Satellite navigation systems

Pakistan adopts Chinese rival GPS satellite system

Agence France-PresseMay 18, 2013 05:30

Pakistan is set to become the fifth Asian country to use China's domestic satellite navigation system which was launched as a rival to the US global positioning system, a report said Saturday. The Beidou, or Compass, system started providing services to civilians in the region in December and is expected to provide global coverage by 2020. It also has military applications. Thailand, China, Laos and Brunei already use the Chinese system, which currently consists of 16 operational satellites, with 30 more due to join the system, according to English-language China Daily.

S. Korea to set up GPS jamming surveillance system

AsianetApril 10, 2013 17:01

Amid growing war threats from North Korea, South Korea plans to beef up its surveillance system against the North's provocative electronic jamming signals that have targeted civilian facilities in the past, sources said Wednesday. In addition to cyber attacks on South Korean networks, the North has been disrupting global positioning system (GPS) signals since 2010.

Milestone for European navigation system

Agence France-PresseMarch 12, 2013 13:16

Galileo, Europe's rival to the US Global Positioning System (GPS), passed a milestone Tuesday when it pinpointed its first-ever ground location, the European Space Agency said. The spot -- ESA's research and technology centre in Noordwijk in the Netherlands -- was determined with an accuracy of between 10 and 15 metres (32 to 49 feet), using four satellites already in orbit. "This is the first time ever that Europe has been able to determine a position on the ground using only its own independent navigation system," Galileo project manager Javier Benedicto said.

Japan, US hold space cooperation talks

Agence France-PresseMarch 11, 2013 10:16

Japan and the United States held talks Monday on wide-ranging cooperation in space, including the satellite monitoring of ships, a joint statement said. The collaboration is apparently aimed at countering China's growing assertiveness at sea and the expansion of its space exploration programme, according to Japanese media. The statement, released by the Japanese foreign ministry said experts from the two governments met in Tokyo for the first "Comprehensive Dialogue on Space".

British waterway deploys ship safety aid to combat GPS attacks

Thomson ReutersJanuary 11, 2013 10:00

By Jonathan Saul LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Britain is deploying a back-up ship navigation system in the English Channel, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, to tackle the growing risks of disruptions of vessel satellite devices and jamming by criminal gangs. Mariners increasingly rely on global navigation systems that use satellite signals to find a location or keep exact time. One of the most well known is the Global Positioning System or GPS.