International Committee onGlobal Navigation Satellite Systems:Activities for Capacity Development
Training Course on Global Navigation Satellite Systems
14 – 18 January 2019, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

Sharafat Gadimova
Office for Outer Space Affairs

Programme on GNSS applications
United Nations Regional Workshops/training courses on the use and applications of GNSS

 Building the capacity of developing countries in using GNSS technology for sustainable
development
United Nations/Fiji Workshop on GNSS, 24 – 28 June 2019, Suva
 Current and Planned GNSS and Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems

 GNSS-based applications
 Natural hazards: GNSS for disaster management


GNSS Reference Frames/Systems and Reference Station Networks

WGS: Seminar on GNSS Spectrum Protection and Interference Detection and Mitigation:
The purpose of the seminar is to educate participants on the importance of GNSS spectrum
protection at the national level and explain how to reap the benefits of GNSS
http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/psa/schedule/2019/2019-un-fiji-workshop-onthe-applications-of-gnss.html
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Programme on GNSS applications
United Nations/Italy Long-term Fellowship Programme,Politecnico di Torino, Turin The Master in Navigation and Related Applications (MNA)
Programme provides extensive background knowledge innavigation/localization systems as well as a detailed analysis
on NAV/COM integration and environmental monitoring
applications
 The II Level Specializing Master is a post graduate
academic program (taken after a Master of Scienceprogram) that provides high quality training. It provides
students with professional knowledge and skills neededin the navigation sector.
 12 months including a period ranging from 3 to 4 months
for hands-on pilot project (internship)
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Promoting the use of GNSS technologies as tools for scientificapplications
 AfricaArray is an educational initiative to support postgraduate studies and promoteresearch into the structural detail of the Earth’s crust and mantle. It has produced anumber of master’s and doctorate degrees in seismology, and one of its goals is to expand
seismic networks in Africa
 Reference frames and timing (WGD) – To benefit operational geodesists or surveyors
involved in positioning and measurement and potentially dealing with sea level changes. It
is open to government, private sector, academic or graduate students in surveying or a
related discipline (IAG, FIG, IGS)
Technical Seminars on Reference Frames in Practice, FIG Working Week 2019, 20 – 21 April, Hanoi,Vietnam
 Training Course on GNSS (WGC) – To create awareness on GNSS and its applications in Asia and thePacific region (Asian Institute of Technology and the Centre for Spatial Information Science of theUniversity of Tokyo): General overview of signal processing in receiver, receiver performances, fieldsurvey using low-cost receiver for high-accuracy positioning Training Course on GNSS, 14 -18 January 2019, AIT, Bangkok, Thailand

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Space Weather2013: STSC agenda item “Space Weather”2014: Establishment of the “Expert Group on Space Weather”
Space weather research and collaboration may help
promote sustainable development throughthe prevention of catastrophic disruptions
space critical infrastructureand space-based services

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Ionospheric Effects on GNSS
Range Error - TEC
Due to a change in the speed of the signal
Group Delay of the signal modulation (absoluterange error)
Carrier Phase advance (relative range error)
Proportional to Total Electron Content
Range Error = +/- 40.3 TEC
f2
Varies from 1 to ~100m – can induce navigation errors
Dual-frequency systems enable mitigation

Scintillation
Due to rapid fluctuations in the amplitude and phaseof the signal
May induce loss of lock – navigation errors
Rare at mid-latitudes
Can be severe after local sunset in the equatorial
regions, especially near the peak of solar cycle

Other Effects
Faraday Rotation, Absorption, Doppler Shift, Waveform
Distortion and Refraction, Diffraction(Picture: P. Kintner)

Varies with location, local
time, season, geomagnetic
and solar activity.
SPACE WEATHER INCREASESIONOSPHERIC EFFECTS ON
SYSTEMS
Source: Patricia Doherty, Boston College

Space Weather Effects – The Big 3!
Damage to Electric Power Grids
 Changes in the magnetic field can produce
surges in power lines and transformers.
 National Academies Report 2009 – estimated theimpact of a space weather induced grid collapse
to be ~$1trillion dollars
Damage to Satellites
 Energetic ions can damage solar panels
 Energized plasmas can cause electrical charges
that can damage the electronics

Damage to power grids.

 Increase satellite drag Economic value of satellite enterprise>$100Billion
Health Risks due to Radiation Hazards
 Exposure at high altitudes
 Astronauts
 High flying jets
 Crews/passengers flying over the poles Redirecting these flights can cost $100,000+
 What about space travel – mission to Mars???

Damage to satellites.

RadiationExposure.

Source: Patricia Doherty, Boston College

Space Weather and GNSS
 Space Weather and GNSS (WGC) – Promotes the use of GNSS for scientific applications
and space weather in developing countries (International Centre for Theoretical Physics(ICTP), Boston Colleague)
 Increased number of students and young scientists studying and using GNSS,including increasing participation by women, and many opportunities for research(improved imaging of the ionosphere over the equatorial region, ionospheric effects
on augmentation systems…)
Workshop on Ionospheric forecasting for GNSS operations in developing countries: Findings
and Challenges, 27 – 31 May 2019, ICTP, Trieste, Italy
http://indico.ictp.it/event/8686/

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Science, Capacity Building and Outreach International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI)A programme of international cooperation to advance the space weather science by a
combination of instrument deployment, analysis and interpretation of space weather data

 About 80 National Coordinators from Member countries
 Grass-roots organization – bottoms-up approach to produce a space-weatherliterate communities especially in developing countries

 Accomplished via workshops, schools, and training courses
 Collaboration: SCOSTEP, COSPAR
 Website (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences): http://www.iswi-secretariat.org/
International Space Weather Initiative Workshop, 20 – 24 May 2019, ICTP, Trieste,Italy
http://indico.ictp.it/event/8682/
Slide 8ISWI Instrument Sites

 Scientists from developing/developed nations work together in deploying and operating
SW instruments: > 1000 deployments in >100 countries; Students and faculty participate at all levels of the instrument project and science; 18 instrument networks from 8 countries (USA, Germany, Japan, Brazil, France, Israel,Armenia, Switzerland)
Slide 9Scintillation Network Decision Aid (SCINDA)• Provides information on ionospheric conditions (e.g., scintillation) and hence
forecasts communication degradation and outage in the equatorial region.
• Radio signals up to a few GHz frequency are affected• The region affected corresponds to about 1/3 of the surface of the globe• Important for transequatorial flights

K. Groves, C. Carrano, C. Bridgwood, P. Doherty (Boston College)

Red – SCINDABlue – LISN, another ISWI network
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ICG Information Portal

WWW.UNOOSA.ORG
WWW.UNOOSA.ORG/OOSA/EN/OURWORK/ICG/ICG.HTML
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UNOOSA Publications

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NAVIPEDIA: Status•

In line with ICG2012 recommendation on NAVIPEDIA, ESA has
been maintaining and developing further NAVIPEDIA with upto-date information.

•NAVIPEDIA is today extensively used by universities andGalileo application developers.

•NAVIPEDIA is also used as reference as part of the European
Satellite Navigation Conference (ESNC) for the GNSS
application developers•An APP version of NAVIPEDIA (for both Android and iOSoperational systems) is currently under development. Thisshould be ready by the end of 2016.

www.navipedia.org
ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official UseConclusion The activities and opportunities provided through the ICG and
its Programme on GNSS applications result in the development
and growth of capacities that will enable each country toenhance its knowledge, understanding and practical experiencein those aspects of GNSS technology that have the potential fora greater impact on its economic and social development,including the preservation of its environment
 Space weather is so critical because we are more dependent on
space-based technology than ever before

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