UNSW Surveying

29/08/2026

Microchip Debuts Radiation-Tolerant Chip-Scale Atomic Clock for Small Satellites
The Space CSAC-SA65 extends radiation tolerance to 30 kRad and cuts power draw below 120 mW, letting CubeSat-class missions carry atomic-clock timing without relying on GNSS. Microchip Technology on Aug. 13 introduced the Space CSAC-SA65, a radiation-tolerant chip-scale atomic clock designed to bring atomic-clock timing accuracy to small, power-constrained satellite missions.
The company said the growing New Space market is driving demand for smaller, less expensive space hardware supporting short-duration missions in applications such as satellite-to-cellular communications, alternative navigation and Earth imaging. Built on the heritage of Microchip’s Space CSAC-SA45, the new device extends radiation tolerance to at least 30 kRad and operates across an extended temperature range of -40 degrees C to +80 degrees C. It consumes less than 120 mW and occupies under 17 cubic centimetres, with built-in 1 PPS input and output for satellite synchronisation. The atomic stability lets systems maintain timing accuracy for extended periods without continuous reliance on GNSS signals.
Read more in Inside GNSS article. https://insidegnss.com/microchip-debuts-radiation-tolerant-chip-scale-atomic-clock-for-small-satellites/

29/08/2026

TrustPoint, a developer of next-generation space-based positioning and navigation solutions, has successfully demonstrated its C-band signals in the presence of GNSS interference under contract with Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
In partnership with Hexagon, a global leader in measurement technologies, the company successfully operated an enhanced C-band receiver developed by NovAtel, part of Hexagon, accelerating the path to commercial availability.
The demonstration marks a significant step toward commercialising GNSS-independent PNT, bringing together TrustPoint’s resilient C-band service with NovAtel’s proven receiver technology to deliver positioning in GNSS-denied environments.
By integrating C-band capabilities into a NovAtel GNSS receiver, the partnership advances the path toward C-band-enabled GNSS solutions, marking an important step forward for the navigation industry.
Read more in GPS World article.

Resilient C-band signals demonstrated through GNSS interference on NovAtel's established receiver platform, accelerating the path to commercial resilient PNT.

29/08/2026

No signal left behind: new ways to detect jamming and spoofing
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are an invisible backbone for everyday life. They are essential for transportation, emergency response and public safety. They are also vulnerable to interference, both natural and human made.
As our dependence on GNSS grows, the European Space Agency (ESA) is working hard to ensure satellite navigation systems are resilient and is supporting companies and Member States in finding new ways to detect interference.
With 10% of European GDP enabled by satellite navigation, the economic impact of GNSS interference is significant. In the second quarter of 2025, more than 10 000 ships were reported as being impacted by malicious interference globally, marking an eightfold increase as compared to the first quarter of 2025.
Interference not only disrupts navigation on land, air and sea, but it also poses safety issues and economic losses as many ship systems, including fire safety and emergency beacons, as well as critical infrastructure such as power grids, are linked to GNSS. In 2025, a joint statement issued by several United Nations agencies called for the protection of signals from harmful interference.
Read more in the following article.

Image: Shutterstock What's new: An item from the European Space Agency about GNSS interference monitoring that describes three "new" methods. Why it's

29/08/2026

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), working with the Finnish Border Guard and the Finnish Defence Forces, has successfully completed a new round of operational testing for an innovative system designed to detect interference with satellite navigation signals.
The trials took place July 6-9 in Finland as part GANDALF-4 measurement campaign. Experts from the NCIA Joint Surveillance and Reconnaissance Centre installed and operated GANDALF system aboard the Finnish Border Guard’s offshore patrol vessel Turva and a Finnish Border Guard H215 Super Puma helicopter, testing the technology in realistic maritime and airborne conditions, which provided valuable data for the detection, classification and localisation of GNSS interference.
Read more in GPS World article.

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), working with the Finnish Border Guard and the Finnish Defence Forces, has successfully completed a new

21/08/2026

Charlie Trimble to receive O.M. Miller Cartographic Medal
Few people have shaped modern cartography quite like Charlie Trimble. Now, the founder of Trimble is set to be recognized for that legacy, with the American Geographical Society confirming he will receive its O.M. Miller Cartographic Medal, one of the society's highest distinctions, for contributions that have significantly advanced cartography and the geographic sciences.
"Charlie Trimble helped transform GPS from an emerging technology into one of the defining innovations in modern geography," said Lee Schwartz, CEO of the American Geographical Society. "His early vision for the commercial potential of precise positioning laid the foundation for modern mapping, navigation and countless industries that rely on geographic intelligence. Charlie is an exceptionally deserving recipient of the O.M. Miller Cartographic Medal."
It was the late 1970s, and GPS existed only as an experimental military programme, its commercial potential dismissed by nearly everyone who encountered it. Charlie Trimble was the exception. Convinced that precise positioning could solve real world problems, he founded Trimble in 1978. Six years later, he proved his instincts right, selling the world's first commercially viable GPS receiver.
Read more in GIM International article.

Few people have shaped modern cartography quite like Charlie Trimble. Now, the founder of Trimble is set to be recognized for that legacy, with the Am...

21/08/2026

What’s Next for GPS? – Aerospace Corporation
For decades, GPS has quietly transformed the way the world operates. What began as primarily a military capability has become a cornerstone of modern life, enabling everything from defence operations and emergency response to transportation networks, financial transactions and the smart phones carried by billions of people around the world.
Today, GPS is far more than a navigation system. It is critical infrastructure woven throughout and supporting countless activities across government, industry and society. As reliance on GPS has grown, so too has the importance of ensuring users can trust the position, navigation and timing (PNT) information that underpins those activities.
For John Langer, an Aerospace associate principal director who has worked on GPS for decades, that realisation became personal while working with military personnel who relied on GPS-enabled equipment in combat environments.
Read more in the following article.

Image: Lockheed Martin What's new: A thought piece from the highly respected Aerospace Corporation. Why it's important: The article includes a number of

21/08/2026

ADS-B Data Analysis for GNSS Interference Mapping
Public GPS interference maps have become an essential awareness tool for tracking GNSS disruptions worldwide. Services like GPSJAM and GPSwise display interference data derived from aircraft broadcasts, helping aviation professionals and infrastructure operators understand where interference events occur. In 2025 alone, analysts documented over 1,500 flights affected by GPS interference daily, with more than 122,000 flights impacted in the first four months of the year, according to industry tracking.
Yet, these powerful visualization tools are frequently misunderstood. The same maps that raise awareness also create dangerous misconceptions when viewers assume they represent ground-level RF conditions or comprehensive threat coverage. This article explains what GNSS interference maps derived from Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data actually measure, why their limitations matter, and how critical infrastructure operators can avoid common interpretation errors that lead to complacency or misallocated resources.
Read more in Inside GNSS article.

A look at how detection works and common misperceptions. Public GPS interference maps have become an essential awareness tool for tracking GNSS disruptions worldwide. Services like GPSJAM and GPSwise display interference data derived from aircraft broadcasts, helping aviation professionals and infra

15/08/2026

Canada’s Minister of National Defence, David J. McGuinty, announced the launch of the Quantum Defence Innovation Secure Hub (DISH) in Calgary, Alberta, a University of Calgary-led consortium that will receive more than $20.3 million CAD over two years to move Canadian quantum research toward operational defence capabilities. The hub’s mandate includes developing GNSS-independent navigation technologies and spoofing detection capabilities.
“Quantum will shape the next generation of defence capabilities, and Canada must be prepared to lead—not follow,” McGuinty said. “Through the Quantum Defence Innovation Secure Hub, we’re bringing together Canadian researchers, innovators, industry, and government to accelerate Made-in-Canada quantum technologies into mission-ready capabilities that strengthen the operational advantage of the Canadian Armed Forces while growing Canada’s sovereign defence industrial base.”
The Quantum DISH is established under Canada’s Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Innovation and Science (BOREALIS), a Department of National Defence framework for connecting government, industry and academic partners on defence innovation. It joins two existing BOREALIS hubs, the Maritime DISH pilot and the Uncrewed Systems DISH, and was selected through a competitive Call for Proposals held from February 18 to April 2, 2026.
Read more in Inside GNSS article.

Canada's Minister of National Defence, David J. McGuinty, announced the launch of the Quantum Defence Innovation Secure Hub (DISH) in Calgary, Alberta, a University of Calgary-led consortium that will receive more than $20.3 million CAD over two years to move Canadian quantum research toward op

15/08/2026

India’s government has accepted that the seven-satellite NavIC constellation can no longer independently provide navigation, reports the Indian Express. This is the first official acknowledgment since positioning data from one of its satellites was lost in March.
India’s armed forces continue to use NavIC signals to navigate as part of the multi-constellation GNSS, with data from GPS, Galileo and GLONASS.
The constellation can still provide accurate time signals for digital devices as well as broadcast emergency messages, while end-user devices carry a multi-constellation GNSS receiver.
Read more in GPS World article.

India's government has accepted that the seven-satellite NavIC constellation can no longer independently provide navigation, reports the Indian Express. This

15/08/2026

Beyond the Demonstration: The Hard Questions LEO PNT Must Answer
For years, the central challenge surrounding LEO PNT was whether it could work. Today, that challenge is increasingly getting addressed. Dedicated LEO constellations have transmitted navigation signals from orbit. Opportunistic approaches have demonstrated PNT with signals never intended for navigation. Governments have initiated national LEO PNT programs, while commercial companies are investing billions of dollars in satellite infrastructure that may ultimately support PNT.
LEO PNT is entering an uncomfortable phase of maturity. The debates are shifting from technical to operational. Can LEO PNT be trusted? Can it scale? Can it integrate? Can it survive commercially? Can it become infrastructure? What role will it play? Who will pay for it? And perhaps most importantly, what problem is it actually solving?
The questions are shifting from “Can LEO PNT work?” to “Can LEO PNT become trusted infrastructure?” The answers depend, in part, on which vision of LEO PNT one adopts.
Read more in Inside GNSS article.

As LEO PNT matures, the discussion is shifting from: "can LEO produce a PNT solution?" to "what must happen before users trust it?" An unusual thing is happening in the navigation community. Almost everyone now believes in low Earth orbit positioning, navigation and timing (LEO P