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| GPS |
| November 2006 |
| US agency says China
used laser to jam US satellite |
China has beamed
a ground-based laser at US spy satellites over its territory,
a US agency says. The action exposed the potential vulnerability
of space systems that provide crucial data to American
troops and consumers around the world. The Defence Department
remains tightlipped
about details, including which satellite was involved
or when it occurred. The Pentagon's National Reconnaissance
Office Director Donald Kerr has acknowledged the incident,
first reported by Defence News, but said it did not
materially damage the US satellite's ability to collect
information. “Space is a much bigger part of our
military posture than it used to be, so any effort by
the Chinese or anybody else to jam our satellites is
potentially a big deal,” said Loren Thompson,
Defence Analyst with the Virginia-based Lexington Institute.
Clearly, the incident sparked fresh concerns among US
officials about the US ability to determine if satellite
problems are caused by malfunctions, weather anomalies
like solar flares, or targeted attacks.
www.theage.com.au |
| Russia clears space
pact with India |
Clearing the
way for joint space exploration and transfer of space
technology to New Delhi, the Indo- Russian space cooperation
agreement has been signed into a federal law by Russian
President Vladimir Putin. Putin signed the pact into
a federal law after both houses of Russian parliament
unanimously approved the pact last month. By being signed
into law, Indo-Russian space cooperation will acquire
strategic character and would speed up joint collaboration
in completing and operationalising the GLONASS. Under
the GLONASS agreement, Indian Space Research Organisation
will launch Russian navigational satellites Glonass-M
with the help of Indian space launch vehicles and jointly
develop with Russia a new generation navigational satellite
Glonass-K.
www.dnaindia.com |
| South Korea to introduce
new geodetic system |
The South Korean
Government has designated Ullung Island as the starting
point of a new geodetic system prior to changing to
the World Geodetic System (WGS-84). To date the Tokyo
Datum has been used for measuring distances after Japan
occupied the peninsula in 1910. The geodetic system
is a means of measuring the distance and location of
objects on land by using a specific starting point.
The starting point of the previous system was Tokyo.
Under the new geodetic system, the coordinates of the
Ullung Island starting point will be changed from 37
degrees 28 minutes 47.2005 seconds latitude north and
130 degrees 54 minutes 1.1705 seconds longitude east
to 37 degrees 28 minutes 57.4331 seconds latitude north
and 130 degrees 54 minutes 2.7496 seconds longitude
east. The difference in measurements from the Tokyo
Datum and those from the WGS-84 is 365 meters southwestward.
http://times.hankooki.com |
| China starts to build
own satellite navigation system |
China announced
to build a satellite navigation system that will include
up to 35 satellites and be working in the Asian region
by 2008, state press said. The system, called “Beidou”,
will include five geostationary earth orbit satellites
and 30 medium earth orbit satellites. Navigation services
open to commercial customers will provide users with
positioning accuracy within 10 meters (33 feet), velocity
accuracy within 0.2 meters per second and timing accuracy
within 50 nanoseconds, the report said. |
| Indian school installs
GPS in its buses |
The Cathedral
and John Connan High School in Mumbai has installed
GPS units in each of its 52 buses, making it a first
for city schools. This satellitebased tracking system,
installed in August, will be fully functional in a month's
time and enable both school authorities and school bus
operators to track the buses.
http:// timesofindia.indiatimes.com |
US adopts new space policy
The US has adopted a tough
new policy aimed at protecting its interests in space
and denying "adversaries" access there for
hostile purposes. The document - signed by President
Bush - also says "freedom of action in space
is as important to the United States as air power
and sea power". The document rejects any proposals
to ban space weapons. But the White House has said
the policy does not call for the development or deployment
of weapons in space. The 10-page strategic document
states that the US national security "is critically
dependent upon space capabilities, and this dependence
will grow". "The United States will preserve
its rights, capabilities, and freedom of action in
space... and deny, if necessary, adversaries the use
of space capabilities hostile to US national interests,"
it says. The document also sets out US commercial
ambitions, saying it is committed to encouraging and
facilitating a growing
entrepreneurial space sector. The new elements of
the policy include using space support for homeland
security, emphasizing and strengthening interagency
partnerships, and renewing the emphasis on the value
of mission success in the U.S. government’s
space acquisition programs. It is the first revision
in US space policy for 10 years. It addresses concerns
voiced in a 2001 Pentagon report that said technological
advances would enable potential enemies to disrupt
orbiting US satellites. Unclassified details of the
policy (http://www. ostp.gov/html/US%20National%20
Space%20Policy.pdf) published on the Internet say
space capabilities, including spy and other communication
satellites, are essential for national security.
http://usinfo.state.gov
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