deployed…
2017 – Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Systems
PNT satellite constellations continued growing during 2017. Deployments led to a 6% increase in the in-orbit PNT satellite population as a result of Chinese, European, Indian, Japanese, and Russian efforts…
2018 New Communications Satellites Challenges
January 2018 marked the first time a U.S. communications satellite operator deployed satellites without the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) permission. In April 2017, nine months before the launch, the…