Russia's 24-satellite navigational and GPS, Glonass, will be fully deployed by 2010 as per Russia’s Defense Ministry. The ministry's press office said the development and use of Glonass was discussed in Moscow at a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and members of a government military commission. Also discussed were ways to improve the competitiveness of navigational services, the mass production of navigational equipment for consumers,
as well as legal issues.
http://en.rian.ru

Trimble has announced that it has supplied GPS reference stations and VRS (Virtual Reference Station) software to establish one of the first Eastern Europe nationwide VRS infrastructure networks. Located in Serbia, the multi-purpose network provides a geospatial infrastructure for surveying, engineering and GIS professionals. The Serbian VRS network or AGROS (Active Geodetic Reference Network of Serbia) is operated by the Serbian Geodetic Authority (RGZ), the national organization for cadastre in Serbia and the network was established in co-operation with Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad (FTN). Built with 32 Trimble 5700
Continuously Operating Reference System (CORS), Trimble GPSNet and RTKNet software, the network is available to all geospatial professionals. www.trimble.com

Scientists funded by NASA, the US National Science Foundation and the Ohio Supercomputer Centre have used satellite data from NASA's two gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE) satellites for the first time to detect changes in the Earth’s surface caused by a massive earthquake. The research paints a clearer picture of how the Earth changed after the December 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, the 9.1-magnitude temblor that set off a devastating tsunami across the Indian Ocean in December 2004 disrupted the earth enough to change gravity and to deflect satellites passing hundreds of miles above. "The earthquake changed the gravity in that part of the world in two ways that we were able to detect," said Shin-Chan Han, an Ohio State research scientist. First, he said, the quake triggered the massive uplift of the seafloor, changing the geometry of the region and altering previous GPS satellite measurements from the area. Second, the density of the rock under the seafloor was changed after the slippage, and an increase or decrease in density produces a detectable gravity change, Han said. www.zeenews.com

Thomas Cook is the first UK airline to gain CAA approval to use cutting edge GPS-based RNAV (Required Navigation) technology in landing approaches. RNAV likely to be used by all civil aircraft in the future utilises
onboard computers and software linked to Flight Guidance systems to produce remarkable new benefits on approach. A three-dimensional approach is generated which mimics a conventional instrument landing, normally associated with a major airfield. The system supplies the flight deck with accurate glide slope indications, even at destinations, which do not have precision approach aids.
www.breakingtravelnews.com

Southern Railway in India has installed GPS-enabled `station identification and display boards' on the Madurai- Chennai-Madurai Vaigai and Tiruchi- Chennai-Tiruchi Pallavan superfast expresses to give information on train movements to passengers, especially foreigners. They have been set up in the air-conditioned chair car coaches.
www.hindu.com