International Committee on
Global Navigation Satellite Systems:
Activities for Capacity Building
Training Course on Global Navigation Satellite Systems
6 – 10 January 2020, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

Sharafat Gadimova
Office for Outer Space AffairsUnited Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
CAPACITY-BUILDER: UNOOSA brings the benefits ofspace to humankind by building space capacity of
non-space-faring countries
GLOBAL FACILITATOR: UNOOSA plays a leading andfacilitating role in the promotion of the peaceful usesof outer space

GATEWAY TO SPACE: UNOOSA is the main UN officeon space matters and facilitates the coordination ofUN activities using space-related technology toimprove the human condition globally.
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Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer SpaceUNOOSA supports the Committee on the Peaceful Uses ofOuter Space (COPUOS), its Scientific and Technical
Subcommittee, Legal Subcommittee, and related working
groups.

COPUOS was established by the General Assembly in 1959 with 24 members. Since then, theCommittee's membership has continued to expand (currently 92 members), though theOffice serves all 193 Member States of the UN).
Slide 2STSC and LSC
The Legal Subcommittee (LSC) discuss legal mattersrelated to the exploration and use of outer space.
Topics include the status and application of the five United
Nations treaties on outer space, the definition anddelimitation of outer space, national space legislation,legal mechanisms relating to space debris mitigation, andinternational mechanisms for cooperation in the peaceful
exploration and use of outer space
The Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (STSC) discuss mattersrelated to the scientific and technical aspects of space activities.
Topics for discussion include space weather, near-Earth objects, theuse of space technology for socioeconomic development, or fordisaster management support, global navigation satellite systems,
and the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.
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Space in the UN System
UNOOSA is the only UN office with anumber of General Assembly
mandates to bridge access to spacetechnologies and space-based
information for Member States andother UN agencies and to build
capacity in the use of suchtechnologies.

For the attainment of all 17 SDGs and
169 targets space tools carry significant
relevance:
Direct — as enablers and drivers forsustainable development
Indirect — as an integral part of theindicators for monitoring progress

UN-Space
The annual interagency meeting(est. 1975) - since 2014 = UN-Space.

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International Committee on GNSS (ICG) UNOOSA serves as the executive secretariat of ICG
 Established in 2005, ICG provides a mechanism for multilateral discussion andcoordination on GNSS issues of concern

 Encourages coordination among GNSS providers
 Promotes the introduction and utilization of GNSS services
in developing countries
 Assists GNSS users with their development plans andapplications
 Contributes to the sustainable development of the world Assure GNSS interoperability and compatibility among providers and users globally forenhanced services and applications
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ICG: Membership and Annual Meetings Members: Current and future core, regional or augmentation systems providers: China (BeiDou), EU (Galileo/EGNOS), Russia (GLONASS/SDCM), United States(GPS/WAAS), India (IRNSS/GAGAN), Japan (QZSS/MSAS), Nigeria (NIGCOMSAT)
 State Members of the United Nations with an active programme in implementing
or promoting a wide range of GNSS services and applications: Italy, Malaysia,
United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand Associate Members and Observers: 21 organizations
 Annual Meetings: UNOOSA (2006), India (2007), … India (2019), Vienna (2020), UAE(2021)
 Providers’ Forum: 23rd Meeting, 8 - 12 December 2019, Bengaluru, India: Open Service
Information Dissemination, Open Service Performance, Spectrum Protection ICG-15 meeting, Vienna, AUSTRIA, 14 – 18 September 2020

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Working Group Systems, Signals and Services (S)The subgroup on compatibility and spectrum protection:

 continued its campaign to promote adequate protection of GNSS spectrum
through education and outreach;

http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/icg/workinggroups/s/IDMIndex.html
 continued to investigate methods of implementing interference detection andmitigation capabilities through permanent network-based solutions andthrough crowdsourcing techniques Recommendation (ICG-14): GNSS Spectrum Protection Booklet
 Fundamentals of GNSS; Interference and Spectrum Management; Interference
Threats; Methods of Interference Detection and Mitigation; Current
Interference Challenges
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Working Group Systems, Signals and Services (S)Recommendation (ICG-14): Precise Point Positioning (PPP) Interoperability Task Force (tobe led by Australia, japan and the European Union
 The ICG will establish a Task Force within the WG-S Interoperability and Service
Standards Subgroup, with participation from WG’s B and D

The Task Force will draft a work plan focused on the objective of improving theinteroperability of Precise Point Positioning (PPP) services

Specifically, the Task Force will: Coordinate with the ICAO Navigation Systems Panel and the SBAS Interoperability Working
Group in the ongoing discussions and work of the Task Force; Concentrate on establishing the foundational documents, baseline definitions andassumptions to develop common terminology on basic parameters for PPP service
provision/broadcast; Encourage the publication and dissemination of PPP signal and system information;
 Continue discussions with Service Providers (governmental and commercial) about the issues
raised at the 1st PPP Workshop (Fiji 2019) and follow-on issues identified by the Task Force; Seek answers from Service Providers (governmental and commercial) to the questions
formulated at the 1st PPP Workshop and follow-on issues identified by the Task Force
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Working Group Enhancement of GNSS Performance, NewServices and Capabilities (B)Recommendation (ICG-14): Release of GNSS Transmit Antenna Patterns includingSide Lobes
GNSS Service Providers consider
 releasing the antenna gain patterns or equivalent representative modellinginformation (including both main lobe and side lobes for each frequency, foropen services) for each of the transmit antennas of the GNSS satellites in therespective satellite constellations in order to enable and/or improve the use ofGNSS in the SSV
For future satellite developments
 GNSS Service Providers consider conducting antenna gain measurements,
testing and/or characterization, including both main lobe and side lobes for each
open service signal.
Slide 9Working Group Enhancement of GNSS Performance, New
Services and Capabilities (B) All providers have agreed on the information presented in thisbooklet, and on several recommendations to continue
development, support, and expansion of the multi-GNSS SSV
concept.
 This publication, and the work of WGB, show the significant
value of GNSS SSV for a much wider scope of future space
exploration activities for countries all over the world.
 GNSS SSV and its potential augmentations can enableambitious future missions and activities in the context of space
exploration going beyond low-Earth orbit to the Moon, Mars
and other celestial bodies.
http://www.unoosa.org/res/oosadoc/data/documents/2018/stspace/stspace75_0_html/st_space_75E.pdf
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Working Group Reference Frames, Timing andApplications (D)Specific progress on monitoring the offsets between GNSS times: Studies have been conducted by some Providers and the timing community
identifying several methods to improve their time offset determination andimpact on positioning; Additional work is necessary for the Providers to assess the accuracy goals in thedetermination of the GNSS time offsets and impact on positioning, so as tospecify a recommended method to determine and monitor them; To continue to work together (WG C and D) and contribute to capacity buildingon GNSS and utilization of GNSS in Geodesy and Reference Frames;

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ICG: Programme on GNSS applications
 United Nations Regional Workshops/training courses on the use and applications ofGNSS: 2019: Workshop on the applications of GNSS, 24 – 28 June, Suva, Fiji
 GNSS spectrum protection and interference detection and mitigation (WGS): to engage
with spectrum regulators and decision makers within their respective countries in orderto do the following: Ensure that there is a solid understanding of the processes and organizations
involved in the regulation of the GNSS spectrum in respective countries; Develop actions to ensure that there is adequate protection for the GNSS spectrum.
 Standards and interoperability of precise point positioning services (WGS&B&D): toincrease the user benefits and opportunities to support PNT applications in developingcountries.

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ICG: Programme on GNSS applications
 Sustainability and modernization of GNSS continuously operating reference stations
and geospatial infrastructure through capacity development (WGD): to provide
information on the importance of planning and its link to the “why, what and how” ofdeveloping long-term capability with respect to GNSS and geospatial infrastructure andrelated activities:
 There was a need for standards and procedures that were “ fit for purpose” , including
consolidated checklists that would serve to ensure consistent and sustainable use of
GNSS, and related activities in the regions; Engagement with the private sector, especially for training, data provision andprocessing, was encouraged.
 2020: United Nations/Mongolia Workshop on the applications of GNSS, 13 -17 April,
Ulaanbaatar
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ICG: Programme on GNSS applications
 Space Weather and GNSS (WGB&C)
 Promotes the use of GNSS for scientific applications and space weather indeveloping countries
 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 theequatorial region, ionospheric effects on augmentation systems…)
 In cooperation with the Institute for Scientific Research at Boston College, theUnited States, and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics,
Italy: A series of outreach workshops on space weather effects on GNSSoperations
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ICG: Programme on GNSS applications
2020: African Workshop on GNSS and Space Weather, Rabat, Morocco, 5 – 16 October To provide updated knowledge of how GNSS operate and their applications; to describe thescience of SW; and how to perform ionospheric and SW research with GNSS data Introduction to Global Navigation Satellite Systems
 GNSS Applications
 Ionospheric Total Electron Content
 Scintillation
 Ionospheric Modeling Space Weather
 The Sun-Earth Connection
 Hands-on laboratories

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ICG: Programme on GNSS applications
 Reference frames and timing (WGD)
 To benefit operational geodesists or surveyors involved in positioning and measurement andpotentially dealing with sea level changes. It is open to government, private sector, academicor graduate students in surveying or a related discipline (IAG, FIG, IGS): Technical Seminars on
Reference Frames in Practice, FIG Working Week
 Training Course on GNSS (WGC)
 To create awareness on GNSS and its applications in Asia and the Pacific region (the Centre forSpatial Information Science of the University of Tokyo, Japan and Asian Institute of Technology,Bangkok)
 General overview of signal processing in receiver, receiver performances, field survey using lowcost receiver for high-accuracy positioning,
Training on GNSS, 6 – 10 January 2020, Bangkok, Thailand

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Information Centres for ICG
The Programme of Space Applications established regional centres (also acting as theICG information centres) in each region covered by the United Nations Economic
Commissions: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, andWestern Asia

China (RCSSTEAP)
Jordan (RJGC)
Mexico (CRECTEALC)
Morocco (CRASTE-LF)
India (CSSTEAP)
Nigeria (ARCESSTE-E)
Brazil (CRECTEALC)

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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

http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/icg/documents/publications.html
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Conclusion
 Significant progress continues to be made through ICG, and the results of thiswork not only promote the capabilities of GNSS to support sustainable
development, but also promote new partnerships among members of ICG andinstitutions of the broader user community, particularly in developing nations The activities and opportunities provided through the ICG result in thedevelopment and growth of capacities that will enable each country to enhance
its knowledge, understanding and practical experience in those aspects of GNSS
technology that have the potential for a greater impact on its economic andsocial development, including the preservation of its environment
 The ICG is an important vehicle in the multi-lateral arena, as satellite-based
positioning, navigation and timing becomes more and more a genuine
multinational cooperative venture

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