Pocket GPS World - SatNavs | GPS | Speed Cameras - ESA Space Tug Ready for 9th March launch

SatNav,GPS,Navigation

Reviews
Review Categories

Reviews by Company

Hardware Reviews

Software Reviews

Accessory Reviews

Speed Camera Reviews

OTHER ARTICLES

How GPS Works

GPS Event Blogs

Forums
Log In to Post
FORUM FILTERS

Forum Index
Recent Posts

Unanswered Posts

FORUM QUICK LINKS

SpeedCamera Database

CamerAlert Discussion

CONTROL PANEL
Private Messages
Your Account

Speed Cameras (Subscribe Now!)

Subscribers Area
SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Subscribe Now

Subscribers Forum Index

Subscribers Discounts

Your Subscription

Support
Submit A Support Request

Contact
Contact Us

About Us

Corporate Enquiries

Our Partner List

Report Piracy

Log In / Register
NEW USERS

Register

EXISTING USERS

Nickname: Password:


	News: ESA Space Tug Ready for 9th March launch The European Space Agency's new Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) named Jules Verne is on target for its first mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday. The ATV is a 20-tonne unmanned automated cargo vehicle which is designed to take over the resupply from the Space Shuttle which is soon to retire. All fascinating stuff I can hear you thinking, but what has this to do with GPS? Well the most interesting aspect of the design is that it is fully autonomous, capable of holding orbit and docking with the ISS automatically. It is this automatic docking capability that is of particular interest as it uses a sophisticated GPS system to acquire and approach the station. Because the ISS occupies a relatively low orbit at about 340km above the earth GPS still works effectively (GPS Satellites orbit at about 20,000km). From 30km out the ATV will switch to GPS to allow it to close in on the ISS. It continues to use GPS data until it is 240m away. At this point it switches to a different system using lasers fired at reflectors on the station. There is no mention of a TMC capability, Text To Speech etc and athermic windscreens won't be a problem as there are a number of external antennas positioned around the circumference of the craft. Let's hope that the system does not need a reboot in orbit, as it is unmanned there will be nobody around to insert the stylus into the reset hole! Click here to discuss... Posted on Thursday, March 06 @ 13:36:55 UTC by Darren Griffin


	Related Links · More about · News by Darren Griffin Most read story about : TomTom Announce Navigator for Smartphone, Symbian and Sony P900


	Article Rating Average Score: 0 Votes: 0 Please take a second and vote for this article:


	Options Printer Friendly Send to a Friend


	Make a Donation


	CamerAlert Database Download Speed Camera Database 22.043 (17 Apr 24) WORLDWIDE SPEED CAMERA SPOTTERS WANTED! 12mth Subscriber memberships awarded every week for verified new camera reports! Submit Speed Camera Locations Now


	CamerAlert Apps iOS QR Code Android QR Code © Terms & Privacy


	GPS Shopping Hi! We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site. But as we’re losing ad-revenue from this then why not make a donation towards website running costs?. Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!


	Hi! We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site. But as we’re losing ad-revenue from this then why not make a donation towards website running costs?. Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!