During the sixth meeting of the Strategic Headquarters for Space Development held on 30 September, newly-appointed Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda gave the go-ahead for Japan to further develop its own satellite navigation system.
This quasi-zenith…
During the sixth meeting of the Strategic Headquarters for Space Development held on 30 September, newly-appointed Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda gave the go-ahead for Japan to further develop its own satellite navigation system.
This quasi-zenith satellite system (QZSS) will be combined with the existing US GPS to provide improved positioning performance, particularly in some urban and remote areas where signals can be hampered by buildings or mountains.
In his opening address, Noda said: “I want Japan to become a nation that is best suited for elucidating various mysteries of space and sensing the pulse of the Earth.
In this context, I believe that it is extremely important that the decision was made today to promote a quasi-zenith satellite system and consolidate various agencies which have hitherto been engaged with space into one body in order to create a structure for strategic promotion of space policy with clear priorities.”
First authorised by the Japanese government in 2002, QZSS is expected to ultimately comprise seven satellites, four of which are reportedly scheduled to begin operations from the latter half of the 2010s. The first such satellite, Michibiki, was launched on 11 September last year.
On its website, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), explained: “By sharing almost the same positioning signals for transmission with the currently operated GPS as well as the new GPS, which is under development in the US, the system enables us to expand the areas and time duration of the positioning service provision in mountainous and urban regions in Japan.
“In order to have at least one quasi-zenith satellite always flying near Japan’s zenith, at least three satellites are necessary. The first quasi-zenith satellite, Michibiki, carries out technical and application verification of the satellite as the first phase, then the verification results will be evaluated for moving to the second phase in which the QZ system verification will be performed with three QZ satellites.”
But some local reports argue that building and launching four to seven satellites could cost between Y170bn (US$2.2bn) and Y290bn (US$3.8bn), meaning that JAXA and the government will need to give priority to the project.
By comparison, the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass) is reportedly the most expensive programme of the Russian Federal Space Agency, representing a third of its budget in 2010.
The US Global Positioning System, which became fully operational in 1994, is currently the most widely used global navigation satellite system.
But since 2010, Glonass has been covering the whole of Russia. Furthermore, on 3 October, Russia successfully launched its 24th Glonass satellite, which means the constellation is now complete and global coverage can be achieved.
Meanwhile, the launch of the first two satellites of Europe’s global navigation satellite system Galileo are planned to take place on 20 October. The provision of services is expected for 2014, six years later than originally planned, based on an initial constellation of 18 satellites. Other launches will complete the constellation by 2019.
China and India are also developing their own global positioning sysytems. The Chinese Compass navigation system, similar to the GPS, Galileo and Glonass programmes, will be a constellation of 35 satellites. More than 10 such satellites are planned to be operating by 2012, while the global navigation system should be finished by 2020.
As for the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), the first satellites of the constellation are scheduled to be launched by 2012. The state-owned Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) expects all seven birds to be operational by 2014. The aim of this regional satellite navigation system is to continue providing services even in “hostile situations.”
