2013
Getting a Charge with mapZero
Beyond turn-by-turn navigation, GNSS abilities within smartphones are increasingly used to facilitate daily travel experiences. Owners of electric vehicles from cars to Segways are limited by the range of their vehicles, and that distance can vary substantially, depending on driving conditions.
Global Navigation and Google Glass Provide Direction
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), enable a variety of devices to receive geolocation data. Smartphone users have become accustomed to having this information available at all times, and companies continue to find new ways to provide access to their customers.
Better Breathing Through Chemistry: Airocide
Purification of air is also critical in space habitats, where breathable atmosphere must be conserved, and venting potentially harmful volatile organic compounds and ethylene gas is not an option. Airocide, a purification system created for the ISS, replaces traditional air filters with a chemistry-based solution: an ultraviolet light activates a series of titanium dioxide-coated rings that oxidize and destroy harmful compounds on contact.
Measuring Pollution with Aqua
NASA measures atmospheric nitrogen dioxide concentration using a sensor on the Aqua satellite, indicating the severity of air pollution. Applying these satellite measurements of air pollution to maps showing total population of urban areas, NASA scientists have identified a series of regional relationships between pollution and population.
ISS Technology helps with inexpensive water quality testing
Monitoring the quality of water is a corollary issue to water availability. Methods of testing for contaminants in water supplies aboard the ISS that do not require incubators or other expensive instruments have been adapted for terrestrial use by the nonprofit organization mWater.
2013 – Changing Context in Government Space Programs: National, Regional, and Local
As the commercial space sector matures, government space programs wrestle with defining the context and objectives for scientific and exploration activities while optimizing economic and societal return through space applications. International planning for space exploration activities provides a fr… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity, Packed with…
2013 – An Evolving Space Industry: Commoditization, Differentiation, and the Rise of Regional Operators
The space industry is evolving, moving from a phase of testing and development in the mid-20th century, to limited satellite coverage and use by specialists in the late 20th century, to ubiquitous coverage and broad consumer adoption in the early 21st century. At the same time, traditional satellite… Thank you for visiting The Space Report!…
2013 – China Space Stations
Another operational space station is the Chinese Tiangong-1. Launched in late 2011, Tiangong-1 is a prototype space station that is being used to develop technologies and techniques necessary for China to move on to a larger, permanently occupied space station in the future. Tiangong-1 was first occupied in June 2012.
2013 – QZSS
Japan already employs a ##-satellite GPS-augmentation system called MSAS, which stands for the MTSAT (Multi-functional Transport Satellite) Satellite-based Augmentation System. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is also creating the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), consisting of ## to ## quasi-GEO satellites that will address navigation issues specific to Japan’s geography. While these will be at similar altitudes as traditional GEO satellites, they will not actually be fixed over the Equator like typical FSS satellites.
2013 – IRNSS
Several other nations are developing or expanding their PNT or augmentation systems. The first satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) was launched in 2013. When complete, the network will include ## satellites to enhance PNT coverage over South Asia. ## of the ## will be in heavily inclined, non-equatorial GEO, while ## will be in traditional GEO. India also has a GPS augmentation system called GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN), designed to improve air navigation in India.